Overheating Issue

[Bluevitz-rs]

Yeah if it's really leaking have a look when you get home when it's hot. You might see it pissing out a tiny pin hole.

And just an FYI. Coolant can be deadly if ingested so if you spill any try and rinse it with plenty of water or soak it up with a rag or kitty litter.

[YanMinor]

So, this was the temporary solution I did last night. I opened the radiator filler cap and drained the radiator. I then filled the radiator to capacity with tap water and ran the engine for ten minutes. After the car cooled down, I drained the radiator in the same fashion, and added 50% water-diluted coolant, again to capacity. Then, I ran the engine for another ten minutes with the heater turned on, and refilled the coolant as necessary. The car has stopped overheating, and the heater is working (praise the Yaris gods). So thanks everyone for all of your help.

The problem still remains as to why there is pink spray under the hood. I didn't see any leaks or drips as I was flushing the radiator, so it's pretty bizarre. Hopefully the image below is clear enough to tell...?

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/37/wp000110.jpg/

[CTScott]

That almost looks more like spray from the radiator cap during overheating than like the typical water pump spray line. If you look at the hood is there a defined stripe of red on the inside of it?

[YanMinor]

No, there is no line on the underside of the hood, at all.

Is it typical that I would need a radiator fluid top-up this soon? My car is a 2007, and barely has 31k on it, so it seems a little early....

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by YanMinor

No, there is no line on the underside of the hood, at all.

Is it typical that I would need a radiator fluid top-up this soon? My car is a 2007, and barely has 31k on it, so it seems a little early....

You may have just had enough fluid evaporate or slowly leak over time that is was down low enough to not be pumped through the radiator and hence overheated. Check it frequently to see if it goes down at all.

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by YanMinor

No, there is no line on the underside of the hood, at all.

Is it typical that I would need a radiator fluid top-up this soon? My car is a 2007, and barely has 31k on it, so it seems a little early....

it is early for this to happen

keep an eye on it. something leaks

[Astroman]

Originally Posted by A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby

it is early for this to happen

keep an eye on it

+1

[CTScott]

Out of curiosity, when you were doing the purge/fill last night, did you actually see the fan run?

[YanMinor]

No, the fan never came on. I was on a document posted by etimago that said after about 10 minutes of running, the fan should start, but it never did. My initial thought was that it I just didn't wait long enough (it was pretty cold here last night, 40F). I will leave the car on after I get home tonight to see if the fan is running.

Diagnostically, what would this mean?

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

if the fan never runs, it could mean a temp sensor is bad, and it is
allowing the system to overheat and boil off some fluid

[CTScott]

It can take quite a while to get hot enough to cycle the fan. Turning on the AC will expedite it, as the AC ECU commands the fan to run when the AC is on. That will verify that the fan works (i.e. is not bad, or has a bad fuse or relay), but it would be good to also warm it up enough to verify that the coolant temp sensor is working. A quick drive and then let it sit running helps that as well.

[YanMinor]

Interesting. The document I was reading indicated that I should have the heater on when flushing.

Also, wouldn't the boiled off fluid run into the overflow tank? Why would it be sprayed all over those hoses in the image?

[A-Dingo-Ate-My-Baby]

Originally Posted by YanMinor

Interesting. The document I was reading indicated that I should have the heater on when flushing.

Also, wouldn't the boiled off fluid run into the overflow tank? Why would it be sprayed all over those hoses in the image?

overflow only handles normal ebb and flow of daily ops

if it boils it will purge out of the tank

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by YanMinor

Interesting. The document I was reading indicated that I should have the heater on when flushing.

Also, wouldn't the boiled off fluid run into the overflow tank? Why would it be sprayed all over those hoses in the image?

Having the heater on for flushing really doesn't do anything, since the fluid always flows though the heater, regardless of the air mix knob position.

During overheating it actually helps to run the heat on full blast, since it then acts as a secondary radiator.

[Klink10]

When I changed out mine due to pump failure I refilled according to service manual and mainted the constant revs until the engine heated enough to cycle the fan. Normal running temp for me is at 182-4. Fan came on at 202 along with the overheat warning light. Just for info.

Glad you got it sorted out.

[Klink10]

Thanks for the info CT.

[YanMinor]

Sorry to bring up ancient history here! First off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the help last year. Winter is coming, and I'm having the same problem again; it's like deja vu.

I thought the radiator top-off fixed the problem, but I'm certain that I shouldn't have to do this yearly.... The fan still doesn't come on when I run it for several minutes, and I think that it may be problem with the thermostat or the water pump. Does either one sound more likely than the other? Are their corresponding fixes DIYable?


Thanks again for the help ahead of time!

[CTScott]

Originally Posted by YanMinor

Sorry to bring up ancient history here! First off, I wanted to say thanks to everyone for all of the help last year. Winter is coming, and I'm having the same problem again; it's like deja vu.

I thought the radiator top-off fixed the problem, but I'm certain that I shouldn't have to do this yearly.... The fan still doesn't come on when I run it for several minutes, and I think that it may be problem with the thermostat or the water pump. Does either one sound more likely than the other? Are their corresponding fixes DIYable?


Thanks again for the help ahead of time!

The temp sensor for the fan is mounted to the radiator, so if the pump was not working or if the thermostat was not opening the flow through the radiator would be significantly reduced, delaying the fan from running.

If you start the car with the radiator cap off and run it for a while (holding the engine at 2000-3000 RPM for a minute will get it warm quicker). When the thermostat opens you will see the coolant flowing by, with the cap removed.

Also, once the car is warmed up, if you turn the A/C on the fan will immediately run to verify that the fan is working.