Radiator Woes....

[Draven]

7L? pitiful. I think the 2j-gte takes 9+!

[Alchemist]

Well reaching my hand under there the tap wasn't exactly tight, I've tightened it up as much as I could and emptied out my containter, we'll see what tomorrow brings....hopefully nothing

[Expeditious]

I'm betting it is indeed the O-ring as-well or it's come lose some how They tend not to seal right once they are opened and shut again no matter how tight you tighten the dam screw up, the rubber must perish over time from heat etc.

[Toobs]

plumbers tape will make no difference if the o-ring is the sealing surface... btw....

saddens me to see people using plumbers gas tape on a hydrogen bottle reg when it has a metal-metal seal

Amazingly plumbers tape does work... just put the plumbers tape over the already stuffed o-ring and then screw it in.
We did this to the pimpmobile (the original AE71 not the crown or RA28) and it worked fine... AFAIK it's still on there.

Obviously this should only be considered a temporary fix until you find yourself a new o-ring or tap.... unless the car is from the Shit-tin performance racing team of death like the pimpmobile was.

[cressida_1jz]

If u wanna do it properly,

1.Undo the bottom hose on the radiator and catch all your coolant.

2.Wait till it all drains out and take that drain plug out.

3.Get a rag and dry out the coolant in the drain hole.

4.Wipe the drail plug dry around the o-ring and put some Loctite
MAX Black Silicon on.

5.Make sure drain hole is dry and screw the drain plug back on.

6.DONT UNDO THE DRAIN PLUG AGAIN.

I have heaps of people come into work that undo the drain plug so they can change
there coolant,but try not to as the o-ring shrinks as soon as it dries up.

And aftermarket o-rings dont work and Toyota dont sell them.

[JustCallMeOrlando]

And aftermarket o-rings dont work and Toyota dont sell them.

Yes they do work. Hell, my o-ring came off an injector, and it works perfectly. I haven't leaked a drop since.

[cressida_1jz]

Yes they do work. Hell, my o-ring came off an injector, and it works perfectly. I haven't leaked a drop since.

Well u mite be lucky but trust me,thats the way to do them.

Works all the time garanteed.

[oldcorollas]

Amazingly plumbers tape does work... just put the plumbers tape over the already stuffed o-ring and then screw it in.
We did this to the pimpmobile (the original AE71 not the crown or RA28) and it worked fine... AFAIK it's still on there.

Obviously this should only be considered a temporary fix until you find yourself a new o-ring or tap.... unless the car is from the Shit-tin performance racing team of death like the pimpmobile was.

ahh, i was thinking of it on the threads....

i wasn't quite thinking shit-tin performance racing team of death WST type mods


toyota don't make their O-rings. they buy them from someone else

some o-rings may not work because they are the wrong rubber diameter.
measure the inner diameter of the groove, measure the outer diameter of the hole, factor in a bit of stretch to fit onto the inner diameter, and some squish to provide pressure on both surfaces and thats the size you need to buy


personally, i like to change all o-rings from nitrile (black) to Viton or Silicon or better, so they don't harden due to exposure to temps... a viton might cost $1-2 whereas a nitrile might cost 20c, but the length of life (never look at again) and better preformance (doesn't shrink or get hard from heat) is worth it.

[Draven]

I'm sure you could take the tap to pirtek/other reputable fitting dealer and get an o-ring to suit. (even one of Stu's fandangled ones).
I find this tangent on the o-rings very useful, as my o-ring has just spend 3 days getting dried out, so I guess I should be changing that as well

ah well. when you have a nightmare that your car was stolen, put up on blocks and had the engine dropped out and taken, waking up to a car that doesn't work suddenly seems ok

[oldcorollas]

LOL

you can get the fandangled ones from any decent bearing supplier..
i used to get mine (for uni) from hoopers bearings at mascot (near gardeners road)...

ahh, Kalrez was the other i was thinking of...

here is some info..
http://www.pspglobal.com/
although, the first two pics.... (a guy looking like he's from "Bad Taste" mixing chemicals... and a picture of a space shuttle.. which blew up cos of an o-ring.....) don't exactly inspire confidence

how they work (in basic words )
http://www.usseal.com/orings/oring_function_2.html

materials used for o-rings
http://www.allorings.com/material_selection.htm

[Alchemist]

I was lucky, a very tight turn of the tap seems to have sealed it for now, time will tell how long for, but next coolant change I'll be chaning the O-Ring.

Thanks for all who helped, I honestly thought the problem was a little bigger than it was, have had some bad luck with Rads and thermos in my TA23 in the past that's all.