My last bit of denial before the HG Job.

[DonS1mpson]

Right, about a week ago I bought a car that was advertised as having overheating problems – The thermostat had apparently failed and when it was allegedly replaced, the car would over heat even the radiator was filled to the brim with coolant. I went to look at the car, saw masses of mayo on the oil filler cap and thought it was the Head Gasket at fault, although after foolishly buying it (It was rust free, cheap and local), I’m beginning to question if the head gasket really has gone due to the car missing a few of the tell tale signs of a blown head gasket that I’ve picked up over the years

– There is no smoke on start up
- I haven’t seen any puddles of coolant under the car, even when it ‘over heated’ (the temp gauge went upto 3/4, and we pulled over straight away, topped up the rad which we didn’t check before leaving, let it sit for 10 mins and drove the remaining 7 miles where it behaved itself perfectly, and this was in stop/start London traffic)
- No contestation behind the dashboard

Other than the mayo, the overheating (Other than bringing it home, the car hasn’t had any usage so don’t know how bad the problem is) and a misfire (which could be fuel related as she’s running on fumes), there is nothing to point to a HG.

Could this be a matter of air being in the system? Could I be a lucky bastard, burp the cooling system, flush the fluids and stick in some proper coolant (the previous owners ran it just on tap water!) and have a running car again?

Let me know what you guys think

Thanks

Josh

 

[MK-111]

No (you couldn`t be a lucky bastard)

quote[The owner says that she's been running the car for a while with the over heating problem. I do have a feeling that water is mixing with the oil as the stuff on the dipstick was pretty watery.]quote


quote[Hilarious drive back with mum, we got on a B road and she opened the car up a little while I noticed that the temp gauge was rising faster than the Tac-Needle]quote

quote[Err, the engine was probably a goner long before it came under my ownership - It had been used almost daily with these problems. Since buying it, it's made the 10 mile journey back home with us stopping to top up the rad after it went to 3/4 the way up on the temp gauge.]quote

now do like you have been told previously, and pull the head off and take a look

 

[supra_man87]

i guess it wouldn;t hurt to change out your system. do i really good oil change, like fluch it out and stuff. i've used engine flush at autozone before, and it didn;t harm my car or anything. i heard diesel fuel does the same thing.
but get all that crap out of there. next change the thermostat and properly flush the cooling system. burp the system, drive it and see what happens. if problem persists, my money is on a hg.
the only thing i can think of as to why there would be that white residue under that cap is water mixing with oil. which we all know is hg.

 

[CRE]

If it's been kept in that kind of shape for as long as you say the head gasket is the LEAST of your worries. Plan on pulling it and checking out the bottom end very thoroughly.

A leaking head gasket just meas that there's a leak. It doesn't specify where it has to go. A leaking HG could just vent exhaust gases into the coolant or oil (acidic = BAD). It could leak coolant into the oil or into the combustion chamber. It could leak oil into the combustion chamber (although I don't think I've ever seen that on a 7M).


MK-111 to quote someone you write it like this: [ QUOTE = their name] the quote here [ /QUOTE ] without the spaces. Which gives you:

the quote here

 

[benchwarmer]

The cooling system is pretty straight forward. If the radiator, thermostat, and waterpump are in good condition, the car should run fine without overheating. If it is overheating, and you own a MKIII, it's time to check the headgasket. Gunk on the underside of your oil cap is a good indicator of BHG.

saw masses of mayo on the oil filler cap

This can also translate into: knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

 

[jgcable]

Its most certainaly a BHG. You are just in denial.

 

[suprarx7nut]

Ask yourself how mayo could NOT constitute a BHG.

Coolant and oil are mixing. You know this. The previous owner knew it. On top of that, it overheats.

You, my friend, have got a classic BHG whether it smokes on start up or not.

 

[MK-111]

so there you go Josh, the symptoms mean the same over here, as they do at home,
So you have 2 choices, fix the engine you have, or replace it.
you would be better off fixing the one you have, you will learn a lot more in the process, and if you get stuck there are plenty of people willing to help out

 

[626na]

sorry for the thread jack but i think i might of got a bhg and i now need a smog to get my tags august. I wanted to know what i should do since i cant past smog "bhg" and my car is parked in the street.

 

[CyFi6]

well it sounds like you drove your car home, and in doing so you overheated it and you drove it with a crapload of water in the crankcase....

If the advertiser knows its overheating, chances are his dumb-ass overheated it several times into and over the red zone. I would be thoroughly checking this out before you do any repairs, its classic to change a head gasket and then be hit with rod knock.. Not to mention your head could be beyond repair

 

[suprabad]

Quit guessing and get a block kit from napa.

But yeah, it's obviously a head gasket or/and cracked head.

 

[cuel]

I agree with the others that the head gasket is a problem for you, but it is quite possible that you have(or will have) bottom end problems as well. I'd pull the motor, have everything checked by a competent machine shop, and freshen it up. I'd have the short block and head built separately, so I could ensure the head was torqued to the specs. we use now(72 ft. lbs), and not the book(58 or so?), and assemble and install it myself. I have no idea if that would be feasible for you, though...

 

[buckshotglass]

Do a compression and leak down test.

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Buy the sounds of it the motor has been over-heated several times, and with the evidence of white foam, I wouldn't hesitate rebuilding the motor completely. It's just a matter of time before you're going to have some major problems.

As Cuel suggested, tear it down, have a shop check everything, plan on replacing the bearings, as they probably have been ruined, plan on a complete rebuild, just hope the head is still OK.

 

[DonS1mpson]

Thanks for that guys, not really what I wanted to hear, but it's the confirmation that I needed.

I guess I better get pricing up a replacement engine/rebuild

 

[tlo86]

if it hasnt been changed before it needs to be regardless. i have a 7mge block in my garage that overheated once or twice as its only sign of a BHG and the motor was completely blown melting pistons 2 3 and 4

 

[webbs7mgte]

my rule of thumb for all of the mk3s ive had when i get it first thing is a hg job lol cus of the good ole trust 7m when it comes down the line the 7m is basically just a 5m with minor modifications over the years lol good ole 7ms....theres a reason toyota started putting out jz motors lol but hey if done right dont get me wrong that 7m is great motor i woudl do the hg right away tho depending on if you want to build hte car to be fast or jsut a good street car run a metal hg obviously and apr studs but like i bleive it was cre said check that crankcase make sure the bearings and thrust washers and everything is good cus like they said a hg might be the least of your problems mk3 supra owners often dont know what their car has wrong cus a lot of hte times its been bought by a old person feeling cool and than sell it to the younger generation