Fitz Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I'll run you guys through the story. The Supra was off the road for about 2 months and was stationary for the whole period. I took it for its MOT which it passed and had it taxed. However, yesterday I was driving along and glanced at the coolant temperature gauge and it was almost on the red mark (careless of me to drive without checking all the levels after 2 months) but luckily there was a garage ahead so I pulled in and bought 2L of coolant/anti-freeze and topped up the rad (after it had cooled) and the expansion tank. I let it run for a bit to make sure all was well and it seemed fine. Today I went out with a few friends and coming home about 2 mins away I look at the temp gauge again and it is WAY past the red line. I've never seen it that far before, it was off the scale so I pulled up outside and switched the engine off. I opened the bonnet catch and steam is poring out and I can hear the expansion tank bubbling away (although its now empty) and everything seems dangerously hot. Is it possible to have a leak? How did 2L of coolant vanish in 24 hours? Also, now one of my HID lights isn't coming on perhaps as the ballast is located not too far from the rad cap so could perhaps have had some effect when it overheated? Any help or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. (Sorry for any mistakes, I'm typing this on my iPhone) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Just to add. Car is a 94 N/A Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Is there any coolant at your passenger footwell? If so - heater matrix change required! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy442 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thermostat could be stuck? I'd spend time filling and bleeding the coolant system first, then checking for leaks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Budz86 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Hi Fitz, how's it going mate? Might also be worth topping everything up and the just leaving the car running outside for 15 -20 mins to see if any patches appear, and keep an eye on everything in the engine bay too. Needs to get nice and hot though - also check the temp gauge to see if it starts at zero or is it sticking as has been suggested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supraleeturbo Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 This was happnig to me and it was my heater matrix, If your passenger footwell is socked then you need to change the heater matrix asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Look for clues of leaks: coloured crusty deposits on parts of the engine bay, or patches on the ground where you park up. Does the area around the rad cap look clean? If not maybe the rad cap isn't holding pressure any more and the coolant is boiling off from there. If you're losing coolant, there's 3 possibilities: 1) there's a leak in the system where liquid coolant is coming out. -- look for tell-tale coloured leak stains. Garages can do pressure tests of the cooling system to find hard-to-spot leaks. 2) the coolant is boiling off. -- I think this would only occur from the rad cap 3) head gasket failure -- the coolant is leaking into the engine oil (or outside, but I covered that in point 1) -- look for "mayonnaise" on the dipstick or around the oil filler cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 A fairly common, but cheap fix problem is the radiator cap. After standing for a while, it may well have dried out and be unable to hold pressure. This allows the water to evaporate past it and run dry. It's worth a go for the sake of a couple of quid. Seen it loads before on supras. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Plethora Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I had a similar issue and started worrying. Turned out to be nothing more than air in the coolant system. Hope yours is somethign easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Just checked the passenger footwell, bone dry. No obvious signs of leakage apart from where the expansion bottle top had come off and cleaned its guts out. ScottC gave me a ring and also suggested the rad cap could be buggered which looks feasible. Hopefully that rules out the matrix. Also the oil dipstick is clean, no white residue or build up noticeable. Take a look at the rad cap attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Also, just to add. Ive just topped the coolant up again and left it running for about 20 mins. No signs of leakage. I moved the car from where I parked it yesterday into an actual parking bay and when I got out to to check if anything had changed upon throttle usage the overflow to the expansion bottle had smoke/steam coming out of it. Now I'm no expert but that doesn't sound right. So when I took the top off the expansion bottle there was more smoke/steam inside. Any ideas guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Change the rad cap mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy442 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 It will steam, the coolant is hot and its cold outside Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxluc Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have a look at the hoses that go from the rad to the engine (one on the top and one at the bottom of the rad). Maybe one is loose and leaks during driving when the water flow is higher than at idle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imi Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Agree with the advice on rad cap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straightsix Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Check the thermostat. I had an issue where the stat was faulty but didn't show up until after I checked it 3 times. While it's out, you might be able to get your finger into the housing and check the water pump impeller is intact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Will do. I had a new OEM water pump installed about 18 months ago as the old one was fubard and used to pee coolant out everywhere. Can't remember if the thermostat was changed at the same time or not. I'll get onto the rad cap initially and I may still have my stock one lying about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supraturbochris Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Sounds either rad cap or thermostat stuck dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 A thermostat that's stuck will either cause the car to overheat (if it's stuck closed) or cause it run permanently cold (stuck open), but wouldn't on its own cause loss of coolant. I guess it's possible that a stuck-closed thermostat could have caused the rad cap seal to fail (this is what they're designed to do, like a safety valve on a pressure cooker), thus boiling off coolant from the rad cap. If the rad cap had failed, I would still expect to see crusty red (or whatever colour coolant you use) crud where coolant has boiled off though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Ah, your text makes sense now Cliff. Hope it is something like a rad cap that is causing it, let us know how you get on with the advice above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Have a check behind the water pump housing for leaks. There is a 20mm core plug that fails in the rear housing behind the pump. Had it happen twice and there has been a few others on here with the same problem. Sadly if its that, the only way to get to it is by removal of the water pump, which means, crank pulley, cam belt covers, cambelt just to get the pump off. Hope its just your rad cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 New rad cap arrived today, however it appears to be the wrong fitment even though I was assured it would be for this model. Back to find one that IS for my car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dnk Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is the rad the original Toyota radiator ? If so just get a cap from Toyota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is the rad the original Toyota radiator ? If so just get a cap from Toyota. Standard Toyota Rad. You wouldn't happen to know the part number would you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottC Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Shouldn't the cap have 1.1 bar stamped on it, not 0.9? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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