Probably diving into the engine coolant thermos soon

Apologies for the title. when I wrote it, I thought the valve was on the canister. Silly me. I have some photos now and I'll insert them after responding to Ed.

I don't think it was all that hard to get to itself, but there wasn't much room for getting a grip on the hose clamps with any of my pliers. With these blood thinners, it seems like I bruise from a stern look.

OK, photos and current status:

Here's how much I removed. It's hard to tell exactly in the black Toyota jugs, but I know I'm still well short of having put that much back in. I was only able to add maybe a cup this morning after driving it about 10 minutes yesterday with the heater on HI. Looks like about another quart to go. No codes after yesterday's drive.

After adding that little bit this morning and taking another 10-minute drive, the check engine light came back. A little before that, I heard a good belch from somewhere - sounded like probably the heater core since it was so loud. Checked it with techstream and got P1116, P1118, P1122, and P1150. So, when it cools down again, I think I should be able to add quite a bit more coolant this time.



Here's where it was before I drained it and the overflow tank was exactly at the bottom line, which is where it's been for months.


Exterior of the old valve.


Motor and gear mechanism. When I applied 12V to the motor, it all seemed to work. Todd told me that there can be gunk in the valve that hinders it. Could be. Time will tell.


Gears removed. That's the input shaft to the valve in the center. I was hoping to be able to get behind the cover, but it must be glued down solid. Won't budge. I was able to easily turn the valve shaft with an adjustable wrench, but couldn't turn it with my fingers, if that gives you an idea of the resistance. I did NOT try a comparison using the new one.


The shaft on this little potentiometer goes inside the valve input shaft, presumably to monitor the valve's position.


New valve in place and ready to go. This is looking down from about the hood latch toward the driver's side fender. Those two hose clamps were the biggest challenge probably due to their orientation and my plier selection. Edit to add: It went together WAY easier than it came apart.

So, now I know a lot more than I did a few days ago about this rather sophisticated valve. I just have to finish filling the radiator. I hope.

 

Thanks, but I've done inverter coolant a couple times. Not quite the same as engine coolant, though.

I checked all that before starting. Not leaking at all. No pink stuff anywhere. (Well it's kind of splattered all over now, but that's brand new. ) As you can see from the coolant level before I began, if it was leaking, someone was topping it off and not telling me. For sure not my wife. LOL! Yes, I bled it. And bled it. And bled it. Ran tubing from the bleed valve on top of the rad to the overflow tank. Hand got tired from all the hose squeezing. Pumping the hose seemed to pay the biggest dividends. I just did it again once it cooled off and got lots more bubbles. There were still a few occasional tiny bubbles at the end of this last bleed, but they were few and far between. I'm really close to having poured back as much as I took out. I just took a 20-minute drive with the heater on full blast again and no codes yet. I'll check the level again in the morning. I think I'm all done but the last few ounces.

I didn't think to look for that. But so far, it's looking like the valve really did need replacement.

 

Yup, those would have come in handy. I have a gift card for Amazon that would cover most of that. Good insurance against ever needing them. LOL!

Yup. That's what I did. It's just that they were really tight and there wasn't enough room to get in there.

That bleed valve is a real lifesaver! I wonder why yours doesn't have the bleed valve. It is hidden. There's a dark hole in the sheet metal above the radiator and you reach down there with a 6mm hex wrench. The nipple is also hidden under the sheet metal. And, yes, I was watching temperatures. Good reminder, though because I didn't mention it. Probably lots of stuff I didn't mention.

 

If it's the original radiator, I'd think it would be there.

As for mine, when I checked it cold this morning, the coolant was showing at the bottom of the filler neck at the elbow and the overflow tank was just below the top line. Tried to bleed it and could not get any bubbles at all. Topped it off and drove till the temps were up to about 153F with heater still on full blast. Glad I'm not doing this in the summer!!! Will check again this afternoon. I THINK I may be done other than regular checks for a while.

 

I did run the pump about a half dozen times early in the fill process. When I took it out the time before last, I got it up to 193 degrees. I think I'll do that again right now. It takes forever to get up to temperature in maintenance mode, soI just drive around the block as many times as it takes.

Thanks guys.