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Hi there,
I have a bit of an unusual query about my recently sold 1995 Toyota Lucida diesel automatic.
I would like to know from a professional what would be expected to happen if such a vehicle drove about 48km (From Dairy Flat down to Manurewa) in roughly 40 - 50 minutes, without a cap on the radiator.
This drive was made to drop the van to the buyer with no issues, however it is now being claimed that the vehicle was sold without the radiator cap.
The claim also includes the vehicle driving a further 92km (From Manurewa to Warkworth) before there were any potential signs that the cap was missing and the car broke down.
As I've never to my knowledge driven a vehicle without the cap on the radiator, I would just like to ask what would likely happen in these situations.
Sorry for the strangely specific question.
Thanks,
Ingrid

Hi there,
The eventual result of driving without the radiator cap is that the cooling system will lose its fluid and not be able to replenish this loss. So if driven for an extended period if time, the vehicle would run out of coolant and potentially overheat, and worse-case blow a head gasket or cause irreparable engine damage. The temperature gauge can only read the temperature of a liquid and not necessarily steam, so the gauge may not have even indicated an overheating vehicle until it's too late.

Hi Cade,
Thank you very much for your answer, that makes sense to me now.
Is there any way of saying how long it might take for that to happen?
Thank you,
Ingrid

Hi Ingrid,
Unfortunately I couldn't say exactly how long this could take- it's a bit of an unknown but I would imagine after the vehicle has reached operating temperature which is around 15 minutes.

Hi Cade,
Thank you very much, it was an odd query so I really appreciate the time and advice you've given.
Thanks,
Ingrid

No problem Ingrid.