Blown head gasket or just short driving?

The yellow in the oil cap is condensation from not bringing up the engine to temp enough, been there, done that. The low coolant is likely in the engine block, like I’ve mentioned before, all of our trucks will do this if the engine is started briefly and the turned off. Two problems have nothing to do with each other.

 

EXACTLY!

 

Well, then your observation, "That’s how low my coolant level is when I start the truck for a few seconds just to back it out of the garage or whatever..." is NOT TRUE then. OP's overflow reservoir is sucked bone-dry, and the level is not coming back...ever...without having coolant added to the radiator.

 

Interesting enough, that orange color I stuck a Q-Tip in, and found that it was just some sludge (like what was on the cap) resting on some hard surface. I couldn't actually see down into the regular engine oil because that crap was sitting in the way. I'm unfamiliar with the anatomy of this, so I wasn't sure if there is some kind of hard plate or valve there that orange crap is resting on, that prevents me from actually seeing down inside.

 

Weird how I knew that he only had his engine on for a short duration, he just confirmed it was on for 30 seconds prior to reading these levels. His “missing” coolant is not missing, it’s inside the block waiting to be returned to the overflow container once the truck gets warmed up.

 

My responses are completely genuine. If you have appreciable amounts of coolant in the bottom of your crankcase you can possibly wipe out your big end and crank bearings.

I'm not taking responsibility for that.

 

Yeah. Read my prior post.

He needs to at least top her off and get a baseline going in the coolant rez.

Depending on age of radiator and how long it ran below L on the rez he should probably replace radiator. These are things we do not know.

The problem with your advice is you say he doesn’t have a problem. His coolant fluid level should be (at minimum) above the L when cold. He may have gotten air in the system?

 

If he tops her off now, he’ll be oozing coolant once it gets warmed up. There’s a difference between “cold” coolant level check and turning on your engine for 30 seconds and checking the coolant. Please, go do this yourself with your truck and you’ll see.

 

Never seen an engine suck the fluid past its normal low point (when properly baselined). Now, I’ve see it expand at operation temp and then suck back down when cooling from operating temp. Still shouldn’t go below L.

30 seconds isn’t enough time to warm and expand for the dynamic expressed above.

Op report back on Grease Monkey Findings.

 

I have bud. 30 seconds and my fluid (regardless of make) never sucks backward when cold. At minimum it should NEVER go below L (hot or cold engine). Just trying to help.

Post up some Toy FSM on this regard on the Coolant Levels. I know what mine says.

 

I guess all I can hope is that the OP takes the advice of the guy who actually owns a 5.7.

 

You are misinformed. I have had enough cooling system problems to know better.

If enough coolant is lost out of the overflow (from evaporation or overheating) that the level gets below the pickup tube inside the reservoir, air will be pulled into the radiator instead of coolant when the engine cools. The radiator is then NOT completely filled. If coolant continues to be lost, the coolant level gets low enough ("inside the block") that the engine begins to overheat, then some coolant will finally get back to reservoir; i.e. by "boil over". Probably too late to understand how it works by then.

Once air gets into the cooling system, the vacuum created by engine cooling will no longer pull any coolant from the reservoir. If you don't maintain that reservoir level, you ARE going to get air inside the cooling system

 

Again, hopefully the OP takes the advice of those who actually own a 5.7. It was no coincidence I knew his engine was only on for a few seconds prior to checking coolant levels.

 

a compression test would tell you if you have a gasket issue, and its cheap to test.

 

Is that like staying in Holiday Inn Express last night? Cooling systems are cooling systems, basic principles of operation are the same regardless of engine size.

 

Well it sounds like i'm totally fine, or need a new truck. Haha. I understand though, it's tough not having hands on. Thanks for the replies so far. I dropped it off at the local place and will report back. They aren't a dealer or anything, but have a decent reputation. Hopefully they know enough to figure it out.

Edit to ask. I bought this truck new and was really hoping to keep it for as long as possible (atleast another 10 years). In the worst case scenario (Blown head gasket or whatever) is this something worth fixing on a 2012 with 105k miles on it?

 

OP, here’s a pic of my coolant level after turning my truck on so I can back it away from my garage wall to check the coolant level. I just took this pic a few minutes ago. If I were to leave it running for another few minutes, it would be near full. This is how the 5.7 operates, regardless of what others “think”.

 

Safest course. He'll probably change your oil, top off your coolant, and tell you to watch the coolant level. Unless business is slow, and he needs to do some blind wrenching. Ask him to catch the oil in a container to check for emulsion.

I understand @hagrid position, but oil emulsion, the combination of water and oil, typically floats on the oil surface. Any risk would have been minimal since the oil pump pickup tube is taking oil off the bottom of the pan. I believe there would also have been evidence on the dipstick if there was severe coolant leakage into the oil.

 

Interesting. Do you have fluid in the area where you can look by removing the radiator cap? As mine was pretty much empty there as well, as seen in my last photo on my original/first post. I just drove it down the street to the shop, about a 5 min drive. It was still this low, as seen in our photos, after dropping it off. So, i'm not sure how long I would have had to drive it for it to jump back up closer to full. Maybe 5 min wasn't enough still? Definitely learning a lot here!

 

Will do! When someone asked if the dipstick was shown with a cold or warm running engine, and I said cold, they told me not to drive it. The dipstick oil looks fine to me though. Was there something specific others saw on the dipstick that leads one to such caution, based on the engine being cold and the dipstick oil looking like that?

 

You have a problem, and you need to address it. You have violated no maintenance protocols by simply filling your overflow reservoir to "MIN" or "COOL" level when it's low like that.

If you are familiar with the 5.7L, then you are no doubt aware of what happens the first time a 5.7L or 4.6L UR engine overheats. One time, and you're done. New engine whether you wanted or not.

 

Lol. Okay dude with the 4.6.

 

If the shop does want to just top it off, without flushing it, is that OK? I just want to be prepared for when they call and know what to say. Thanks

 

Maybe that warm oil is less likely to hold any trace of emulsion on the dipstick (warm oil, engine just running), and cold oil is more likely to show emulsion trace?

Your dipstick looked completely normal to me. If there is any emulsion, you'll see it in the drained oil.

 

Lol. See your still wrong. Think elevation plays into that, doesn’t happen on my 2016 or 2018 5.7 after moving to lower elevation.

 

Follow their advice. Otherwise, you're paralyzed, and can do nothing for fear of something bad happening.

 

True. In regards to the engine overheating and needing a new engine. I've never seen any engine lights come on, and never noticed any temp gauges go beyond the midway point. Is it 'relatively' safe to assume my engine hasn't overheated then? Man this is sad because I am a major DIY guy. Gut my house down to studs etc, but always left the truck maintenance up the the dealer. As a result, i've learned nothing! I'm basically like a millenial of the automotive world haha.

I probably sound like one of those white glove type of guys. But not the case. Lesson learned here though

 

Drink three or more beers and post us in the morning.

Relax, you're fine. True overheating (once you're past the coolant loss stage) is obvious, even if fatal. If you can still start it, then nothing has happened.

 

How does a 5.7L Iforce engine suck all the coolant out of the overflow and almost drain the radiator in 30 seconds while it’s cold ? Coolant should only flow once the thermostat opens , that doesn’t happen until the engine warms up .
So Toyota has the thermostat open all the time ?
What’s the point in having a thermostat ?
Unless things have drastically changed over my 35 years of driving that’s not supposed to happen .

 

So what's the final advice here? I'm thinking I would top off the coolant, take it for a 20 minute drive down the highway (while closely watching the temperature gauge), and then pull over and check the coolant and the oil. It's been determined that short trips will cause that milky color in the oil but I've never seen mine get that bad. I would do this before I just stated replacing parts.