Toyota Nation Forum banner

Coolant bubbles 1MZ-FE

3K views 17 replies 6 participants last post by  Lightning Blue 
#1 ·
I was out of town and 3 days ago my wife walked out of the mall and saw that coolant had leaked out of my 98 ES300 all over and it would not start, she cranked it until it was dead.

She had it towed home and today I put diluted Toyota red coolant in it and jumped started it.

While burping it I was never able to stop the bubbles from coming up while revving it to 4000 rpm. When it was idling 700 rpm - no bubbles.

I went ahead and drove it around the block - it drove fine and temp gauge was normal. However, after I turned it off I had trouble getting it started again - it would not hold the 700 rpm idle until like the 4th try.

So my questions are:

1. What does it mean when it pushes up bubbles only while revving.

2. What could that have to do with starting issue. Maybe wet wires? The funnel fell over while I was burping and spilled coolant everywhere.

There was nothing leaking out the bottom while running - Not sure why the coolant leaked out at the mall. Any help is appreciated.
 
See less See more
#6 · (Edited)
Yes it could be the gasket but definitely try to find the source first. Like punctured hoses or lose clamps, bubbles constantly coming out the radiator when the cap is off is never a good thing. Also when you do rev up the engine and the bubbles come out im sure you see not bubbles alone but also smoke. Not normal smoke like heated steam but dark grayish similiar to your exhaust and that will seem alot more like a head gasket.

I run into this problem alot whenever I work on a wrecked vehicle and they leave their car running while all the coolant is spilling on the ground. The car overheats and boom their goes the engine. Ive also had coolant coming out the exhaust.

Once you finally get the car running for a bit and and you see the bubbles, turn off the car for awhile then the car wont start again, then slowing feels like the engine wont turn over at all as if your battery is dead but its not. The engine is locking up with coolant stuck in the pistons.

Dont wanna scare you but thats what ive experienced in the past, assuming you arent talking about normal coolant purging bubbles. >:D

I would definitely do a compression test.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks - I don't have time to work on it this weekend but I have an appointment on Tuesday to get the system tested for coolant leaks. Hopefully it is the radiator or a hose.
 
#9 ·
If they check out and the car head gasket is okay but still leaking alot of coolant from somewhere in the engine, it could be the coolant bypass hose is leaking. It's a hose underneath the intake and fuel rails. They tend to fail at high milage. Classic sign is when coolant/water is refilled, it comes out from the front and rear part of the engine block.

I replaced my 98 V6 when the previous owner sold it to me with known defect.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/1...214-1mzfe-coolant-leak-under-bypass-hose.html
 
#10 ·
#12 · (Edited)
I cancelled mechanic - I am ordering Toyota parts: the 3 new hoses, gaskets, thermostat, radiator cap, semi circle plugs, fuel rail gaskets, NGK plugs, wires, felpro valve cover gaskets, plenum gaskets and FI ring seals and I will do a leak down test on all 6 cylinders before I open the new parts.
 
#14 ·
I'm an idiot.

Ha ha so funniest thing - I skipped the whole pressure test deal convinced that it was the water bypass hose under the intake manifold. I removed the airbox, plenum, fuel rails, injectors, intake manifold, valve covers etc etc and took off the water bypass hose and noticed that it was intact. It was then that I glanced over at where the two coolant hoses attach to the temp gauge housing on the firewall and noticed that I had neglected to reattach one of the clamps last December when I moved stuff out of the way to replace the rear o2 sensor. :rofl2: :headbang: I had started to remove that hose in December and coolant started leaking out I quickly pushed it back on but did not push clamp back into position. My wife drove it on the first warm spring day here in Pittsburgh...

All is not lost - valve cover gaskets were leaking so I think subconsciously I was just looking for an excuse to spend 3 days in the garage. :thumbsup:
 
  • Like
Reactions: mcgowaw
#17 ·
Geez fuel injector o-rings are fragile - I thought I had lubricated them enough when I connected the fuel rail but cylinder #6 was spewing unleaded out the top of the FI.

Also I now know how important it is to attach the PCV. I thought my engine was toast. Once I connected it - purrrrrrrrrrr.
 
#18 ·
Yeah I did the same with my 3VZ rebuild, one of the fuel injector orings was squished, and after we started her up the first time I was thinking hmm, do you smell gasoline? :lol:

Fortunately it was on the front bank...
 
  • Like
Reactions: mcgowaw
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top