Avensis T25 2.2 D4D Head gasket

[Cheskus]

Hello 2023,

First and foremost - I'd like to apologize for my bad grammar as english is not my native tongue and also sounding like a broken record - my problem is well known among Avensis owners

I have 200k miles on my Toyota Avensis, it was brought to my country from Finland and a few months ago I noticed a small leakage from my coolant container cap which in time started to become worse. No signs of over-heating. Brought it first to our local mechanic and then to an official Toyota service, both of them reffered to the same problem:

• Head gasket

 

I do understand there are a lot of risks involving second hand cars, nonetheless, I am quite unexperienced with maintaining my own vehicle and I hope some of you could offer me a grain of wisdom about what should be done better and what to avoid doing in this situation:

1. Toyota's local service center is advising a full engine swap. I am aware that the vehicle is over 15 years old (2008.10 year/month of manufacture) so basically I can forget about any warranty or forth-coming from their side. And buying a used 2.2 engine would give me no guarantee that I don't grab on the same problem that I had before. In my mind this is porbably the most expensive option and the one that I'd like to avoid. (approx. 2x the value of the car - 6000 / 8000 Eur)
2. Identifying the true / exact problem with a mechanic. I think of this as the first thing to do in the situation that I am in now. There are a lot of different opinions from mechanics that have seen the car - is it the head gasket, is it the head itself that has a crack in it or maybe, but least possible, is the block. Probably because of this Toyota service is advising to just do a full engine swap - not dealing with the issue and just swapping the engine. In any case, finding a well known, good mechanic, if it's the gasket that needs to be changed, then changing the gasket, if it's the head that is cracked, changing the head. (approx. 100 - 500 Eur)
3. Sending it to a mechanic who reportedly says has dealt with this issue many times before - skimming the block and the head. His words - "This is an error in manufacturing side. the engine in of itself is deformed (a sort of misallignment was my understanding of what he meant by it) and only skimming it will fix the issue, I can change the gasket but it's only a temporary fix that'll show up a year later. If you want to sell it, then yes, changing the head gasket is the option." (approx. 600 Eur)
4. Change the head gasket and sell the car afterwards. Doing this would probably hurt me the most. Last car that I was selling I sold a year later, which means if I go for the quick buck I can lose the car and any value that the car had when it was up and running. On the other hand, I don't have to worry about my car's engine.

I'd like to note that I am aware from a user "Omri" that skimming is not recommended at all. Others have noted - after skimming there is a great loss in car's ability to accelerate but no reference to any future durability that the car's engine would have.

Conclusion: I'd like to apologize once again for sounding like a broken record. This is a deep problem that I have never been in. I am probably even less prepared for the prices that any shop will give me after their service as this will probably be a very expensive repair for my car. I don't want to sell the car, it seems like buying another second-hander will bring another pile of problems.

Please, I'd like to hear your opinions, if you need to know - Yes, I live in Europe, Latvia.

 

Thank you.

[avetoy]

Sorry to read about your problem. 

I think maybe the fault is just in the head gasket. It is a very common issue in those engines. 

There are a few possibilities to get rid of the problem, as you already wrote. If you like to keep the car maybe the best is to do the head gasket job? Skim the head, put the new gasket, bolts etc. It can be done by any qualified mechanic. If it was done by Mr. T you´d propably get some warranty but the price would be higher...

I don't know about the T25 but the T27 has so little space that my local Mr. T recommends dropping all the suspension, transmission and engine off the car to do the job properly. 

A full engine replacement is also a good option if you buy a repaired engine with a warranty. I think there are companies also in your country that do repairs and take the old engine as part payment? By engine swap you could also renew clutch etc.

I have T27 with 2,0 diesel engine and the h-g job was done a few years ago by Mr.T. It was expensive ofcourse, but saved my nerves.

[avensis_2018]

i wouldn't touch anything, i can tell you one's i went to toyota with my older cars a few years ago same problem, they told me that i need a new engine, i told them go to hell.

drove it a few years and sold it, inside the family,  the car still driving with the original engine, already pass 10 years even more ... zero problems.

tight the screws, replace water cup, do engine flashing + oil change, and that's it.

don't believe them.

 

 

 

[Chelyuskin]

The head gasket issues on the AD-series are well known. They are caused by erosion of the surfaces due to improper use of materials and coolant formulation. Both the head and block mating surfaces can get damaged this way.

The 100% correct way of repair is to pull the engine, disassemble it, have the block and head machined and install a thicker gasket (available from Toyota). Unfortunately, you're looking at several thousand EUR (or whatever currency) in repairs to get this right, might as well rebuild the engine while you're at it.

Option two is to try to have the head machined, install a new gasket and hope for the best. This is what I would do given the age of the car. Some people have done this and gotten away with it.

Third option: install a new gasket without any machine work. It's something I would avoid, not worth the risk.