PROBLEMS.

[thechori]

well, my car finally took a crap on my face
(LONG READ, VERY DETAILED, HATE MY LIFE (LOL), NEED YOUR HELP! :icon_surp )

i was driving one night, and noticed the temperature gauge rise to around 3/4's, so i pulled into whataburger and turned it off while i ordered and while i waited for the food. i let it sit in their parking lot for a good 20 minutes while i ate. turned the car on and drove home without it doing it again (drove really slow)

next night i go to drive it again (like an idiot), and the temp gauge soars just a little past the red line, i immediately pull over and turn the car off. at this point there is steam coming from the engine bay, so i left the car for 5 hours, came back and drove it home without it overheating (again the car was driven slow, and wasnt given time to overheat).

prior to this, the car had been eating coolant like crazy, smelling like coolant, and my friend commented on some white smoke that was coming from my exhaust. i was 95% sure the problem was a finally blown headgasket

but last night i finally got the head off, and to my surprise the headgasket was not blown, ANYWHERE. there were no smudge marks on any of the sections, they were all sealed properly..... but i notice there is discoloration on the back of the firewall and on the transmission housing (this made ALOT of sense, because sometimes the car would leak coolant, from that exact area)

it looked as though the coolant was sprayed onto the firewall, it wasn't leaked onto the firewall. i'm guessing this is where the car was steaming after the car had overheated, but WHY?

i was going to replace the thermostat that night but didn't have the new gasket (still don't, but i've got the new t-stat).

could a bad thermostat cause all of this? or could that hose that's allowing the leak be it? pretty sure it's not the radiator, and i just slapped a new radiator cap on.

OH, and the car had PLENTY of coolant in the overflow when this all happened.

(more things i remember the car doing prior to this)
-the car would steam after redlining, or revving high
-i did hear the waterfall noise (which is why i also thought BHG)

i'll add more as i remember

UPDATED WITH PICTURES BELOW!

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

Check the metal pipe that goes around the head to the drivers side . The heater hose goes into the top of the head at the rear, is it OK? If it's a NA there is a rubber cap header side that can split with age.

 

[Alex91Mk3]

if it was the thermostat, u wouldnt find an coolant by the firewall, cuz it would all get stuck in the radiator and reservoir... and u'd here it boiling...

furthermore, the thermostat i'm referring to is the spring..just in case ;]

 

[thechori]

Check the metal pipe that goes around the head to the drivers side . The heater hose goes into the top of the head at the rear, is it OK? If it's a NA there is a rubber cap header side that can split with age.

should i replace this part just to be safe? do you have any pictures of it? i haven't touched my car in like 2 weeks :\

 

[f00g00]

aj's right, its either the heater hose or the small plug, you can see the plug on the drivers side behind the head. That went bad on my car so I got a replacement and its been fine ever since. Replace the heater hose too while your at it.
That whole setup back there is for LHD and RHD cars, they just swap sides for the plug and heater hose between the two types of cars. Its a good idea but a real pain if you don't know its there and it blows.

 

[CRE]

If you've already got the head off I'd just replace all of the hoses and that cap in the back of the engine.

 

[thechori]

alright i appreciate the replies, are these the only things that could be causing this? i don't wanna put the car back together, and have it not be fixed.. even though taking the head off was supreme fun

 

[CRE]

No, there's always the possibility that there is more than one issue. First fix the leak.

 

[thechori]

alright i FINALLY got some pictures of the car.. here's the HG, only blown in one small spot, that might've caused some of the symptoms i was having, but it didn't look major

and this is how the car sits/has been sitting for 2 weeks..

here's the discoloration, looks to be surface rust from coolant spraying up there :\

was going to put a boost gauge where my cig lighter was, haven't decided to go through with it or not

and the only thing that makes my car worth having of course.. the rare wing w00t

i'm planning on replacing most of the coolant hoses and maybe the clamps for them (once i find out their part numbers), the t-stat, maybe that metal pipe that coolant runs around the block in that people have been talking about (still don't really know which one it is), flushing my radiator out, cleaning the mating surfaces and fitting a new HG with stock bolts, oh yeah and a new starter.. mine was already crapping out before the car overheated.. might as well get it done while it's exposed so beautifully. lol

if you guys see anything out of the ordinary please tell me, i'm not sure doing all of this will fix the overheating problem and i really need a running car soon :1zhelp:

 

[supramacist]

What's your plan for the block???

The head will look nice after you have it machined.
HKS stopper MHG.
ARP hardware.

 

[thechori]

What's your plan for the block???

The head will look nice after you have it machined.
HKS stopper MHG.
ARP hardware.

well i just wanted to throw this engine together to have a running car for awhile, hopefully i'll be dropping in my GTE soon

i was just going to clean it up a little and stick in a new crappy HG (like stock) to get it running for as cheap as possible.. so i can save the money to build up the turbo engine

 

[cuel]

Don't do it. Take the head to the machine shop, and at least have it milled. If not, you'll do it again real soon. Go to A.Z., or O'Reilly's, whatever, and get the Felpro kit. I think A.Z. or Excel also carries Roc, which is cheaper than the Felpro, just don't know about quality. Either way, the complete kit will have all the gaskets you need to get it done.

 

[johnathan1]

Looks like your head gasket was blown around the #5 & 6 cylinders...

And if you are going to go with a composite head gasket, make sure you use a genuine Toyota one...they are MUCH better than the crappy fel-pro gaskets, or most other gaskets for that matter.

Also, looks like there is a lot of rust in your cooling system, indicates that someone was running straight water, or just very little coolant/never changed it...I would get some red Toyota coolant and put it in there...as for the discoloration on the firewall...it look like your upper heater hose was leaking, either that, or the huge banjo fitting on the back of the head is erroded beyond repair and needs to be replaced...looks like it has been leaking for quite some time. I HAD to replace all of those hoses on my car, they had gotten to the point where they were leaking through the threads.

 

[cuel]

lol, the "crappy" Fel-pro will be just fine, and cheaper than the stealer. For what you want, this is the way to go. Just make sue you get the head milled so you don't do it twice....

BTW: I used Fel-pro gaskets when I did the h.g. on mine a couple years ago. Still holding fine, and I'm a firm believer in "drive it like you stole it." I've used Fel-pro gaskets in hundreds of vehicles, and haven't had any problems with them. A friend of mine has a race car shop, and he uses Fel-pro as well. They are a well proven gasket company, used in plenty of racing applications, as well as most privately owned shops, such as my own.

 

[thechori]

i appreciate all the feedback guys, i can't do anything to the car tonight with college already raping me (3 online quizzes due tonight by 11), but i'll be sure to get some stuff done tomorrow and update you all

oh and you guys keep suggesting that i mill the head,

is this REALLY necessary?? my friend has a 7MGTE and is pushing like 10lbs with a felpro HG i believe, all he did was clean the mating surfaces with some carb cleaner and a brush, slapped in some ARPs and now he's good

 

[cuel]

Yes, its necessary. Don't take the chance, and have to do it all over again. It's right around $40 to have it milled at most places around here (I live just outside Houston). Why not pay it for the peace of mind??? Your friend got lucky... for now.

 

[thechori]

Yes, its necessary. Don't take the chance, and have to do it all over again. It's right around $40 to have it milled at most places around here (I live just outside Houston). Why not pay it for the peace of mind??? Your friend got lucky... for now.

so i can get away with doing only the head, you're saying that only because the block would be too much trouble, right?

haha sorry, i'm super newb

but yeah now that you guys are telling me this, i will get the head milled, how much should i take off? the bare minimum that i can do, so i don't mess with the compression, correct?

:naughty:

 

[johnathan1]

lol, the "crappy" Fel-pro will be just fine, and cheaper than the stealer. For what you want, this is the way to go.

You get what you pay for...if you have ever looked at the two gaskets side by side, you would see what I mean. The Toyota gasket even 'feels' more substantial. I have also heard of the Fel-pro gaskets blowing a lot more than the stock Toyota gaskets... I used a toyota gasket on my car, and it has been fine for almost two years and up to 12psi (also a couple spikes to 15-16psi).

 

[cuel]

You shouldn't have to do the block, as you just want to use a stock type gasket. Your not looking to get another 100,00 outta the motor, but you don't want it to blow the h.g. again in a couple weeks, either.

Jonathan1- I never have looked at them side by side, and have no need. Chlori is just wanting to put it back together stock, not hose it with nos, or boost it; he's building a turbo motor to swap in later, and is looking for a CHEAP fix for the n/a.

Oh yeah, and I've actually SEEN fel-pro used in 1000+ hp. big blocks with out a problem. Built 400+ hp streetable sbc's with fel-pros, and haven't had any problems. It's not gonna matter what kind of gasket is used if the motor isn't maintained. You overheat it, the h.g. blows. This isn't hear-say, or what I heard, its what I do for a living.