head gasket problem?

peteleetzor

New member
recently the temperature has been going over the mid line randomly and fan will turn on. when I stopped the car and shut of, it would bubble a little and smoke from the overfill. it went away like after 2-3 times. I filled the radiator after.

fast forward 2 months *didn't drive*

now the temperature goes a little more then midline, fan turns on frequently and when I stop water vapor will steam from the overfill.
on the freeway just now, temperature went 3/4 way goes back to mid and just jumps around.

what should I do? I had new thermastat, water pump, new seals all put in like 4 months ago at the dealer.
 

yyonline

Member
Are you sure it's water vapor steaming from the overflow tank? Bubbles could also be trapped air in the cooling system or combustion gasses.

If it bubbles almost immediately after starting the car, you're looking at a blown head gasket or cracked block or head. The combustion gases under pressure are leaking out of the combustion chamber and into the coolant passages. Only way for that to happen is if there's a path from the combustion chamber to the coolant - which has to be a bad head gasket, or a crack. You can buy test kits to check if your coolant has been contaminated by combustion gases. Had this happen to my neighbor's Camry 5S-FE. Got ready to replace the head gasket, tore everything down only to find a cracked block.

Did the dealer use a genuine Toyota thermostat? Thermostats are one of the things I insist on buying genuine parts as I've read of a lot of issues with aftermarket thermostats. Obviously your fans are working. I'm assuming no external coolant leaks. How well did the dealer bleed air from the coolant? Trapped air will result in bubbles in the overflow as well, but you should notice the fluid level in the overflow decreasing over time as it expels air and sucks in fluid from the overflow. A bad radiator cap can also introduce air into the system. Be careful with replacement radiator caps - most genuine Toyota/Denso radiators use a shallow radiator cap, and some aftermarket replacement radiators use a deep radiator cap. I've seen dealer techs throw a genuine Toyota shallow depth radiator cap on an aftermarket radiator designed for a deep cap resulting in all sorts of weirdness.
 

toddy2

New member
Same happened to me. Started to heat. Up and down in temperature. Water came out of overfill tank. Changed radiator and thermostat. No help by changing parts. Result: blown HG.
 

Il_Barone

New member
I have the same problem.

After filling the radiator, when i use the car for about 1 or 2 hours, it bubble and smoke vapor from the overfill tank, and the temperature rises.

I've noticed a leak under the engine, under the oil turbo hose, but i can't understand where it starts leaking.

Are there tests, after eliminating the water leak, to do to exclude any problem with the head gasket?

Thanks!
 

celica_gtx

New member
underscore":12kivjdl said:
Hydrocarbon tests can be done to check for combustion gases in the coolant system.


doesnt always work...
i did that multiple times and had neg results every time with a blown HG.
would only get hydrocarbons under load conditions such as boosting. and my gaskets was blown in 2 spots.
 
A good way to test this is to do a compression test with the rad cap off. If the head gasket is blown between the combustion chamber and cooling jacket, it will push coolant out of the radiator fill.
 

peteleetzor

New member
I think is going to blow anytime soon. luckily spring break is next week.

I really want to wrench on the car, and throw my ct20b on as well. my question is

what part should I use for the head gasket? and should I rebuild my head once I take it out? also any tips and things to look out for?

car is 93 alltrac
 

celica_gtx

New member
Fallow TM. Measure your head or take it to a machine shop. Most will measure it for free. And do what they recommend. I would definitely buy a top end kit and replace seals and gaskets while your in there
 

Il_Barone

New member
Well, i found the problem... i have a crack in the engine block :bangshead: :bangshead: :bangshead:

It's just above the water pump.

I have to find another block, and it will not be an economic job (a good block,gaskets kit, rings, bearings ecc)

I can't understand one thing: how an engine block can crack in this way??? How???
My car it's all original, no tuning, no races, ordinary maintenance always performed...... :cry: :cry: :cry:

In these days i'll post some pics.

I'm going to sleep with tears in my eyes...goodnight

Daniele.
 

Awesome-Trac

New member
Il_Barone":pp38kklk said:
Well, i found the problem... i have a crack in the engine block :bangshead: :bangshead: :bangshead:

It's just above the water pump.

I have to find another block, and it will not be an economic job (a good block,gaskets kit, rings, bearings ecc)

I can't understand one thing: how an engine block can crack in this way??? How???
My car it's all original, no tuning, no races, ordinary maintenance always performed...... :cry: :cry: :cry:

In these days i'll post some pics.

I'm going to sleep with tears in my eyes...goodnight




Daniele.

Think of it this way, if you weren't the first owner to purchase the car then the damage could have been done by previous owners before you. There's a chance the the motor could have gotten extremely hot due to lack of cooling and fail
 

alltracman78

Active member
Il_Barone":1tct6pc7 said:
Well, i found the problem... i have a crack in the engine block :bangshead: :bangshead: :bangshead:

It's just above the water pump.

I have to find another block, and it will not be an economic job (a good block,gaskets kit, rings, bearings ecc)

I can't understand one thing: how an engine block can crack in this way??? How???
My car it's all original, no tuning, no races, ordinary maintenance always performed...... :cry: :cry: :cry:

In these days i'll post some pics.

I'm going to sleep with tears in my eyes...goodnight

Daniele.

This is a documented problem with our engines. The casting is too weak [thin] at that corner.
 

peteleetzor

New member
yikes that sucks to find a cracked block.

Well I flushed the radiator, all normal color, took a look at my OEM 20+ year old cap and literally is a metal cap with nothing else in there. :oops: Got a replacement cap and the car temp is nice and stable.

sad thing is my turbo seals is going....all that spool and no power....so greatttt, summer here I come.
 

Il_Barone

New member
alltracman78":39v5v7tt said:
Il_Barone":39v5v7tt said:
Well, i found the problem... i have a crack in the engine block :bangshead: :bangshead: :bangshead:

It's just above the water pump.

I have to find another block, and it will not be an economic job (a good block,gaskets kit, rings, bearings ecc)

I can't understand one thing: how an engine block can crack in this way??? How???
My car it's all original, no tuning, no races, ordinary maintenance always performed...... :cry: :cry: :cry:

In these days i'll post some pics.

I'm going to sleep with tears in my eyes...goodnight

Daniele.

This is a documented problem with our engines. The casting is too weak [thin] at that corner.
I was looking around here in the forum and....yes...it's a known problem... :cry:
 
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