The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[Bonjean]

Bought my Land Cruiser 5 weeks ago and the dealer told me it had a brand new head, however within a weeks driving heating stopped working and had to top up the Rad with a pint of water.

Its now been back and forth from the dealer/mechanic 4 times, and has had a new thermostat, rad cap, the rad (date stamped 2005) has been taken off and tested, the water pump has been checked, its been chemical tested and now the mechanic is scratching his head.  He tells me he thinks the head looks new.  he cant find any leaks.

Now, I have just run the engine for about 4 hours and after the engine had cooled, the expansion bottle is full to the brim and theres no water at the top of the rad.  I was worried about driving it back in that state so topped up the rad with a pint of water before it started showing at the top of the rad (about the same amount that seems to have found its way into the expansion bottle).

Could it be a blocked expansion bottle?  anyone else had a similar problem?

[Google]

[joinerman]

What year is it and is it auto?


Joinerman

[joinerman]

Sorry i should learn to read the titles. it's a 97


Joinerman

[joinerman]

Check your auto transmission fluid for signs of water, the fluid is cooled in a seperate part of the radiator at the bottom, it's not uncommon for the rad to fail between the two compartments  & let water mix in with the tranny fluid & that's big trouble for the box


Joinerman

[Bonjean]

The rad has been tested, would this probem have shown up?

[joinerman]

Do you know how they tested it?, also it should have the toyota red coolant in the system not water.


Joinerman

[Bonjean]

It was sent off to a special radiator testing place, I think they pressure test it, and also immmerse it in a tank of water and look for bubbles, i'm not entirely sure though.

if it was this problem, why would the water build up in the expansion tank?  is this water not normally fed back into the rad?

[joinerman]

Sounds to me like you have a head gasket gone then.


Joinerman

[regthing]

Hello.
I'd go for the head gasket as well. I had a similar problem with my Honda Accord.

Exhaust gas was being blown into the coolant system and forcing coolant out if the expansion tank.

Check for leaks around the expansion tank lid, there may not be any depending on how good the fit is. Also give the hoses a squeeze, you should feel a slight pressure when up to temp but they shouldn't be nearly solid.

You can also buy chemical sniffer kits that check for hydrocarbons in the coolant (the garage should be able to run this check!!)

[DaveB]

Yeah cylinder head or head gasket failure written all over it.

The head has to come off and be checked by a specialist for cracks and then it will need skimming and a new head gasket set.

A decent garage will have a sniffer that they can stick in to the expansion tank and it will pick up on carbon monoxide a sure sign of head problems.

I think deep down the dealer will know what the problem is.

good luck

[slaupster]

I've had a similar issue with my LJ78 and it was down to dodgy rad cap.  The one I had orignially was orig toyota and after a drive I would find the overflow full and the rad empty at the top - the rubber seals were quite worn after 17 years!  I got a new rad cap from a reputable South African equivalent of Halfords and this made the problem worse - I reckon that the spring was too soft and too much water exited into the overflow and actually overflowed the overflow if that makes sense!  When I came back to it, the overflow was empty and the rad was nearly empty, in other words, the seal was working ok and the pressure was sucking water back in to the rad, but as too much was exiting under pressue I was losing coolant.

Anyway, cutting long story short, the 32 pound rad cap from toyota fixed the problem and I've thrown the 5 pound rad cap away...

[roscoFJ73]