Coolant level and abnormal heat

[RHYSF00]

So i noticed my car was getting hotter alot quicker on my way to work. Outside about 11 degrees. Not much hill. I normally can leave estate with cold engine amd needle moves up past 1st line when i turn into works road. However i got to top of estate and car was warm. The car wasn't used for over 2 hrs before the drive to work. It stayed at op temperature but i felt this is not normal. 

 

I checked coolant at 9:30am today. Znd coolant appears to be below half meaning a suspected leak but no signs of leak. No milky oil. No cystles. Did a float yest. Had t floaters. Which is 1 befor it useless. I am gonna grab some preston anti freeze in wilko if any stock

[oldcodger]

Hard to say in a one off event partic as its suddenly 10 -15c warmer than the pevious cold weather.

How long since you last checked the water level ? 

Might be best to top up to the mark and see  if it goes down over the next few days / weeks, though it will go down a few mm when the weather gets colder.

Have had very small leaks from the radiator and thermostat housing but they can be very difficult to spot, also check the weep hole on the water pump.

[RHYSF00]

50 minutes ago, oldcodger said:

Hard to say in a one off event partic as its suddenly 10 -15c warmer than the pevious cold weather.

How long since you last checked the water level ? 

Might be best to top up to the mark and see  if it goes down over the next few days / weeks, though it will go down a few mm when the weather gets colder.

Have had very small leaks from the radiator and thermostat housing but they can be very difficult to spot, also check the weep hole on the water pump.

Checked this morning wont be able to check or full till Friday. Hot 1lite ready mixed coolant in case. The pump os bottom right

[RHYSF00]

On 1/6/2023 at 5:24 PM, ganthercage said:

what coolant do you use ?

Dont know how to answer this as i not one a coolant service yet

[RHYSF00]

On 1/6/2023 at 5:24 PM, ganthercage said:

what coolant do you use ?

so i just checked my garage invoice and it does say coolant topped up but doesn't list what brand was used.
when i renew the coolant im gonna use expro brand 

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, RHYSF00 said:

so i just checked my garage invoice and it does say coolant topped up but doesn't list what brand was used.
when i renew the coolant im gonna use expro brand 

Have you found  where the coolant goes? 
Sometimes coolant can leak from the pump but only when engine is running with minimal or almost no signs of leaks until the pump goes burst and you loose all the coolant on the road. What coolant is in should not affect how the system work and cause issues with heating etc but it is important to be within the specs of the car to maintain proper operating conditions for longer time. Some coolant may not be suitable for your engine. Toyota sells ready mix coolant on eBay and they are not too expensive, perhaps for your car will be red coolant. If it’s me I will text and replace thermostat, test the pump and when make sure all is ok will replace the coolant with Toyota original ready mixed. 👍

[RHYSF00]

35 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Have you found the where the coolant goes? 
Sometimes coolant can leak from the pump but only when engine is running with minimal or almost no signs of leaks until the pump goes burst and you loose all the coolant on the road. What coolant is in should not affect how the system work and cause issues with heating etc but it is important to be within the specs of the car to maintain proper operating conditions for longer time. Some coolant may not be suitable for your engine. Toyota sells ready mix coolant on eBay and they are not too expensive, perhaps for your car will be red coolant. If it’s me I will text and replace thermostat, test the pump and when make sure all is ok will replace the coolant with Toyota original ready mixed. 👍

Just checked pump. No leaks. No leaks with engine running.  

[TonyHSD]

15 minutes ago, RHYSF00 said:

Just checked pump. No leaks. No leaks with engine running.  

Thanks, that’s good. 

[RHYSF00]

21 minutes ago, TonyHSD said:

Thanks, that’s good. 

Yeah not sure what the heck going on

[TonyHSD]

1 hour ago, RHYSF00 said:

Yeah not sure what the heck going on

If you are still loosing coolant it might be good to run a cooling system pressure check for possible head gasket problems but before that first and most important is to check thermostat and eventually replace it.
Thermostat if stuck closed will make the system run only on the smaller cycle and no coolant will go through the radiator.
Other check will be for air locked into the system. 
Another idea to look for coolant leaking into combustion chamber is to remove all spark plugs and look at them and try to look into the cylinders, if the car burns coolant the top of the pistons will be clean and light brown-pinkish coloured. If dark means it’s ok. Cars over 10-15 years old are prone to  have a thermostat failure and any signs of cooling system malfunction may also mean it is time for a new thermostat. You can test it and if ok then no need to replace. Before you drain your coolant system if you do by yourself make sure the heating sets are set at highest and fan speed at lowest, this before draining and after filling up with new coolant. 👍

[oldcodger]

Still think its more likely to be a small leak from the Radiator,  but they can be very difficult to spot because the Air Con Condenser ( like a radiator) is in front for it.

It is possible to carefully  tilt the radiator back a little and see the front of it where there might be some crusty white or dark redish areas. 

Same with the thermostat housing, ours also leaked very slowly, but you cannot see without an illimated inspection mirror or from under the car.

Just depends if thats something you can or want to do  ?  if not get the garage to inspect it properly and if needed a pressure test, though you can even buy them for about £49 these days.