1986 2wd Coolant Leak Question (and general help)

[A Tomizuka]

Hello everyone, first time poster (and T van newb) so please forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere. I've done my best to search around on here but likely missed the relevant info. Just picked up a 1986 Vanwagon with 166k and am desperately in love... trying to figure out maintenance/repairs to keep this thing running for the next hundred years (hah), but I am a self-proclaimed car idiot.

One of the issues I've noticed so far is that the coolant level keeps getting low. I fill the coolant overflow tank to the "full when cool" fill line, but then after only 50 miles or so the level is noticeably below the line. When checking under the radiator cap, I also don't see coolant in the filler neck when the engine is cool...

I saw in the "basics" section that "If the coolant regularly disappears (that is, the van needs coolant added to the overflow more than around once a year) or there is little or no coolant visible at the filler neck, the van has a serious problem." so naturally I'm concerned. But the van drives perfectly and I don't find any coolant leaking from the bottom of the van when parked, no residue on the ground. So it seems to happen more when I'm on the road, yet even when the coolant is low, my engine temp is nominal. Any thoughts as to where I should be looking?

The only other known issues I've found are:
Seeping valve cover gasket
Code 11 (faulty TPS I'm guessing)
U joints have some play

Doubtful these ^^ have anything to do with it, but figured I'd include because why not. Any advice is greatly appreciated!! So grateful to everyone on here helping keep these treasures on the road.

Gus

[A Tomizuka]

For reference, here is a photo of the coolant overflow tank in my van (it looks quite different from some of the others I have seen, maybe this is aftermarket?)

10344

And shamelessly, a photo of my beloved new van...

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Thanks again everyone!

[skibum]

I might be concerned about a head gasket issue. As these vans are prone to cooling challenges, if it overheated at any time it could have wreaked havoc on the head gasket interface. I'd consider a compression test and see what is happening in the cylinders. 50 miles is a fairly sort distance to experience significant coolant loss.

[trestlehed]

You should also have the radiator flushed and flow tested. If it's bad get the 3 row high efficiency re-core job.
Back when I bought my my van in 2009ish, I had a bad radiator, leaking hose of death, and a small head gasket leak
amongst other issues.

Diagnosing and fixing each problem took a long time until I found a co-worker who was also an expert mechanic.

The main thing you have to keep in mind with these vans is that if the cooling system has issues that go unaddressed
for a long period of time, it can ruin your engine. Do your homework on this website (search function), then fix your van properly.

Going cheap or thinking "I'll keep driving it until something happens" will lead to ruin.

BTW, is that a new or custom paint job?
It looks quite nice. Hard to tell with the low lighting.

Good luck!

[A Tomizuka]

I might be concerned about a head gasket issue. As these vans are prone to cooling challenges, if it overheated at any time it could have wreaked havoc on the head gasket interface. I'd consider a compression test and see what is happening in the cylinders. 50 miles is a fairly sort distance to experience significant coolant loss.

Thank you Skibum! I've been religiously checking the oil for any "mayonnaise-ing" and so far the consistency has been normal, but I suppose it would be possible to be losing coolant in the head gasket interface without leading to mixing of oil/coolant?

[A Tomizuka]

You should also have the radiator flushed and flow tested. If it's bad get the 3 row high efficiency re-core job.
Back when I bought my my van in 2009ish, I had a bad radiator, leaking hose of death, and a small head gasket leak
amongst other issues.

Diagnosing and fixing each problem took a long time until I found a co-worker who was also an expert mechanic.

The main thing you have to keep in mind with these vans is that if the cooling system has issues that go unaddressed
for a long period of time, it can ruin your engine. Do your homework on this website (search function), then fix your van properly.

Going cheap or thinking "I'll keep driving it until something happens" will lead to ruin.

BTW, is that a new or custom paint job?
It looks quite nice. Hard to tell with the low lighting.

Good luck!

Thanks Trestlehead, appreciate the feedback! I was secretly praying the 'ol "hose of death" would not make an appearance here, but have been planning to do the access panel job anyway so glad you mentioned it. Thanks for the heads up on the radiator, I guess I assumed there would be obvious overheating issues if it was bad but sounds like that's not necessarily the case and I should get the flush/test.

As much as I'd love to do all the work myself, it's good to be reminded that running the van with any cooling issues could spell doom and I may need to swallow my pride and head to the shop. If only there were more folks here in Tucson who were Toyo van nerds...

The paint job was done by a previous owner a few years back, I love it as well! Body is very clean minus a couple dings here and there. I'll post more photos one of these days.

Grateful to you guys for giving me more homework to do!!

[skibum]

Yes, it could just be leaking into the cylinder and out the exhaust. That would not show up as "milkshake" oil. A compression tester is fairly inexpensive <$30 for most at Amazon.

Also, as trestlehed mentioned, and I forgot, check the hose of death, located on back of engine, so not readily visible as you're looking for problems. I'm thinking you'd fail the smell test, though if it is an external leak.


Thank you Skibum! I've been religiously checking the oil for any "mayonnaise-ing" and so far the consistency has been normal, but I suppose it would be possible to be losing coolant in the head gasket interface without leading to mixing of oil/coolant?

[A Tomizuka]

Yes, it could just be leaking into the cylinder and out the exhaust. That would not show up as "milkshake" oil. A compression tester is fairly inexpensive <$30 for most at Amazon.

Also, as trestlehed mentioned, and I forgot, check the hose of death, located on back of engine, so not readily visible as you're looking for problems. I'm thinking you'd fail the smell test, though if it is an external leak.

Well, in a rather embarrassing turn of events, I discovered that the hose leading from the filler neck to the coolant overflow had been disconnected... Meaning I had been pointlessly filling the overflow tank only to have it leak straight out. :doh: I hope I'm not instantly banned from the forum for this. Reconnected everything and filled up the system, so we'll see if there's actually a leak anywhere.

I did reach back there to feel the hose of death, and it seems that it's already been replaced with a nice new hose! Will continue to check on it but fingers crossed...

Thanks again all!

Gus