Travelled up to Coromandel from Wairarapa Sunday. Temp gauge pnged just out of Taupo, radiator spewed out loads of rusty water. Topped up with water, headed back to Taupo, ket it cool, keot our eye on it and made it to Whangamata. Had an AA guy look at it, rretty much said he wasn't sure what the issue was but to keep filling with water as needed, replace the radiator cap, and filled the radiator with CRC radiator sealant.
Have been topping up as it's getting pretty hot but gauge has remained steady and under half way. Have made it to Coromandel and back to Whangamata with no issues (apart from radiator being hot).
If we'd cracked the head, would it still be driving! Heading home Friday, just hoping it doesn't die before then.
Any tips!
thunderbolt,
Aug 21, 3:46am
Any tips! Yep, go back in time, change your coolant and have the radiator cleaned out every couple of years. Then you would most likely not posting this problem now, 20/20 Hindsight. :)
johnf_456,
Aug 21, 3:46am
If the head was cracked you would have mayo coloured oil
gammelvind,
Aug 21, 3:49am
First tip but too late now. Rusty water! Don't you ever use anti freeze! A cracked head won't stop it running, it will overheat if you don't keep topping up the water, the over heating will kill the engine.
snj11,
Aug 21, 3:50am
not always the case, especially with the surfs
gammelvind,
Aug 21, 3:51am
Only if the crack goes between the water jacket and an oil passage. Could just be ino the water jacket hence the overheating.
franc123,
Aug 21, 3:51am
Yep, maintain your vehicle properly in future, undergoing a trip like that in one of those with a dirty cooling system and almost certainly a 50% plus blocked radiator was utter foolishness. You are now staring down the barrel of a 2k plus bill to sort that properly, you will have cracked the head. It needs proper attention asap, driving it back like that is only going to cause more damage. As part of this work the radiator will have to come out and be poked clean, no ifs or buts, DIY flushing is not effective enough.
happylad3,
Aug 21, 3:51am
Incorrect. In a surf it will be either a 2L/3L or a newer 1KZ. And if they get slightly hot they'll crack the heads. Yes it will still drive with a cracked head. However it will get to the point of not running. You can get cheap aftermarket heads. Just swap all your valves into etc.
twink19,
Aug 21, 3:51am
common on surfs to crack head
happylad3,
Aug 21, 3:52am
Yea that's right. Those toyotas never crack into the oil. Always between the valve seats, or between the seats and the precombustion chambers
snj11,
Aug 21, 3:53am
also not a great idea to use the tempory fix sealers in an already neglected cooling system, they tend to just block the system up more. If you are intent on using a tempory fix id be draining cooling system completely and refilling with water and adding a product called Rislone block sealer, it doesnt clog systems like some other and also works better than others, dont use anti freeze if your cooling system is already rusty, it wont stand up to it
seal44,
Aug 21, 3:54am
yeah mate, your water pump could be on the way out, or shot already. on the bottom tank of the radiator there may be a drain bung to drain the water out. its probly full of crap and needs a good flush with the garden hose for ten minutes. if no bung you could slip the bottom hose off then add hose. run the motor for a bit and repeat flushing to clear out the entire cooling system. checking cracked head, open the oil filler cap on top of motor,(not running) if its milky and slimey it could be cracked. with the engine running, open the radiator cap, make sure its full of water,not too hot and watch it for a minute, if air bubbles come out your loosing compression thru the head gasket. if really serious get a compression test done, probly 3hrs labour at any garage. p.s dont forget to add antifreeze once you flushed out radiator for those frosty nights
hrt,
Aug 21, 3:56am
As above, they crack between the valves and usually pressurise the cooling system and blow all the water out rather than mix anything with the oil.
snj11,
Aug 21, 3:56am
[quote=seal44. p.s dont forget to add antifreeze once you flushed out radiator for those frosty nights[/quote]
I wouldnt be adding anti freeze to a rusty cooling system, it will kill it
r15,
Aug 21, 4:00am
and now ill tell you why it has happened
1: your radiator is most likey choked up. get it rodded out at a radiator shop. all the additives in the world cant replace this job.
2: your viscous fan is most likely not engaging properly.if you couldn't hear it roaring before your truck overheated then it needs to be replaced with new, or disassembled and adjusted / filled with the special oil (expensive and sold by 5ml) so that it does work.this is a major reason for surfs cooking.
johnf_456,
Aug 21, 4:01am
Good point long day
ljs,
Aug 21, 2:58pm
Can recommend this,done it works But whether you replace the head or use Rislone get the radiator professionally cleaned.
trader_84,
Aug 21, 3:13pm
You got some .
bent_ate,
Aug 21, 5:21pm
Too damn right, "lack of servicing"
mugenb20b,
Aug 21, 5:58pm
Yeah, don't do it in a Surf until it's properly repaired.
arthur-dailey,
Aug 24, 10:34pm
Turns out the actual issue was a faulty thermostat. Garage in Whanga rectified pretty quickly along with flushing the radiator.
BTW, for the "know it alls" - vehicle serviced on 8 June in prep for this trip and whitebaiting season. Also, head and radiator replaced October 2010 due to cracked head issue at the time (hence the thought it could be the same again).
Thanks for the "constructive" input.
therafter1,
Aug 24, 11:10pm
Lol . must have been !
You don't need to make excuses, you just admit that you went of half cocked and that you were wrong, well at least that's what most people do !
therafter1,
Aug 24, 11:16pm
The "know it alls" would have been in a much better position to give you advice if you had stated all of this at the outset, or in any subsequent posts . but you did not !
People can only make "constructive input" on the basis of the information that YOU provide !
therafter1,
Aug 24, 11:21pm
Additionally, after your initial over heat, and then continuing to drive the vehicle with it either getting hot or threatening to get hot, if it hasn't already developed a crack or three between the valves, then it most probably will at sometime in the not too distant future. They do not tolerate being over heated very well !
Then you can come back and apologise to the "know it alls" and admit that they were right !
studio1,
Aug 25, 12:07am
Correct. It's a known issue especially with the turbo diesels and is caused by a restrictive exhaust, which raises back-pressure and doesn't allow heat to escape from the turbo efficiently. This raises the temperature in the bores and causes cracking of the heads. I have seen it many times now. The solution, once you have fitted a new head is to 1) Ensure the radiator is flushed and cleaned and add anti-freeze - keep the cooling system maintained, 2) remove the restrictions in the exhaust and increase the size of the exhaust pipe. Once these are done, no more cracked heads. Proved.
As for OP - it's possible that your head is cracked. It can develop exactly as you suggest - overheats and water spews out everywhere (as it pressurizes the cooling system). A good check is to get the vehicle up to operating temperature and pull the hose out of the overflow bottle so you can see the end of it, then dunk the end back under the water. If it's blowing bubbles then it's almost certain you have a cracked head. You may find that it settles down to the point where it only uses a small amount of water in a week - but over time it will get worse. The only cure then is head off and new head, gasket and head bolts etc.
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