Losing water the water bottle keeps bubbling and looses a couple of pints a day. I top it up via pressure cap on engine,there appears to be no leaks and nothing in engine oil . This car is not a toyota landcruiser, it is a 1985 C reg. Toyota SpaceCruiser but could'nt find it on the model list.

Top it off while cap is off and it is idling. You will see little bubbles. At first just a few. Like a newly opened soda pop bottle. Over a few weeks more bubbles will be there.
This is a head gasket.
If there are no bubbles I'll be surprised. But if there are none then have your water pump looked at.
Do the bubble test first. And then you can feel lucky if it's the waterbounp. Do not do the water pump until you check for bubbles.

Sorry almost certainly your head Gasket, sound like a break between a cylinder and the water jacket - hence the bubbles.

check for loose hose clamps . expanded top hose ( over clips). faulty radiator cap, signs of corrosion at top or bottom of radiator. overheating engine remove radiator cap wqhen warn and completely fill run engine and watch for air bubbles in radiator Make sure that the radiator is sucking water back from the overflow bottle The little hose is good and the cap is allowing this to happen. check for leaks in the heater hoses anjd taps

check the water level in the bottle. If the radiator cap is faulty it will allow excess hot water into the bottle but on cooling down the water is supposed to be sucked back into the radiator. It gets to a point where low water in the radiator will not be pushed out and you get the impresion that you are loosing water If this area checks out the only other place is through the combustion chamber as steam indicating a head gasket or cracked head./ Check the radiator cap first and while you are at it with the engine hot fill the radiator right up and run the engine at idle. If you see air bubbles blowing out the water intermittently put your money on that is where the trouble is. hrad gasket or cracked head

1) Drain radiator by removing cap, and bottom radiator drain bung or bottom hose.
2) Remove top hose.
3) Disconnect the radiator fan's wiring and any temperature sensor wiring if fitted.
4) Remove radiator retaining clasps
5) Disconnect radiator bottom hose.
6) If fitted with an auto box, then remove automatic gearbox oil pipes (Underside)(you might wat to clasp these so they don't leak oil everywhere)
7) Remove radiator expansion bottle feed pipe from top of radiator.
8) Ease out the radiator. If the radiator fan is getting stuck or caught up, then drop the radiator back down and remove the fan first after disconnecting from the radiator body.
9) With new and old radiator placed side by side on a soft surface, change across any components from the old radiator, which didn't come with the new one. These may or may not include such things as: cap, fan retaining screws or clips, bottom radiator seating rubbers, rubber fan shrouding, temperature sensor, top and bottom rubber hoses.
10) Rebuild by reversing the above instructions. Apply silicone pipe sealant to top and bottom hose locations. Make sure you clean and/or replace any heavily corroded metal pipes which connect to the radiator. (Now is also a good opportunity to replace the thermostat to be on the safe side)

11) Fill system with a fresh 50/50 water/antifreeze mix, flush out and refill expansion bottle. Just before you refill the system, turn the interior heater setting up to maximum heat, but do not start the vehicle.
12) Top radiator up to max. Gently massage the top radiator hose to help eliminate air from the system.
13) Once filled, start the car. Pay attention to the temperature. Keep topping up the radiator as bubbles come around the system and the coolant level drops. At the point no more bubbles appear, close off the radiator with the cap. Allow the engine to reach normal operating temperature. If the weather is cold you may want to hold the engine at around 2,500 revolutions to help build heat faster. Keep it running until the radiator fan kicks in, then let it idle for a couple of minutes.
14) Stop the engine and let it cool.
15) Once cool, open the radiator cap and top up again if level is low.

16) Road-test the vehicle. After returning check again for any leaks.


Running the car for the first few days after radiator replacement, check the radiator level and expansion bottle level every day for the first two or three days. This level may drop slightly as any trapped air pockets are pushed out while running. Also, it is possible that any small leaks may begin after adding fresh anti-freeze to the system. If you begin loosing fluid over these first few days, then re-inspect your work and run a cooling system pressure test.

I agree with Mike, but suspect you already have a measuring device to know the pressure is excessive. You should get the cap checked first.

But additional pressure that keeps coming out of the radiator above the release limit of 14-18 lbs is probably due to escaped compression from the engine cylinders. You will see bubbles inside the radiator while the engine runs.

Sometimes you will get water in the cylinder after the engine sets under pressure, but not always. Your engine works at about 140psi in the cylinder more or less. The radiator at 14-18 psi. A leak in a head gasket may take more than 14-18 psi to leak. So the leak acts like a one-way valve shoving air into the cooling system. Since the cooling system loses pressure as it cools, the water may not flow back into the cylinders when the engine is not running.

This is sometimes indicated in a cylinder bleeddown test where high pressure is shoved into the cylinder. Bubbles may be observed in the radiator from escaping air. Otherwise a compression drop in a cylinder may as easily be due to bad rings.

I hope my solution is helpful.

If there is no sign of a leak you need to test for cylinder head leaks.
Warm up the engine and remove the radiator cap. Top up the water to the neck of the filler. Squeeze the top hose a couple of times to shift any air in the top tank of the radiator. Run the engine on idle and check for bubbles it the radiator, keep it topped up to the neck. Bubbles showing means you have a head gasket problem.

OK , even though it is hard to know without physically checking the car , but my guess is that possibly you have air in the radiator as first option. So what you need to do is open the temp gauge sensor (located in the back , top of the engine) and please make sure to open the lock and not to lose it as you will need it to tighten the sensor in its place. Open the water bottle and pour water in it and let the water come out from the back (the sensor) , you will see air bubbles coming out with the water , but keep on pouring water till you see no bubbles what so ever. put sensor back in its place while water bottle is full and while water is still coming out from the back to make sure that no air escapes inside with the water.You might need another person to help you pouring water while you are in the back. Start the car and let it warm up and let it run till it gets to 100 temp and watch how fast it comes back to 80 for couple of times , and while car running check the water bottle cap if its loosing any water. Let me know if you need more help Good luck

you need to replace the heater core and pressure text the radiator cap, replace if it leaks down go to a parts store to do this also you need to replace freeze plugs if you don't they will blow and ruin the engine,a slo check that the water pump is not bad, loosen the pump belt and see if you can wiggle the water pump with fan connected, if you have any play replace the water pump. and add new anti freeze.

Was the car using much coolant before you forgot to replace the coolant bottle cap?

The clinking noise you describe - that may be 'pinking'.. a noise caused by an incorrect air/fuel mix .. and also a symptom of a blown head gasket. Another symptom of a blown head gasket is white smoke (steam...) from the exhaust.

First, check your engine oil on the dipstick. If the oil is a creamy grey colour this indicates a blown head gasket. The creamy grey colour is caused by coolant finding its way into the oil system.

Fill up your coolant bottle with coolant. Leave the cap off, and start the engine and let it tick over for 10 minutes. As the engine warms up air will escape from the coolant level - keep topping up as necessary.

Keep your eye open for extreme bubbling in the coolant bottle - violent bubbling in the coolant bottle is caused by exhaust gases finding their way into the cooling system via a defective head gasket.

If there's no violent bubbling, replace the coolant bottle cap when the engine has ticked over for a few minutes..

... and then begin to look for leaks as the engine ticks over. Look under the car to see if there's any falling fluid. Check around the radiator and the hoses. Check that the coolant bottle itself isn't leaking.

You say your car isn't overheating - that's a positive. One symptom of a blown head gasket is overheating.

However, your coolant is going somewhere and you should try and find out where ... If it isn't a leak from somewhere, it may well be the head gasket.

Prices? To have a cylinder head gasket fixed costs around £500 - £1000 British pounds. A coolant bottle costs around £30 (look on Ebay)

If the head gasket is leaking/defective you can try a modern sealant/repair, which I am told are now quite good. Have a look on Ebay:

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