Coolant everywhere! (Overheating, duh)

[Rossco]

checking right now. 1 flash, then 2. pause. 1 then 5

[Rossco]

im thinking the code is 1-2, (code 12 rpm signal) or 2-5 (code 25 air-fuel ratio lean malfunction)

[Rossco]

thinking its not 12 as i dont have starting issues at all

[Rossco]

so im almost laughing at myself right now (almost). muffler is f'ed. no wonder it started sputtering!

[Rossco]

update: its getting cold here already. the van hasn't been sputtering on my way to work in the mornings as of 2 days ago. this was also when my low fuel light turned on...coincidence? it is still sputtering off and on once it gets to temp.

i was taking it to a shop to get the muffler fixed, should i wait on that since it isnt the main problem of the sputter and spend money on more pressing issues?

i can hear bubbling almost everytime i shut it off, head gasket nightmares are becoming a slow reality i think

[Rossco]

heres an update:

van has been sitting all winter not running . ive been gone for work for most of winter and just havent had any time to work on it. everytime id be in town (2 days at a time max) i'd charge the battery and try to start it, not dice. it doesnt seem to like cold starts at all. For future, any cold start helpers/suggestions?
I spent the majority of my day yesterday flushing it of all the old fluids and what not as it wouldnt start after sitting all winter. changed the oil/filter and flushed coolant and it started right up! good to know it still runs (badly, but at least its running still).


a strange thing (probably not that strange, but strange to me) is that the van doesn't billow white smoke when it gets low on coolant. when i have the coolant filled up to the neck and proper level in the overflow tank, coolant is obviously shooting through the exhaust, white smoke, coolant dripping off the muffler tip etc...
kinda sounds like its running on 3 cylinders too

the oil change was rough too, milkshake color, super thick, bad news

right before winter started here i got the exhaust fixed and i also replaced the lower radiator hose as the old one was cracked. im getting to the point where i have enough cash saved up to just drop it off at a mechanic and tell him to go crazy on it. anymore investigations/suggestions as to what i can do with this thing before it goes to the van spa?

[timsrv]

You have all the classic signs of a blown head gasket.......or maybe a cracked head. By far head gasket issues are much more common. I would certainly recommend using an OEM (Toyota) head gasket. Some of the aftermarket ones are okay, but some are not. Just play it safe and use genuine Toyota. Tim

[Rossco]

thanks tim. dont think the head is cracked (knock on wood) as the previous owners have receipts for a core exhchange on an engine. been denying the inevitable for awhille and im excited to get this baby fixed

[JPERL]

And Don't Forget.....

Another thing that gets old and corroded especially if the cooling system was run a lot with water instead of coolant is the water outlet that the radiator cap seals. The water outlet gets corroded and does not seal properly. One sure fire give way is if it takes barely any resistance to install or remove the radiator cap then the system is not properly being sealed and the hot coolant is expelled into the reservoir tank and then onto the ground.

A bad radiator cap can do this too but I have seen in 3 instances where I needed to replace the water outlet because replacing the cap did not resolve the issue and I had no flow issues. So if you are hitting a wall the outlet may be your issue. It is still available from Toyota but for how long who knows.

[Rossco]

thats a very interesting point, thanks for that. i'll keep that in mind