Topic: Radiator issues 87 Runner 22RE

[tho1981]

So here is the deal with my 87 Runner.  Minus the details, I had to replace the intake manifold over Christmas, and after that used a recommended “back flushing” kit to attach a garden hose to my heater hose and flush out 25 years worth of rust.  After this, my heater ACTUALLY WORKED!! Which was amazing.  Anyway, to the problem at hand…..I filled my radiator about 2 weeks ago, and checked it the other day.  I filled it to the tippy top (which took about ¾ gallon), drove about 45 minutes in traffic and stopped for a quick bite.  When I stopped, water and radiator fluid were pouring out of the radiator, and out of the overflow.  It always seems to be low and takes at the minimum about ½ gallon to fill.  Is there something wrong?  Should I be worried, or should I not worry about the coolant level being at the tippy top?

Advise me please, and thank you in advance.

[jrock]

Have you topped it off more than once with the 1/2 gallon?

[yoshaleng]

what does your temp guage read?

[86rustbucket]

Are you sure it was at the tippy top?

[94MtnYote]

Did you fill the rad and then let it idle with the cap open to work out air bubbles?

[Wopstar]

Did you fill the rad and then let it idle with the cap open to work out air bubbles?

Great tip!!!  I can't believe how many people I talk to on a daily basis that don't know how to fill a radiator!  Always leave the cap off and let the thermostat open and close at least once before putting the cap on.  This will let all the air pockets out of the cooling system.  You may also want to check your radiator cap with an actual coolant pressure tester to make sure the relief spring is working right.  If it is worn out it will not hold pressure in the radiator and it can bleed off coolant.  Also may want to change the thermostat out if you haven't already.

[OOPS]

Great tip!!!  I can't believe how many people I talk to on a daily basis that don't know how to fill a radiator!  Always leave the cap off and let the thermostat open and close at least once before putting the cap on.  This will let all the air pockets out of the cooling system.  You may also want to check your radiator cap with an actual coolant pressure tester to make sure the relief spring is working right.  If it is worn out it will not hold pressure in the radiator and it can bleed off coolant.  Also may want to change the thermostat out if you haven't already.

22r's are notorious for not bleeding the air out of the system. Besides the things above here are a couple of other things to do, get the radiator higher then the engine, sloped driveway works great and also put the heat setting on the heater on high heat.

[yotaneck13]

Great tip!!!  I can't believe how many people I talk to on a daily basis that don't know how to fill a radiator!  Always leave the cap off and let the thermostat open and close at least once before putting the cap on.  This will let all the air pockets out of the cooling system.  You may also want to check your radiator cap with an actual coolant pressure tester to make sure the relief spring is working right.  If it is worn out it will not hold pressure in the radiator and it can bleed off coolant.  Also may want to change the thermostat out if you haven't already.

x2 ive heard of ppl actually drilling an 1/8th inch hole in their tstat to quicken this process

[OOPS]

x2 ive heard of ppl actually drilling an 1/8th inch hole in their tstat to quicken this process

Most people that drill the hole is to combat the T-stat overshoot, where the temperature will raise to the red and then go down to normal. The correct way to fix that is with a dual-stage T-stat from Toyota. You can read about what I am talking on 4Crawler(Roger Brown) web page.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTricks/index.shtml#TstatReplacement

There is a lot of good reading and tricks for Toyotas on his web page.