New Member In Need Of Advice!

[nickvvti]

Hi everybody, glad to be here. Just looking for some help. I bought a used 2000 X-reg Celica VVTI last week with 70,000 miles on the clock. After test driving it etc all checked out so i drove away the same day.

The first day driving it, the engine temp kept flashing on HOT and there was no warm air coming from the fans in the dash, just ice cold air. So I called up my mechanic friend and he came down and basically said theres an air lock/trapped air in the hoses because the radiator is brand spanking new (probably been changed in its M.O.T) and they havnt bled it properly. So he basically massaged the air out to get to the point and kept topping it up with coolant in the process and low and behold I got warm air coming from my blowers. However a day later today its back to square one again, I pulled over last night because my engine was overheating and no hot air coming out. I lifted the bonnet to find the coolant in the resevoir hadnt gone down so its basically not drinking it.

He's coming back tomorrow but he asked me to try and find out if anyone could tell me where the nipples are to bleed the radiator as he couldnt find them the other day so does anyone know? And if anyone could give me any more tips to make the job easier id really appreciate it! :)

PS, he fitted a brand new thermostat just to be safe so that cant be the issue.

PPS, If anyone could point me in the direction of a printable guide to bleeding air out properly for the Celica VVTI that would be a big help.

[nickvvti]

UPDATE.... So my mechanic friend has just left, managed to get it hot when revving the engine hard and we could see air bubbles escaping from the small bleed nipple on the coolant tank however, when the revs drop and the car is idling the air in the car goes cold again. He jacked the front end up, massaged the hoses, reved it, kept topping up the coolant, still no avail and im still blody freezing when driving! I dunno what to do!

[fazzer]

If you look on the underside of the bonnet there is clear instructions on how to fill coolant system,basically you need to get the expansion tank as high as poss and run with the cap and the thing next to it(dont know whats it called) removed.any probs give us a shout.

[nickvvti]

UPDATE...

So I've just been called by the the garage who I asked to look at the problem and they said that after doing a pressure test on it and bleeding the air out of the cooling system the car is still doing the same thing. He said he took it for a test run and the the air coming from the vents inside turned cold again pretty quickly and the temperature gauge started flashing hot again.

He said theres a circulation problem and the next thing theyre gonna do is look at the water pump. Can anyone else shed any light on what the problem could be?

[sjrainsford]

I'd have said if it wasn't air in the system then the next thing to look at would have been the water pump. I do believe they can actually be a bit dodgy on these, so it would be worth changing.

[nickvvti]

Got another call today and apparently the water pump seems fine too. The engineers are baffled now! Anything else you can think of?

[nickvvti]

Any takers on anything else it could possibly be? In a nutshell the garage have bled it and got it nice and warm inside but after a short while it turns cold and the temp gauge goes crazy again, do you guys think it could actually be letting air back in to the system somehow? thats all I can think of!

[nickvvti]

Just been called by the garage. Bad news. Theyve been in touch with toyota about how to test the head gasket properly apparently. Something about leaving water in the bores overnight or something then if the next day it mis-fires then its gone. He's talking to me now about pricing up a new engine! Does this make sense to anyone?

Like I said its under warranty and hes getting in touch with the warranty company as I speak but even if they do cover all costs is there an upside or downside to this?

Upset is not the word, only bought it last week :(

[xEla]

nickvvti

when i bought mine it was drinking oil.

garage change the engine under waranty (£1200 for refurbished one)

i'm more than happy - practically i've got new car ;)

done 20K since tho =)

[nickvvti]

Well the garage quoted me £2500 for engine replacement and labour. My warranty only covers £1000 so Ive been in touch with the dealer I bought the car from and theyve arranged to pick it up on a lorry tomorrow (I live in Hull and the dealer I got it from is in Manchester) and take it back. If they cant repair it or if its gonna cost them too much then the manager said over the phone he will refund my £3000 I paid for the car.

I hope they stick to this because I dont want a big lawsuit on my hands :(

[xEla]

nickvvti

can't you ask for refurbished engine rather than new?

£2500 sounds like new one.. :o

£1000 should be enough

[nickvvti]

Ive just gotta wait til they pick it up tomorrow and look at it on thursday then the manager of the dealership is gonna call me and update me on what theyre gonna do. Obviously they'll be looking to keep the cost down so yeah they'll most likely go for a refurbed one in my opinion but im not sure until he calls me after receiving the car.

If he does turn around and says "we will be fitting a refurbed engine" are there any particular questions I should be asking?

[xEla]

well..

in my experience - they didn't change timing belt and didn't check water pump.

i asked fazzer (member here, professional at engines) about downsides of having refurbished engine, he told me that once oil rings are changed - the engine is then considered as new...

as your car is pre-face-lift, i would ask whether oil rings were changed due to known manufacturer fault...

[Scarlett Arrow]

My advice is not to allow a refurbished Engine to be fitted, chances are this will be another pre face lift Engine. A full refund is what I'd be pressing for..then go out and buy a face lift model and have some confidence in your Engine!

[nickvvti]

A refund would be nice but its a hell of a lot harder to get (from reading around). The dealer basically said they will only issue a refund if the repair bill isnt "economically viable" meaning if its gonna cost £2500 to fix and i bought the car for £3000 then theyve only made £500 so its less hassle to gimme my money back.

Im not really fussed either way, if I get my car back with a decent engine and in good working order without paying a penny then great (coz I havnt really got time to shop around for another as ive just started a new job) but if I get a refund then I guess i'll have to make time. I do know that if the latter being the case though, ill be taking a mechanic with me to inspect it thoroughly this time.

I think ive got a lot of grounds for my complaint as basically its taken a team of PROFFESSIONAL mechanics 5 days to dignose the fault so what could 'little old me' have spotted in a 30 minute test drive lol