bridge4d

My wife got home tonight and said her car was smoking ('93 GS 160K miles). When I checked it out the smoke was moslty coming from the back of the engine (somewhere near the firewall) and there was a hissing sound coming from the top of the engine. I opened the oil cap and some smoke came out from there as well. When I turned the car on to check the temp gauge it was in the middle where it always is. Any ideas what's going on?

turbogs300

Your oil sender may be bad, check oil level on dipstick and coolant level as well, Look for leaking oil from sender or distributor running back also.

bridge4d

I'll check those out, thanks. Upon further inspection I noticed a strong coolant smell and I could see some coolant on some wires near the firewall. I also can see a "drip" coming from a location high on the firewall. I think that's responsible for the hiss I'm hearing. It's dripping out onto the back/top of the engine. Does coolant circulate to the back of the engine, high on the firewall? If so, what could be leaking?

turbogs300

Check heater hoses and throttlebody coolant hose as well. Then check waterpump for proper operation and engine temp sensor.

Kaiser

iTrader: (1)

Yes there is a coolant hose that goes into the top back of the engine. It's a PIA to get to in the car.

bridge4d

I drained some of the coolant out of the car in the hopes that it would tell me something. Are "blooms" of oil in coolant normal? I'm guessing no

Kaiser

iTrader: (1)

Blown head gasket. Sorry.

bridge4d

The coolant has a "reddish" tint to it, so I'm thinking it's transmission fluid and not engine oil. The engine oil is not milky either. I flushed the radiator about a year ago with green coolant, so I'm sure the reddish tint must be trans fluid. I refilled the radiator and let the car run a bit...no over heating and no smoke. What the heck is going on?

SuprRunner

Not possible to get trans fluid in there. More likely the reddish color is rust. Very common to see that in older cars. I have a friend that no matter how much he flushed his coolant, it always turned redish color because of his nasty old radiator.

bridge4d

I did think it might just be rusty water, but the green coolant and the red fluid form two seperate layers...one is water soluable and the other is not. I didn't think it possible either, but after speaking with 2 seperate toyota repair shops I was told that it was possble b/c the radiator also services the transmission (alldata refernces "Oil Cooler Pipes that run around the transmission). When I called to get an estimate on replacing the head gasket both shops said, "Are you sure it's the head gasket? That car has oil coolers for the transmission and it's not uncommon to get transmission fluid into the coolant." Evidently it's only ~$350 if that's the problem and over $1200 for head gasket.

Still doesn't explain the leak in the back of the engine compartment though...might be a concomitant condition.

SuprRunner

Oh yeah...forgot about that. Tranny cooler is built into the radiator...

Leaks in the back of the engine are pretty commone...especially in the 7M world(because they are older).

After time, the hoses back there get oiled..heated...and start to crack, especially the one near the exhaust. Might want to replace those, there is also a little one that goes to the TB...replace that one too.

turbogs300

See my ad in classified if you need a new radiator. I'd check the tranny out as well, make sure no water got in to it. The oil from the tranny could have caused a hose to swell and then leak or bust.

Vmoney

one time i had smoke coming out of thre same area, although it was because my pops never plugged the tube for the tranny oil closed so i had fluid dripping all near my firewall causing white smoke and smelling engine coolant. so it could be something to do with your tranny. hope that helped somewhat.

bridge4d

Took it to the local Toyota repair shop (small shop, owned by an individial). Turns out there was a small pin hole in a heater line near the firewall. Once the system came up to temp and pressurized it leaked coolant all over the back of the engine. New hose ordered from the local Lexus dealer and installed...$75, Thank GOD! If anyone's in the League City/Clear Lake area I definitly recommend "Bob's Toyota Repair" off of FM 518. He could have had me believing the problem was much more serious and run the price up.

Vmoney

talk about bad timing! the same thing happened to me today! i had to call a tow truck to get me home. smoke from the back of the engine in front of the fire wall it looks like it comes from the tube but more comes from the back of the engine in the top area.