Thanks for the Hiace repair videos. When I bought my 1999 hiace in 2017 it was overheating. I put in a new radiator from top, difficult fit. Also replaced thermostat. It turned out thermostat was cause of overheating, when tested old thermostat not opening to give enough flow. Also installed another (accurate) temparature gauge. The Hiace original temperature gauge slow to react, and needle hardly moves from centre position.
Any chance you can describe how you did your radiator replacement? I’m hoping to replace mine before the end of the year, in preparation to travel Australia next year.
Do a video when you replace the radiator. I purchased a cheap $98 radiator off eBay with plastic parts, still OK. Maybe I should have got better quality all aluminium radiator for $190.
Subject: Removing a Radiator from 1995 Hiace Custom 1KZ-TE, KZH106G Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:35 pm This model has the ¾ passenger seat with the fold down seat back. You know the one with the sad excuse for cup holders that you keep knocking over with your elbow! 1.Lift the engine cover (passenger seat) and secure in the normal fashion using the black strap located by the passenger seat belt. 2.We need to gain access to the driver side engine cover. Using a Philips screwdriver remove the driver side wheel arch trim. On mine there are three screws, and then you need to push the trim forward to unclip it from the two locking tabs. DO NOT try and pry it directly upwards as you risk breaking these tabs. 3.Remove the driver seat. Remove the 5 x M10 bolts holding down the seat. Three of these have rubber caps on them which you may have to pry off with a screwdriver. Remove the seatbelt warning light connector which you access by sliding the seat forward. This consists of a secure latch as well as the actual electrical connector. Use a screwdriver to GENTLY slide under the secure latch to remove it. Use the same technique for the electrical connector. You can now lift the seat out of the van. The carpet can now be pulled clear although you may have to remove the hand-brake cover if the carpet is trapped under it. This is held by two screws; simply slide it off the hand-brake. 4.Remove the driver engine cover. Unbolt the 7 off M10 bolts holding down the cover. Move this off to the side so you have clear access for the radiator to come out. You should not need to remove the hand-brake cable unless you want to remove the cover from the van. 5.Drain coolant from radiator and engine block. Use the drain cock on the bottom left of the radiator and the engine drain plug on the oil cooler. (Or use what ever method suits!) 6.Remove top radiator, return and reservoir hoses. Remove the two bolts holding down the power steering reservoir and move this off to the side to allow you access to remove the radiator reservoir. Undo the 1xM6 bolt which holds the reservoir in place. The bottom of the reservoir has a support spigot which locates in the fan shroud boss. Simply lift the reservoir out to remove it. 7.Remove viscous fan and shroud. The shroud actually consists of two pieces, a main body and a top ‘strip’ which comes off allowing you to remove the fan. Remove the 1xM6 bolt which holds the top shroud ‘strip’ piece (on drivers side). Unclip the ‘strip’ and remove. Undo the 4xM8 nuts (12mm spanner) connecting the fan to the pulley. There’s not much room here and the trick is to USE THE SPARE HAND TO PUSH DOWN ON THE ALTERNATOR BELTS which stops the pulley from moving while you undo the nuts. Use this technique as well for tightening the nuts on re-assembly. The fan can now easily be removed. Next, remove the main fan shroud body via the two M6 bolts at the top two corners. The shroud has location tabs at the bottom of the radiator and the shroud can now be removed by pulling it upwards to release the tabs. 8.Remove the radiator. Now that the shroud is gone, the bottom hose can now easily be removed by removing the spring clip. Now that we have all the obstructions out of the way the radiator is relatively easy to remove. It is held in place at the top by 1xM8 nut. This is located underneath the driver side engine cover seat latch. You may have to pull the carpet out of the way to get access. The bottom of the radiator is held by 2xM8 nuts. The passenger side nut can be accessed by getting underneath the van and the driver side accessed by reaching down from the engine bay. Hopefully these aren’t too corroded as the studs are mounted on rubber blocks which don’t like being subjected to too much torque. Take care with these and a dab of anti-seize compound on reassembly means the next time they come out will be easy! Carefully remove the radiator trying not to damage the fins! Take your time on this last step as you don’t want to taint your hard work so far by further damaging the radiator! 9.Reassembly is the reverse of above but outlined below: a.Put in radiator, bolt in place. b.Attach bottom hose to radiator. c.Attach main shroud to radiator. d.Attach viscous fan 4 nuts, REMEMBER; push down on alternator belts with free hand to stop pulley rotating when tightening nuts. Pulley can be rotated with the normal belt tension to access the nuts underneath. e.Attach top ‘strip’ shroud. f.Attach reservoir bottle. g.Attach top hoses. h.Attach power steering reservoir. i.Check everything is connected and then re-fill engine with fresh ‘long life’ coolant, 50/50 mix preferably with distilled water. j. Run engine, check for leaks and top up coolant as necessary.
Video of removing radiator from bottom, looks more difficult than removing from top. th-cam.com/video/OcDNYwLk47I/w-d-xo.html Sped up video of removing from top, similar but older model Hiace. th-cam.com/video/MsM-X6dRujo/w-d-xo.html
I did the main crankshaft seal today,, it can be done from the top without removing radiator,,, once i remove fan shroud and fan i had just enough foom to fit rattle gun and 19mm socket to remove harmonic balance,,, also no pully required, the harmonic balancer just slides right off 👍👍👍
My oĺ girl has just clocked over 621,000 k's,, it is the original engine in her and continues to run fine,,, i was advised to use a genuine Toyota Seal which cost me $29:95
Hi mate, thanks for your help with this, turns out my coolant leak is from the water pump. So I'm in South Australia looking for a new quality water pump. Any advice, recommendations? How would you rate this GMB one you have? Also, will I need to use gasket glue with the install of the new pump/gasket? Thanks for your help mate, I appreciate this a lot!
GMB is good quality, see if you can find a parts store stocking a truflo equivalent- they sometimes are a GMB pump in the box, at a cheaper price and can be warrantied with slightly less hassle. I’ve heard good things about the development of OEX pumps too, but no personal experience. I used a very thin layer of water pump suitable RTV gasket on each side of the supplied gasket as recommended to me by an experienced fella. No problems so far. Thanks for your comments!
Hi mate! I'm experiencing an odd coolant leak with my 2rz Hiace... which i think could be the water pump. This only happens when the van is started cold. After it warms up for a few minutes and temperatures get to around 30*C, it will start dripping coolant onto the floor.. It drips a fair bit of coolant rapidly, and then completely stops after the van warms up some more. If the van is already warm, and I start it again, the leak doesn't occur... Was this a symptom you experienced to lead you to the water pump being on it's way out? Thanks for creating this tutorial, I'd be stuck without it, thanks! My Hiace is a 1992, 2rz rzh103, 2.4l petrol (carbi), so pretty similar. Any advice would be amazing, thanks again mate! 480,000km, the leak is coming from the front of the engine, running down from behind the harmonic balancer.. It's real tricky to see if its coming from higher up like the water pump? It's just real odd that the stream of coolant stops as the car warms
Hey there, thanks for the comment! I wasn’t experiencing any issues with my van when I replaced the water pump, I replaced it as preventative maintenance in preparation for 12 months on the road next year. If your water pump is the original pump, I’d suggest it’s due for replacement regardless of where the leak is coming from, however from your description it certainly could be the cause. Potentially as the materials expand and contract the leak opens up, and seals off with further material expansion? Or alternatively, the coolant pressure changes as the thermostat moves from closed/open and influences the leak. If you’re unsure when the pump was last replaced, I’d probably do it anyway. Good luck!
@@The_Gap_Lap Thank you for the quick response mate, I appreciate that a lot! That certainly makes a lot of sense 😊. Good call, I'll get back to you with the result once I replace this water pump and hopefully issue fixed! I'd say it very well could be the original pump! Again, thank you for this video and the quick response, very much appreciated 🙂 btw, SO glad i don't have to remove the fan shroud or radiator! 😉
Thanks for the info man. 1998 Hi-Ace (2RZ-FE) overheated on the M4, enough for the grease on the engine to smoke and bellow into the cabin, and for the plastic stiffeners on the spark plug lead assemblies to completely melt into the spark plug wells. Did a full service, replaced all the hoses, thermostat and ECT sensor. Idled a bit low but was okay for a couple of months. Today it started to overheat again, but I was able to catch it early before it pegged the gauge. Zero coolant in the radiator despite topping it up in the morning - no visible leaks from any hoses, but as the engine gets up to temperature there's a very significant leak below the area near the fan fluid coupling - Could it be the water pump / gasket? Edit: The local spares place has it in stock for under $100 with gasket... Not exactly how I wanted to spend a weekend, but it might be worth doing anyway since it's passed 500,000km.
It definitely could be the pump leaking, especially if you can see the fluid is coming from there. Is the oil milky at all? I would be a little concerned about a crack in the head causing coolant to leak either into the cylinders, the exhaust, or straight out of the block. If you’re happy to give it a go yourself though, it would be worth swapping it out to at least cross it off the list. On another note, I am looking into an engine guard to hopefully help detect any overheating issues before they cause too much damage- might be of interest to you too? Thanks for leaving a comment, I appreciate it!
@@The_Gap_Lap Oil isn't Milky thank God! First thing I thought was head gasket or warped/cracked head... I really hope not, can't afford to both repair my car /and/ shop at Woolies these days. Guess we'll try the cheapest fix first eh? Might look into the engine guard, thanks for the suggestion!
@@The_Gap_Lap Took me a good 12 hours to complete this repair across two Sunday afternoons for my 98 Hi-Ace. 0/10 would not attempt again. You can't get the alternator belt off without first removing the power steering pump, it's easier to just leave it in. Couldn't get the AC compressor bracket back in without removing the drivers side tyre to align one of the bolts - Now I understand why there aren't many people detailing this repair, nobody wants to think about it ever again!
Great work getting your hands dirty! Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the power steering pump bracket doesn’t need to be removed- it does look that way though! I thought the same for a long time. The very bottom bolt on that bracket goes through the bracket, then a large spacer, then into the block. Rust/dirt/grease covers up the join and it looks like one piece, but with that one bolt removed, the spacer can be knocked out, and the belt manoeuvre through the gap! Absolute pain to reinstate the spacer and line it all up, but I have picked up a couple tricks to it. I’ll make a video next time I replace it. Does it seem that replacing the water pump has fixed your issues? I hope it has!
@@The_Gap_Lap Damn it! I honestly searched for information about changing that belt, and everyone said that the pump needs to come off! I've kept one in the van along with my tools and a jack just in case it breaks on me lol. Seems like it fixed the issue, drove ~100km to work and back and no bright green pool of coolant or overheating... Heater is warm but not scalding - Thanks for your help!
Hi - thanks for the video. I need to replace the viscous fan clutch on my Hiace Super Custom with a 2RZ-E - and most of the videos I've found so far are for the diesel version which seems to have much more room to get to it. Can I ask some advice? I'm hoping to do this without dismantling too much - ideally just taking the idler pulley and it's fan belt off - and not taking the alternator belt off. Do you think it will work like that? I'm probably going to have to remove the engine cover that is under the driver's seat - as I need to repair a broken sensor wire - so that may help with access. A couple more questions if that's cool? If I unbolt the viscous coupling from the water pump without removing tension from the alternator, do you think that may cause a problem with the strain on the now loose water pump pulley? Also, with unbolting the four nuts to do this, what did you find was the best way to get to all of them? Did you need to crank the engine around a little? Thanks
Hi @rzh101 , if I remember correctly you should be able to remove the power steering belt and its idler pulley with bracket, and just leave the alternator belt as is and unbolt the viscous hub from the water pump pulley assembly. I don't know for sure, because I had to remove it all anyway. Otherwise you could just release tension on the alternator belt enough to do the job too. Or lastly if the alternator belt does need to come off, there is no need to remove the entire power steering pump assembly to maneuver the belt off- there is a round spacer you will find at the bottom of the bracket, below the belt, a bolt goes through it. Once removed the belt will come off through this gap. I used a short 1/4 inch ratchet set for most of the work, no need to crank the motor.
@@The_Gap_Lap Thanks - another couple of questions if you don't mind... What's the best way to slacken off the alternator? Access is very restricted with the power steering pump in the way. The van isn't off the ground so access from below is quite limited too. I assume I need to break the main bolt holding the alternator to the engine mount - but from the diagram, it seems there is a bolt and nut. Did you find it easier to break from the bolt head end - or the nut end? Any tips welcome.
@@rzh101 after loosening the bolt which locks the tension on, I use either a very small 1/4 inch socket set or a short ratcheting ring spanner, all of this is from above the motor, no need to go underneath unless the belt needs to come off entirely. I don't typically undo the long bolt which the alternator pivots on, which I believe is the one you are referring to. If you do find it needs to be loosened off for the alternator to slacken off, I have previously used a combination of sockets on both bolt head and nut at the same time, from below the van. Access is not ideal!
Hi, i was wondering if you know will the radiator come out from the top,,, ive done a front main seal behind the harmonic balancer and im assuming the radiator ect ect will have to be removed to give me access to replace the main seal,,, t.i.a. simon
Hi Simon, I haven't replaced the radiator on my Hiace before, but I plan to do it before the end of the year in time for a 12 month trip. From what I have seen and heard so far, it only comes out from underneath. I've been wrong before though. The main piece of advice I remember being told about doing the radiator is to place some cardboard either side of the new radiator while installing to protect the cooling fins, as it needs to pass a number of things that could bend the fins during install. 'Oliver the mechanic' seems to have a video of the process if you haven't already seen it!
To add, while it would probably make the job easier once out, I think you could probably do that job without removing the radiator. As you can see in my video above, the fan and viscous hub can be separated and comes out the top which makes a fair bit of room.
Thanks for that,, yes i watched one clip of a guy doing it from the bottom and although he had a hoist (which i dont) it was still a mission,,, he had to disconnect the steering and move 5he rack back and also the front sway bar,,, in the comment thread a couple of guys said it could've been done from the top, ,, time will tell hey,, ill let you know how i go with it :-)
how did you get the last belt off/water pump belt, I'm struggling abit with it, I've lossen alternator tension bolt and bolt on side of tension bolt, and the alternator bottom through bolt. But it's still not come loose, cheers in advance for reply
Hi josh, once first two bolts you mentioned have been loosened the alternator should be able to be gently pushed toward the motor. Be careful to not exert too much force on it. The bolt which determines the belt tension, which runs parallel to the radiator, should be quite loose to allow the movement. To completely remove the belt, there is also a spacer which sits between the power steering pump bracket and the engine block. It is accessed from underneath the van and requires a bolt to be removed for the spacer to be removed.
@@shadewilliams9089 Sounds like there could be a few things going on here. Do you mean you replaced the head gasket? Generally these fail if the engine overheats, so there was possibly an overheating issue prior to the gasket being replaced, rather than as a result of the gasket being replaced. Difficult to diagnose over the internet, it could be due to a coolant leak and loosing too much coolant, a bad water pump, a stuck thermostat or a blocked radiator. I would try and determine if there are any noticeable leaks, flush the radiator (unless the new one has already been fitted), replace the thermostat, and if it is still overheating remove and assess the water pump. If those components (radiator, thermostat, water pump) are all fine and not leaking & it is still overheating, unfortunately the new gasket may have been damaged or fitted incorrectly, or there is a crack in your head. Is the oil milky?
@@The_Gap_Lap yes the moment I observe the high temperature gauge and the over heating I replaced the radiator to a new one the problem still persist then I changed the top gasket still the same I also bought radiator shroud to focus air probably that is the culprit for the over heating but still the same I've changed almost everything except the water pump and the oil is not milky
@@The_Gap_Lap my engine overheat and i went to the mechanic he told me to get a bigger radiator I did still the same,I also brought shroud still the same,I also changed the top gasket all to no avail we removed the water pump but the mechanic said the water pump blades are in good shape but I'm confused cos the over heating hasn't stoped
@@shadewilliams9089 The original radiator was designed to keep the engine cool enough for general operating conditions, so unless you are using your vehicle for extremely heavy towing or racing then going to a bigger radiator is not the answer to your overheating problem. Has your thermostat been replaced? Do you ever need to top up coolant? Was the block flushed when the radiator was replaced? It could also be your viscous hub- this is what the fan blades are connected to. I am not sure on the best way to test these, I would suggest searching for videos on how to test a viscous fan hub as it is probably something you can do for free or little cost. If this hub is not working properly it could cause your radiator fan to spin too slowly, and not allow the radiator to cool properly.
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Thanks for the Hiace repair videos. When I bought my 1999 hiace in 2017 it was overheating. I put in a new radiator from top, difficult fit. Also replaced thermostat. It turned out thermostat was cause of overheating, when tested old thermostat not opening to give enough flow. Also installed another (accurate) temparature gauge. The Hiace original temperature gauge slow to react, and needle hardly moves from centre position.
Any chance you can describe how you did your radiator replacement? I’m hoping to replace mine before the end of the year, in preparation to travel Australia next year.
Do a video when you replace the radiator. I purchased a cheap $98 radiator off eBay with plastic parts, still OK. Maybe I should have got better quality all aluminium radiator for $190.
Removing radiator instruction, I put a link but youtube deleted it, so will copy full instuction from Toyota Hiace Super Custom Owners Forum.
Subject: Removing a Radiator from 1995 Hiace Custom 1KZ-TE, KZH106G Tue Jun 10, 2008 9:35 pm
This model has the ¾ passenger seat with the fold down seat back. You know the one with the sad excuse for cup holders that you keep knocking over with your elbow!
1.Lift the engine cover (passenger seat) and secure in the normal fashion using the black strap located by the passenger seat belt.
2.We need to gain access to the driver side engine cover. Using a Philips screwdriver remove the driver side wheel arch trim. On mine there are three screws, and then you need to push the trim forward to unclip it from the two locking tabs. DO NOT try and pry it directly upwards as you risk breaking these tabs.
3.Remove the driver seat. Remove the 5 x M10 bolts holding down the seat. Three of these have rubber caps on them which you may have to pry off with a screwdriver. Remove the seatbelt warning light connector which you access by sliding the seat forward. This consists of a secure latch as well as the actual electrical connector. Use a screwdriver to GENTLY slide under the secure latch to remove it. Use the same technique for the electrical connector. You can now lift the seat out of the van. The carpet can now be pulled clear although you may have to remove the hand-brake cover if the carpet is trapped under it. This is held by two screws; simply slide it off the hand-brake.
4.Remove the driver engine cover. Unbolt the 7 off M10 bolts holding down the cover. Move this off to the side so you have clear access for the radiator to come out. You should not need to remove the hand-brake cable unless you want to remove the cover from the van.
5.Drain coolant from radiator and engine block. Use the drain cock on the bottom left of the radiator and the engine drain plug on the oil cooler. (Or use what ever method suits!)
6.Remove top radiator, return and reservoir hoses. Remove the two bolts holding down the power steering reservoir and move this off to the side to allow you access to remove the radiator reservoir. Undo the 1xM6 bolt which holds the reservoir in place. The bottom of the reservoir has a support spigot which locates in the fan shroud boss. Simply lift the reservoir out to remove it.
7.Remove viscous fan and shroud. The shroud actually consists of two pieces, a main body and a top ‘strip’ which comes off allowing you to remove the fan. Remove the 1xM6 bolt which holds the top shroud ‘strip’ piece (on drivers side). Unclip the ‘strip’ and remove. Undo the 4xM8 nuts (12mm spanner) connecting the fan to the pulley. There’s not much room here and the trick is to USE THE SPARE HAND TO PUSH DOWN ON THE ALTERNATOR BELTS which stops the pulley from moving while you undo the nuts. Use this technique as well for tightening the nuts on re-assembly. The fan can now easily be removed. Next, remove the main fan shroud body via the two M6 bolts at the top two corners. The shroud has location tabs at the bottom of the radiator and the shroud can now be removed by pulling it upwards to release the tabs.
8.Remove the radiator. Now that the shroud is gone, the bottom hose can now easily be removed by removing the spring clip. Now that we have all the obstructions out of the way the radiator is relatively easy to remove. It is held in place at the top by 1xM8 nut. This is located underneath the driver side engine cover seat latch. You may have to pull the carpet out of the way to get access. The bottom of the radiator is held by 2xM8 nuts. The passenger side nut can be accessed by getting underneath the van and the driver side accessed by reaching down from the engine bay. Hopefully these aren’t too corroded as the studs are mounted on rubber blocks which don’t like being subjected to too much torque. Take care with these and a dab of anti-seize compound on reassembly means the next time they come out will be easy! Carefully remove the radiator trying not to damage the fins! Take your time on this last step as you don’t want to taint your hard work so far by further damaging the radiator!
9.Reassembly is the reverse of above but outlined below:
a.Put in radiator, bolt in place.
b.Attach bottom hose to radiator.
c.Attach main shroud to radiator.
d.Attach viscous fan 4 nuts, REMEMBER; push down on alternator belts with free hand to stop pulley rotating when tightening nuts. Pulley can be rotated with the normal belt tension to access the nuts underneath.
e.Attach top ‘strip’ shroud.
f.Attach reservoir bottle.
g.Attach top hoses.
h.Attach power steering reservoir.
i.Check everything is connected and then re-fill engine with fresh ‘long life’ coolant, 50/50 mix preferably with distilled water.
j. Run engine, check for leaks and top up coolant as necessary.
Video of removing radiator from bottom, looks more difficult than removing from top. th-cam.com/video/OcDNYwLk47I/w-d-xo.html
Sped up video of removing from top, similar but older model Hiace. th-cam.com/video/MsM-X6dRujo/w-d-xo.html
I did the main crankshaft seal today,, it can be done from the top without removing radiator,,, once i remove fan shroud and fan i had just enough foom to fit rattle gun and 19mm socket to remove harmonic balance,,, also no pully required, the harmonic balancer just slides right off 👍👍👍
Wow, great job! That’s excellent to know too, my van has 328,000 kms on it so I’m sure it will need a new crankshaft seal sooner or later!
My oĺ girl has just clocked over 621,000 k's,, it is the original engine in her and continues to run fine,,, i was advised to use a genuine Toyota Seal which cost me $29:95
@@silowe1 I hope I can get a similar lifespan from my van's engine!
Hi mate, thanks for your help with this, turns out my coolant leak is from the water pump. So I'm in South Australia looking for a new quality water pump. Any advice, recommendations? How would you rate this GMB one you have? Also, will I need to use gasket glue with the install of the new pump/gasket? Thanks for your help mate, I appreciate this a lot!
GMB is good quality, see if you can find a parts store stocking a truflo equivalent- they sometimes are a GMB pump in the box, at a cheaper price and can be warrantied with slightly less hassle.
I’ve heard good things about the development of OEX pumps too, but no personal experience.
I used a very thin layer of water pump suitable RTV gasket on each side of the supplied gasket as recommended to me by an experienced fella. No problems so far.
Thanks for your comments!
@@The_Gap_Lap Thanks mate, I appreciate you taking the time to reply and help with this. Many thanks.
Hi mate! I'm experiencing an odd coolant leak with my 2rz Hiace... which i think could be the water pump. This only happens when the van is started cold. After it warms up for a few minutes and temperatures get to around 30*C, it will start dripping coolant onto the floor.. It drips a fair bit of coolant rapidly, and then completely stops after the van warms up some more. If the van is already warm, and I start it again, the leak doesn't occur... Was this a symptom you experienced to lead you to the water pump being on it's way out? Thanks for creating this tutorial, I'd be stuck without it, thanks! My Hiace is a 1992, 2rz rzh103, 2.4l petrol (carbi), so pretty similar. Any advice would be amazing, thanks again mate! 480,000km, the leak is coming from the front of the engine, running down from behind the harmonic balancer.. It's real tricky to see if its coming from higher up like the water pump? It's just real odd that the stream of coolant stops as the car warms
Hey there, thanks for the comment!
I wasn’t experiencing any issues with my van when I replaced the water pump, I replaced it as preventative maintenance in preparation for 12 months on the road next year. If your water pump is the original pump, I’d suggest it’s due for replacement regardless of where the leak is coming from, however from your description it certainly could be the cause.
Potentially as the materials expand and contract the leak opens up, and seals off with further material expansion? Or alternatively, the coolant pressure changes as the thermostat moves from closed/open and influences the leak. If you’re unsure when the pump was last replaced, I’d probably do it anyway.
Good luck!
@@The_Gap_Lap Thank you for the quick response mate, I appreciate that a lot! That certainly makes a lot of sense 😊. Good call, I'll get back to you with the result once I replace this water pump and hopefully issue fixed! I'd say it very well could be the original pump! Again, thank you for this video and the quick response, very much appreciated 🙂 btw, SO glad i don't have to remove the fan shroud or radiator! 😉
Thanks for the info man. 1998 Hi-Ace (2RZ-FE) overheated on the M4, enough for the grease on the engine to smoke and bellow into the cabin, and for the plastic stiffeners on the spark plug lead assemblies to completely melt into the spark plug wells. Did a full service, replaced all the hoses, thermostat and ECT sensor. Idled a bit low but was okay for a couple of months.
Today it started to overheat again, but I was able to catch it early before it pegged the gauge. Zero coolant in the radiator despite topping it up in the morning - no visible leaks from any hoses, but as the engine gets up to temperature there's a very significant leak below the area near the fan fluid coupling - Could it be the water pump / gasket?
Edit: The local spares place has it in stock for under $100 with gasket... Not exactly how I wanted to spend a weekend, but it might be worth doing anyway since it's passed 500,000km.
It definitely could be the pump leaking, especially if you can see the fluid is coming from there. Is the oil milky at all? I would be a little concerned about a crack in the head causing coolant to leak either into the cylinders, the exhaust, or straight out of the block. If you’re happy to give it a go yourself though, it would be worth swapping it out to at least cross it off the list.
On another note, I am looking into an engine guard to hopefully help detect any overheating issues before they cause too much damage- might be of interest to you too?
Thanks for leaving a comment, I appreciate it!
@@The_Gap_Lap Oil isn't Milky thank God! First thing I thought was head gasket or warped/cracked head... I really hope not, can't afford to both repair my car /and/ shop at Woolies these days. Guess we'll try the cheapest fix first eh? Might look into the engine guard, thanks for the suggestion!
@@The_Gap_Lap Took me a good 12 hours to complete this repair across two Sunday afternoons for my 98 Hi-Ace. 0/10 would not attempt again. You can't get the alternator belt off without first removing the power steering pump, it's easier to just leave it in. Couldn't get the AC compressor bracket back in without removing the drivers side tyre to align one of the bolts - Now I understand why there aren't many people detailing this repair, nobody wants to think about it ever again!
Great work getting your hands dirty! Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the power steering pump bracket doesn’t need to be removed- it does look that way though! I thought the same for a long time. The very bottom bolt on that bracket goes through the bracket, then a large spacer, then into the block. Rust/dirt/grease covers up the join and it looks like one piece, but with that one bolt removed, the spacer can be knocked out, and the belt manoeuvre through the gap! Absolute pain to reinstate the spacer and line it all up, but I have picked up a couple tricks to it. I’ll make a video next time I replace it.
Does it seem that replacing the water pump has fixed your issues? I hope it has!
@@The_Gap_Lap Damn it! I honestly searched for information about changing that belt, and everyone said that the pump needs to come off! I've kept one in the van along with my tools and a jack just in case it breaks on me lol. Seems like it fixed the issue, drove ~100km to work and back and no bright green pool of coolant or overheating... Heater is warm but not scalding - Thanks for your help!
Hi - thanks for the video. I need to replace the viscous fan clutch on my Hiace Super Custom with a 2RZ-E - and most of the videos I've found so far are for the diesel version which seems to have much more room to get to it. Can I ask some advice? I'm hoping to do this without dismantling too much - ideally just taking the idler pulley and it's fan belt off - and not taking the alternator belt off. Do you think it will work like that? I'm probably going to have to remove the engine cover that is under the driver's seat - as I need to repair a broken sensor wire - so that may help with access. A couple more questions if that's cool? If I unbolt the viscous coupling from the water pump without removing tension from the alternator, do you think that may cause a problem with the strain on the now loose water pump pulley? Also, with unbolting the four nuts to do this, what did you find was the best way to get to all of them? Did you need to crank the engine around a little? Thanks
Hi @rzh101 , if I remember correctly you should be able to remove the power steering belt and its idler pulley with bracket, and just leave the alternator belt as is and unbolt the viscous hub from the water pump pulley assembly. I don't know for sure, because I had to remove it all anyway. Otherwise you could just release tension on the alternator belt enough to do the job too. Or lastly if the alternator belt does need to come off, there is no need to remove the entire power steering pump assembly to maneuver the belt off- there is a round spacer you will find at the bottom of the bracket, below the belt, a bolt goes through it. Once removed the belt will come off through this gap.
I used a short 1/4 inch ratchet set for most of the work, no need to crank the motor.
@@The_Gap_Lap Thanks - another couple of questions if you don't mind... What's the best way to slacken off the alternator? Access is very restricted with the power steering pump in the way. The van isn't off the ground so access from below is quite limited too. I assume I need to break the main bolt holding the alternator to the engine mount - but from the diagram, it seems there is a bolt and nut. Did you find it easier to break from the bolt head end - or the nut end? Any tips welcome.
@@rzh101 after loosening the bolt which locks the tension on, I use either a very small 1/4 inch socket set or a short ratcheting ring spanner, all of this is from above the motor, no need to go underneath unless the belt needs to come off entirely. I don't typically undo the long bolt which the alternator pivots on, which I believe is the one you are referring to. If you do find it needs to be loosened off for the alternator to slacken off, I have previously used a combination of sockets on both bolt head and nut at the same time, from below the van. Access is not ideal!
Hi, i was wondering if you know will the radiator come out from the top,,, ive done a front main seal behind the harmonic balancer and im assuming the radiator ect ect will have to be removed to give me access to replace the main seal,,, t.i.a. simon
Hi Simon, I haven't replaced the radiator on my Hiace before, but I plan to do it before the end of the year in time for a 12 month trip. From what I have seen and heard so far, it only comes out from underneath. I've been wrong before though. The main piece of advice I remember being told about doing the radiator is to place some cardboard either side of the new radiator while installing to protect the cooling fins, as it needs to pass a number of things that could bend the fins during install. 'Oliver the mechanic' seems to have a video of the process if you haven't already seen it!
To add, while it would probably make the job easier once out, I think you could probably do that job without removing the radiator. As you can see in my video above, the fan and viscous hub can be separated and comes out the top which makes a fair bit of room.
Thanks for that,, yes i watched one clip of a guy doing it from the bottom and although he had a hoist (which i dont) it was still a mission,,, he had to disconnect the steering and move 5he rack back and also the front sway bar,,, in the comment thread a couple of guys said it could've been done from the top, ,, time will tell hey,, ill let you know how i go with it :-)
@@silowe1 Yes, please let me know! Good luck!
how did you get the last belt off/water pump belt, I'm struggling abit with it, I've lossen alternator tension bolt and bolt on side of tension bolt, and the alternator bottom through bolt. But it's still not come loose, cheers in advance for reply
Hi josh, once first two bolts you mentioned have been loosened the alternator should be able to be gently pushed toward the motor. Be careful to not exert too much force on it. The bolt which determines the belt tension, which runs parallel to the radiator, should be quite loose to allow the movement. To completely remove the belt, there is also a spacer which sits between the power steering pump bracket and the engine block. It is accessed from underneath the van and requires a bolt to be removed for the spacer to be removed.
Hi I'm having over heating problem with my engine after changing the top gasket and also bought new 3 cell radiator
@@shadewilliams9089 Sounds like there could be a few things going on here. Do you mean you replaced the head gasket? Generally these fail if the engine overheats, so there was possibly an overheating issue prior to the gasket being replaced, rather than as a result of the gasket being replaced. Difficult to diagnose over the internet, it could be due to a coolant leak and loosing too much coolant, a bad water pump, a stuck thermostat or a blocked radiator. I would try and determine if there are any noticeable leaks, flush the radiator (unless the new one has already been fitted), replace the thermostat, and if it is still overheating remove and assess the water pump. If those components (radiator, thermostat, water pump) are all fine and not leaking & it is still overheating, unfortunately the new gasket may have been damaged or fitted incorrectly, or there is a crack in your head. Is the oil milky?
@@The_Gap_Lap yes the moment I observe the high temperature gauge and the over heating I replaced the radiator to a new one the problem still persist then I changed the top gasket still the same I also bought radiator shroud to focus air probably that is the culprit for the over heating but still the same I've changed almost everything except the water pump and the oil is not milky
Hi Joshua. Did you end up getting that belt off? I have to do this job too.
Pls I need ur professional advice on what to do
Hey Shade- unfortunately I’m not a mechanic, I just fix my own things. I can certainly try and help you though, what’s your question?
@@The_Gap_Lap my engine overheat and i went to the mechanic he told me to get a bigger radiator I did still the same,I also brought shroud still the same,I also changed the top gasket all to no avail we removed the water pump but the mechanic said the water pump blades are in good shape but I'm confused cos the over heating hasn't stoped
@@shadewilliams9089 The original radiator was designed to keep the engine cool enough for general operating conditions, so unless you are using your vehicle for extremely heavy towing or racing then going to a bigger radiator is not the answer to your overheating problem. Has your thermostat been replaced? Do you ever need to top up coolant? Was the block flushed when the radiator was replaced? It could also be your viscous hub- this is what the fan blades are connected to. I am not sure on the best way to test these, I would suggest searching for videos on how to test a viscous fan hub as it is probably something you can do for free or little cost. If this hub is not working properly it could cause your radiator fan to spin too slowly, and not allow the radiator to cool properly.