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Rav 4 gasket problem.... still going almost five years on!


Ravtastic81
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I have a 2007 2.2D4D Rav 4. It had a bit of a melt down in February 2018, overheating on the way back from an hour long journey. Pulled over, coolant was steaming, let it cool down, topped it up and proceed the remaining 20 mins home. Took it to the garage at the time, told them the symptoms, they suggested an issue with thermostat, gave it a quick check over, and said all ok.  


I carried on driving it around, without any more issues, until the November, I noticed that the cabin blowers weren't heating up, and someone suggested that due to lack of coolant and was a symptom of a head gasket problem, I topped it up and the hot air worked again - so I took it to the garage to check the gasket.... They did a sniff test which was positive. Cue lots of sucking air through teeth, and they came up with a quote for almost £2000 just to remove the head and get it pressure checked and possibly resurfaced, mentioning that the cost to completely repair would be in the £3-4k region. Well I only paid £4500 for it, so decided to just keep it running as long as I could, and when I asked how long they thought it would last, they simply said, well it's a Toyota, it's not about to go bang any time soon! So I've continued to drive it, topping up the coolant every few weeks (as this is pressurising and being forced out) and only driving it locally (no more than 15 -20 miles). 

4.5 years on and it's still going!!! It's been into the garage for a few minor mechanical / MOT related repairs, ball joints, suspension etc and each time, I've asked about what can be done to address the gasket issue, should I have it serviced etc and each time, they've told me its not worth bothering because of the cost.  In topping up the coolant fairly regularly, I've noticed the tank is really dirty (Carbon deposits?) so it's difficult to see how much is in there, so I'm punching in the dark somewhat.

Aside from the temperature gauge occasionally going skyward, it runs smoothly, with no other performance issues until just before Christmas;  the cabin heater stopped working again, and topping up the coolant hasn't made a difference. Then this week I was on a longer journey than usual and the temp gauge went skywards, then started bouncing around all over the place, just as I was reaching my destination the dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree and it was flashing between check engine, check VSC, check 4x4. I let it cool down for about 2 hours before my return journey at a steady pace (below 60 all the way) and the temp gauge behaved itself all the way home. 

I've booked it to the garage next week, and hope to get some answers, but meanwhile I thought it worth asking here for any advice on how I can prolong the life of this obviously dying engine and what questions to ask the mechanic.

Is there any way of getting the air heater to work despite the gasket issue - any chance this could just be related to a thermostat problem? 
Is it worth having a service? 
Should I ask to have the coolant flushed and refilled? 

All constructive feedback welcome!! 

 

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It's a shame that you are having this trouble Ravtastic, and I don't have sufficient knowledge to offer mechanical advice I'm afraid.

But from what you say it does sound as though that engine is near the end of its life, and if so, then repairs and or rebuild would indeed exceed the value of the car by some margin.

How about selling it on declaring all faults to someone needing a cheap temporary runabout? And putting potential repair costs towards a replacement car, while it still has some sale value,it won't have any if it's a non runner at all.

May not be a suitable solution for you, but it's all I can think of.

You don't mention the mileage of your rav or how long that you have owned it, but if you have had good service until 2018 and then still running for 4 more years, maybe it's time to think about saying goodbye.

 

 

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I suspect my 1cd-ftv Avensis is going this way. But the heater has been down for about three years now, around 20k miles. Aside from the lack of heating and the constant oil leaks the car seems fine.

246k on the car. I bought it in 2017 and have put around 60k on it myself.

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Hi Elle,

I saw this product mentioned by another member here going back some time ago now and there was a link to a youtube video which seemed to be positive. Can't find the actual post though but did manage to find the video on  youtube.

You may think it's worth giving it a try as it's inexpensive compared with the costs you've been quoted for a proper repair. There are a lot of positive remarks from people who subsequently tried this stuff. By the way I've never used this myself.

 

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Have found the topic/post during which Steel Seal was mentioned Elle.

 

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2 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

It's a shame that you are having this trouble Ravtastic, and I don't have sufficient knowledge to offer mechanical advice I'm afraid.

But from what you say it does sound as though that engine is near the end of its life, and if so, then repairs and or rebuild would indeed exceed the value of the car by some margin.

How about selling it on declaring all faults to someone needing a cheap temporary runabout? And putting potential repair costs towards a replacement car, while it still has some sale value,it won't have any if it's a non runner at all.

May not be a suitable solution for you, but it's all I can think of.

You don't mention the mileage of your rav or how long that you have owned it, but if you have had good service until 2018 and then still running for 4 more years, maybe it's time to think about saying goodbye.

 

 

Thanks for your reply. Selling it before it completely kinks out is definitely an option! 
 

I’ve had it since 2016 and it’s got 145k on the clock. 

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32 minutes ago, DerekHa said:

Hi Elle,

I saw this product mentioned by another member here going back some time ago now and there was a link to a youtube video which seemed to be positive. Can't find the actual post though but did manage to find the video on  youtube.

You may think it's worth giving it a try as it's inexpensive compared with the costs you've been quoted for a proper repair. There are a lot of positive remarks from people who subsequently tried this stuff. By the way I've never used this myself.

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I forgot to mention, we did put some k-seal in about a year ago. Maybe that has help keep it going. 

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