Heater / Water Problem

[Overland Tonka]

The pipes to the rear heater corrode and leak..others have had this prob and not found it for months.

Not easy to spot as it can be slow....I disconnected mine by just looping the flow/return in the engine bay.

[shokenore]

Do as the others have suggested loop the rear heater circuit out.

With the system cold and full you should be able to squeeze the top hose and feel 'resistance'if not you still have air

I pressure tested mine and found all the 19mm hoses weeping at their joints.
All heater hoses and clamps replaced and it has been fine Touch wood

Have a look at the rad cap seal if you are constantly checking the rad levels the cap seal might be fubared

[J i m s t e r]

The pipes to the rear heater corrode and leak..others have had this prob and not found it for months.

Not easy to spot as it can be slow....I disconnected mine by just looping the flow/return in the engine bay.

Yes, I would imagine, if they are original, they will be corroded by now. It happened to me last year, I guess you are losing coolant slowly, whereas mine got a nice big split and dumped the lot outside in one go.

I think this is one of the few weak spots on these otherwise very robust trucks, it looks like a simple cost-cutting exercise can compromise the coolant system and may be ultimately responsible for the heads going.

you can just replace them with copper pipe from a plumber's merchants or just cut out the rear heater from the circuit. Deffo worth doing as they will go at some point.

[J i m s t e r]

See this thread too

http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showthrea...990#post714990

[tavvi]

Problem has been diagnosed as a leaking water pump. Can actually see some mineral deposits on the side of the timing belt cover which suggests that coolant is being sprayed from the pump.

Two separate mechanics have recommended using a Blueprint water pump and suggested that the extra expense for a Genuine Toyota part is unnecessary. Anyone know what Roughtrax or Milners stock and are they recommended?

[Overland Tonka]

Roughtrax worked for me.....having said that not sure there was anything wrong with the one I took off...

[tavvi]

Thanks for suggestions to date.

At the moment my assumption is that the two instances of the temp gauge rising towards the red were due to coolant loss caused by the leaking water pump and that neither of these events has caused damage to the head!

This is based on the fact (?) that the problem has obviously existed for over a year and there are no secondary signs of a cracked head (smoke, gunky oil or gases in the coolant). I'm hoping that having spotted the rise in temperature quickly on both occasions and then having tempered my already cautious driving style won't have done any harm.

At the end of autumn last year I also had the system drained and filled with red coolant to correct the dilution that would have been caused by topping up twice with a total of 6 litres of water. At the same time the stat and rad cap were replaced. Since the second event I have monitored the coolant level regularly and kept it topped up with red coolant.

I appreciate now that it would have been sensible to get the system pressure tested after the first event rather than assume that it was a one-off event caused by an air-lock (ho hum, isn't hindsight a great thing - unfortunately I was 100% ignorant of these matters at that time).

However, from another thread - http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showpost....3&postcount=19 - I appreciate that there is a risk that fitting a new water pump may just throw up other problems, i.e. there is a possibility that the leaking water pump may be masking a head problem. I'm guessing that this possibility doesn't alter what has to be done, i.e. fix the water pump and see what happens - but if anyone can suggest any precautions that might save time or money that would be much appreciated.

[tavvi]

Looks like this is fixed and I've been very lucky to have avoided serious damage.

Water pump was replaced about 10 days ago and I am no longer losing coolant. Completed a 200+ mile trip yesterday and on checking coolant level this morning found it to be (still) dead on the 'max' line on the overflow tank.

I think I'll now add a new temp guage and one of those devices that gives a warning when the coolant level drops. These will probably only be useful if something sudden and catastrophic happens because I've learnt my lesson and will be checking coolant levels regularly from now on. I was really surprised though that it took a 3 litre loss of fluid before anything showed up on the temp guage.

Thanks to all who contributed suggestions.

PS

Another happy note is that according to my calculations on my recent trip I got 34.95 mpg! I filled the tank up before leaving and and re-filled the tank on return. 223 miles travelled on 29 litres (6.38 gallons). Standard 265/70/R16 tyres properly inflated. I didn't use the satnav on this trip but when I used it on an earlier trip the odometer mileage matched the satnav exactly over 98 miles so I think the mileage is accurate. I tried to keep to a steady 55 mph for the whole trip (I wasn't in any hurry and I whiled away the time listening to a couple of series of 'Ed Reardon's Week' ).
That's definitely the best mileage I've ever had - I suppose the recent service won't have done any harm.

[Bogus]

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I think I'll now add a new temp guage and one of those devices that gives a warning when the coolant level drops.
PS

Another happy note is that according to my calculations on my recent trip I got 34.95 mpg! I filled the tank up before leaving and and re-filled the tank on return. 223 miles travelled on 29 litres (6.38 gallons). Standard 265/70/R16 tyres properly inflated. I didn't use the satnav on this trip but when I used it on an earlier trip the odometer mileage matched the satnav exactly over 98 miles so I think the mileage is accurate. I tried to keep to a steady 55 mph for the whole trip (I wasn't in any hurry and I whiled away the time listening to a couple of series of 'Ed Reardon's Week' ).
That's definitely the best mileage I've ever had - I suppose the recent service won't have done any harm.

Adding a proper temp gauge is a good idea and its cheap and easy. Looks like your truck must be almost identical to mine. Ive never had that sort of MPG but then again I can never keep it at 55. Best I ever got was the day I bought it, on a nice long motorway run from Stroud to Edinburgh and that was about 31 running at a reasonably steady 65-70. Since then, its mostly mid 20s on the usual stop start local runs. Any long distances I do are to go up North either up the A9 or up the coast road to Aberdeen. Driven crefully I,ll get high 20s. Im planning on getting my injectors reconditioned, so that may make a difference although I doubt it and Im running slightly bigger rubber (265/75/16) so that probably also has some small effect. Ultimately Im not too fussed about mpg, and Im not a high mileage motorist in any case. I just think my truck is ace anyway.

[red barron]

The temp gauge on these trucks are utterly inadequate in operation and you will only get a real reading if you fit an after market gauge like some of the other members have done. There are many examples of how to do this and the different types of gauges that have been fitted. With the stock gauge these engines can run at temperatures in excess of 90+ degrees and still stay in the middle (normal) position. Probably the biggest contributing factor to the cracked head syndrome?

[Ploddit]

I did this to mine.

Cheap as chips and very effective.

EDIT mine was a 2nd gen....probably the same anyway.