Any other possibility other than headgasket

[TR3-2001SE]

I guess I have tried everything to salvage my toyota cressida and at the end of the road. It overheats with no sign of fluid in the oil. The radiator is about 2 years old and seems to be in good shape. The water pump is about 1 year old and pumps water fine. I have replaced the thermostat as well as removed it completely to no avail. I have replaced the radiator cap. I have run heavy duty cleaner through it. I have tried blockseal exactly as directed with no luck.
I have checked the radiator hoses for a calapsed hose and thats not happening. Have I missed anything? Thanks.

 

[eljefino]

steam in exhaust? Losing oil internally/externally? Exhaust in rad overflow bottle with the car running? Even compression across cylinders? Can you add air through a spark plug hole and have it hiss through the water jacket to the overflow tank? Any spark plugs look steam cleaned?

 

[ediamiam]

You say it overheats. Where are you getting the symptons from? Are you going just by the gauge in your instrument panel?

 

[TR3-2001SE]

Loosing very little water like a pint in two weeks. It hardly overheats at idle but given any rpm it overheats. Both gauge and system indicate overheated condition, gauge is definitely working.
It appears the exaust gas is heating the water but very little water going back the other way and being lost. No steam in exhaust. No oil lost.
No exhaust in radiator overflow bottle. Haven't done any compession checks.
It is a great car for quick trips in town.

[ October 26, 2004, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: TR3-2001SE ]

 

[427Z06]

Seen a car overheat like that with a plugged converter. Was fine when it idled, but as soon as you drove it, it would overheat.

 

[ediamiam]

Is the cooling system of a type where you have to open up a valve to release any air trapped in the system? Definitely not loosing coolant because of loose clamps on the hoses?

 

[TR3-2001SE]

Thanks for that possibility 427Z06
Cat is original in 260,000 miles so it is a possiblity. I wonder how I could test out this theory? If it where blocked I would think I would see very little exhaust comming out the tail pipe. Seems to have a normal exhaust at the tail pipe. I will check it out later today.

[ October 27, 2004, 12:03 PM: Message edited by: TR3-2001SE ]

 

[drifter420]

can always tap your cat with a hammer and see if you can hear anything lose in there.. one thing is get someone to floor it.. if it smells like rotten eggs.. I believe thats the cat gone.. but if it's clogged that bad.. I dont' know.. easier way is also do an emission test it will tell you. I would get that changed out ASAP cause if it's the cat and you keep driving like that it will burn out your exhaust valve. And that gets costly to fix. IMO

 

[Gary Allan]

quote:

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Of course the proper way is to do a backpressure test. A pressure gauge is inserted in place of the O2 sensor and readings are taken at various RPMs. The mfg will specify the acceptable pressure range. I don't think that visually judging the amount of exhaust coming out will tell you anything.

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I found another slick way of doing this using a vacuum gauge. Your vacuum, with no load, should be pretty much the same as it is at idle. If you see a decent or sudden drop in vacuum @ 2500 rpm ..your cat is plugged.

Anyway ..if your cat is plugged you should have troubles going above a certain rpm/mph.


btw- you didn't mention the fan. Is this a mechanical or electric (both maybe)??? Fan clutch ..etc. ???

They do make a fluid that will detect combustion gasses in the coolant.

 

[c502cid]

How's it running when you drive it? I'll take an internet guess here and say it sounds like timing to me.

 

[Spector]

Incorrect water pump installed? I had that happen once, overheated for no reason. Pump was not pusjing enough coolant

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by c502cid:
...I'll take an internet guess here...

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Nice choice of words. My virtual troubleshooting skills have never been one of my strengths.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by Gary Allan:

quote:

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btw- you didn't mention the fan. Is this a mechanical or electric (both maybe)??? Fan clutch ..etc. ???

---

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Another good possibility. If it's a 7GME engine like mine, the clutch fan eventually gives up the ghost.

 

[Matt_S]

Disconnect the pipe at the first possible place in front of the converter. It'll be very noisy, but hopefully the cops won't give you any trouble for the few minutes it would take to test the car. Of course the proper way is to do a backpressure test. A pressure gauge is inserted in place of the O2 sensor and readings are taken at various RPMs. The mfg will specify the acceptable pressure range. I don't think that visually judging the amount of exhaust coming out will tell you anything.

 

[FowVay]

I once worked on a old 2nd generation Supra that had the 5M-GE engine and it had a cracked head near the back of the engine at the exhaust cam tower location. It had the typical symptoms of a leaking head gasket though and was easy to spot once the head was removed.

You are actually using quite a bit of coolant if you're adding a pint every other week. I know it's a pain in the butt but I think it's time to roll up your sleeves and take the head off and fix the gasket.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

Well the cat does appear to be clogged. I plan to disconnect it for a quick test to see if it really is the problem. If so a new cat will be installed. It idled this morning for 1 hour without overheating not that this proves much. Very little exhaust pressure at the tail pipe. I will report back next week with test results. I don't believe it is the timming as it runs great and timming has not been touched for quite awhile. The clutch fan could be bad. How do I test for this? It is pulling air great at idle, what is suppose to happen at speed? Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[427Z06]

I just read what FowVay wrote and then went back and reread your original post. Add that to my experience with my 7GME in my Supra and the fact that I'm in the middle of replacing the head gasket myself, and FowVay just might be right.

In a perfect world, you could get a "converter test pipe" to test the plugged cat theory and to avoid poisoning your new cat if the head gasket is truly leaking. A "block test kit" would remove all doubts.

Here's some info:

http://www.arrowheadradiator.com/head_gasket_or_combustion_leak_test.htm

Best of luck to you.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

Looks like it is the headgasket or cracked head/block. Time for the car to be retired. 260,000 miles an't bad. Honda Accord will be the replacement. Thanks for everyones help!