[blendergasket]

Hi, I have a 2006 Sienna.

I took a long drive a couple days ago and noticed steam coming from the engine towards the end. I kept an eye on the temp and right when I got in to town it shot up to the top. I stop-and-go'd to a safe parking lot and got a tow home. It seems I didn't notice the radiator cap was loose. I took it off a few weeks ago when trying to diagnose a low coolant level. I think the coolant was low at that point when a bubble came up from when I had the radiator replaced last spring, but I'm not 100% sure as I'm not great with working on cars.

My question is this: I got more coolant and put it into the reservoir, only to realize that it was already to the line in the resevoir so I now have too much coolant in the reservoir. However, the coolant was spilling out of the radiator cap and the engine was overheating, so I know there is coolant missing from somewhere. Can I just turn the van on and let the coolant go down into the engine from the reservoir? Will it get to the radiator also? Or do I need to fill up the radiator at the radiator cap? If so, how do I know when its full since the radiator cap is not actually on the radiator and won't let me see into it?

Thank you for any info you can help me with.

 

[Roader]

It's tricky. If the cooling system is in good shape then adding coolant to the overflow reservoir, driving the van and shutting it off over night, repeating the process for a week or two should allow coolant to get sucked back into the engine. The faster way is to use an offset funnel on the engine, let the van run, and add a bit of coolant at a time. This may take an hour or so to bleed all the air out. It helps if the front end of the van is higher, parked on an incline.

 

[blendergasket]

It's tricky. If the cooling system is in good shape then adding coolant to the overflow reservoir, driving the van and shutting it off over night, repeating the process for a week or two should allow coolant to get sucked back into the engine. The faster way is to use an offset funnel on the engine, let the van run, and add a bit of coolant at a time. This may take an hour or so to bleed all the air out. It helps if the front end of the van is higher, parked on an incline.

Thank you for the info! I will try adding it to the reservoir as it was getting quite hot when I drove it last.

 

[OnTheRoadAgain]

 

[blendergasket]

Thank you!

 

[Roader]

Keep in mind, your van has a 3MZ-FE so the engine coolant filler is in a different spot, closer to the firewall, than the 2GR-FE shown so you'll need an offset funnel.. Otherwise, exactly the same procedure.

 

[blendergasket]

Keep in mind, your van has a 3MZ-FE so the engine coolant filler is in a different spot, closer to the firewall, than the 2GR-FE shown so you'll need an offset funnel.. Otherwise, exactly the same procedure.

Ok,great, thank you. I've got it all filled up and have the reservoir emptied to the right level and I'm about to start burping it. I pray it was only the loose cap causing the problem.

 

[blendergasket]

Ok. I watched the video but per my manual (which I couldn't find when I posted this question) the 2006 doesn't have a bleeder valve, so I guess I'll just leave the cap off and let it run. Thanks again for all the help.