Hey Scotty,
Car: Auction bought rebuilt title 1997 Toyota Tacoma automatic 4x4 (160,387 miles).
My 1997 Toyota Tacoma hasn't had any issues overheating but I figured it would be best if I flushed the radiator since I don't know if it had ever been done before. The final straw was that at a recent oil change, my coolant reserve went bone dry just after a few days of driving it. From the radiator hose that goes into the front of the engine, white droplets covered my radiator, the front of my engine, and my air intake, like someone took a wet paintbrush and threw droplets all over the place, making a mess.
I read up on the process, the volume I was expected to drain and add, bought the special funnel to burp air out of the system, etc. Still no overheating, heat and air work great still. Gauges/dials show no issues with overheating. Head gasket test completed prior to starting the job, exhaust gases do not appear to enter the radiator.
Potential Problems:
Volume drained and added were less then spec (about 0.5 L less than expected, no more air burped from system after 20 min running).
White droplets appeared once again after driving the engine under normal conditions
Reserve coolant container empty after a week of driving, still no overheating.
Thinking I should replace my radiator hose, even though there are not any leaks. Any advice or inspection tips would be greatly appreciated!
Auction vehicles, particularly with rebuilt titles, are a real crap shoot. I hope you didn't pay too much for it.
You can use UV dye and/or a pressure test to help find the leak. Old deteriorating hoses should be replaced as a matter of standard procedure.
While head gasket leaks that push combustion gases into the coolant are probably the most common type, there are other places they can leak that the test won't detect.
