2007 Highlander overheating in headlight area

632 Views 20 Replies 5 Participants Last post by LargeDuck, 16 d ago

Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · 19 d ago

Just picked up a 2007 Higlander 2wd, 4 cylinders. Doesn't look like it was maintained very well. Runs very well, almost so silent I'm not sure it's running.

Dashboard gauge is not showing the engine overheating, but I can smell water/coolant after a 20 mile drive.

Can also feel significant heat on the hood just behind the left headlight (facing the car) after a drive. The hose from the radiator to the overfill reservoir is loose. The liquid in the in reservoir looks clear so I'm not sure how much coolant is even in the car.

I need this for a medium mileage delivery job that I start in 8 days. I have $500 to spend on getting the car ready.

I've never done a drain and fill for engine coolant but believe I am capable. Just not sure what the best thing to do is since I might not have time to assess the car in full in those 8 days. Paying someone to change the coolant would be fine; would rather not pay someone a ridiculous price to change the hose. I'm assuming that part is easy but I've never done it.

If anyone can recommend the best course of action I would greatly appreciate it.

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #3 · 19 d ago

Thanks for the quick reply. This video was my first search hit and is very good.

My problem is I don't know the service history. Is there a way to know if the correct amount of coolant is in the vehicle? The liquid in the reservoir looks almost clear which makes me think the previous owner just put water in the reservoir as a stopgap to servicing the car.

If I was confident in that, I would just drain and fill and replace the exact amount that was removed.

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #5 · 19 d ago

sdspeed said:
You can handle that job!
This should help.

Ok, I see now. Watched the video again and see what was obvious. Thanks!

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #6 · 19 d ago

HL4EVR said:
If the liquid is clear it is probably just water. The preferred coolant is Toyota Super Long Life pink. However if you are cash strapped there are some Asian pink coolants that are supposed to be equivalent can use. My two recommendations if you go that way:
1). Completely flush out what you have in the car. When doing the final fill use distilled water if the coolant is not premixed.
2). Change the coolant about every 30 months or 30,000 miles.

HOWEVER, unfortunately using water as coolant is a bad sign. These engines are known for pulling out head bolts. Do a combustion gas check or a radiator bubble check for a head gasket leak before you put more money into it. You should be able to find instructions on YouTube

By complete flush I'm assuming you mean more than just what this video shows, which is just a radiator drain and fill correct?

My current plan is

1. Replace the radiator -> reservoir hose.
2. Drain the reservoir
3. Drain and fill per video (open up the petcock, fill using a coolant funnel (with Toyotal LL pink) (also make sure to use distilled water)
4. Perform the tests you have recommended.

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #10 · 19 d ago

HL4EVR said:
And make sure that the overflow reservoir cap has the hose that goes to the bottom of the tank still attached. Otherwise you will end up with an air pocket.

You may also want to follow this thread:

Just joined the forum - looking for thoughts on 2AZFE...

Hello everyone, I have a 2006 Highlander 2.4L with 119,000 miles on it. Runs great. It appears to have a good oil leak right under the exhaust manifold on the front. Valve cover and area above manifold is spotless. My mechanic used a camera/scope and agreed with me that it is a head gasket leak...

www.toyotanation.com

Just to be clear for us layman, there should be a hose that extends from this cap to the bottom of the reservoir.

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #14 · 19 d ago

NameofUser said:
Distilled water is ONLY when using concentrated coolant! Concentrated coolant, that is compatible for Toyotas, will be hard/impossible to find.

Few Toyota parts department will carry concentrated RED coolant. Only this RED coolant would you add distilled water.

All Toyota Pink coolant is SLLC (Super Long Lasting Coolant) and is pre-diluted. You do NOT add distilled water to the pink/SLLC.

Thanks for clarifying! I did write that in a confusing way.

I will also add that the pink stuff comes in a yellow cap and, more recently a pink cap per the parts guy I spoke with earlier.

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Pocket Kingz

Discussion Starter · #18 · 18 d ago

HL4EVR said:
I want to emphasize that with the tube missing, the reservoir level will not show how much coolant is in the engine. You must verify that the radiator is full by removing the cap when the engine is cold.
I also want to explain that if the coolant level is too low, and is below the temperature sending unit, the engine could be overheating even if the gauge reads a low or normal temperature!

I don’t know if you can take this car back, but I would try. It sounds to me like someone who knew what they are doing tried to hide a major defect and flip the car. I could be wrong, but Nothing I have heard so far is good.

I was desperate and the car was given to me. I made some assumptions I should not have.

Thank you for your help and I will update this post when I have new info.

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