Bubbles coming from coolant

B

Ben B

Member
Hello everyone, post #1 for me.

I have coolant bubbling when I throttle my Tacoma. Radiator cap is off, coolant is cold, but when I rev up the motor a bit, bubbles come up to the surface of my radiator. Is this a head gasket issue? Has anyone else experienced this and just left it alone? The truck seems to run fine, but if I need a head gasket I'd rather not wait for a catastrophic failure.

1996 Tacoma 2.4L

Thanks everyone!
 
what does the engine oil look like? any signs of coolant and oil mixing
are you using the Toyota pink coolant or some other brand
when is the last time you changed the old for new coolant
 
This is a new junk yard engine, so the oil and coolant is brand new. The old motor overheated and cracked the head. I think the thermostat stuck closed. I thought maybe the radiator was clogged, but I flushed it and water seems to be easily flowing through the radiator and heater core. So the bubbles have me worried because I don't know the motors history. Green coolant, prestone.
 
i have only seen bubbles in coolant when it is boiling and the whole expansion bottle was jumping around

maybe its coming from air in the system from not burping it?
 
My buddy said he burped the system. I will re-burp it today with a no spill funnel, maybe there is still air in there. The coolant doesn't seem to flow very good with the thermostat in, so I've taken it out and my temps are really low, which proves the cooling system is not plugged.

Thanks for the help, I've had my 96 for 18 years now. Never seen salt, no rust, but the paint is SHOT!
 
is it that single-stage red paint?
how many miles on that taco before the engine overheated
 
I have the white paint, probably single stage. There is no clear coat left, but I assumed that is because I got it from Florida when it was 8 years old. Of course I didn't have a garage when I was in college or as a young adult, so it's sat outside all summer. I did manage to put it in a pole barn each winter with a cement floor, so the body and frame is solid, just the paint is worn. 175,000 miles and I started having this issue. The replacement motor has 190,000.
 
Ben B said:
Hello everyone, post #1 for me.

I have coolant bubbling when I throttle my Tacoma. Radiator cap is off, coolant is cold, but when I rev up the motor a bit, bubbles come up to the surface of my radiator. Is this a head gasket issue? Has anyone else experienced this and just left it alone? The truck seems to run fine, but if I need a head gasket I'd rather not wait for a catastrophic failure.

1996 Tacoma 2.4L

Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Install sone irontite sealer if it slows down the bubbles or they stop seems to be head gasket but consider this a bandaide will get you by until you can take care of head gasket if your doing this yourself have the head surfaced and press tested hope this helps Campoman
 
Please do not use any magic potions in a can to "fix" the problem.

I assume the cracked head was in the previous engine. Was this salvage engine checked for bad head gasket or head cracks?

An engine from a salvage yard may have had good maintenance or may not. Best path, before install, is to do an overhaul of the salvage engine. At minimum, run all the diagnostic tests to verify the engine is healthy.

Suggest to run diagnostics on the engine. Then address what you find. Don't be surprised if the salvage engine, !90 kmiles, has some problems. Also, the radiator with 175 kmiles probably needs some attention. Suggest to pull it, then have a radiator shop recondition it. Drop the green stuff, use recommended anti-freeze. Other types can be detrimental to internal engine components.

Good Luck.
 
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