Head Gasket Gone...

[ricomr2]

I'm the first victim of the cold weather.

Jim and i left the house this morning at about 9am to go to the meet

After about 20 mins my car started to over heat and and steam was pouring out the engine bay.

Limped a few more miles to a garage for water and the engine was seriously

warm, so decided to just try get the car back home...

We have just arrived home now, after having to stop every 2-3 mins to fill up the water again.

3 hrs to travel 15 miles!!!

I'm fed up now... just going to go to the pub and get drunk. :(

[Stu8]

I would of phoned for a break down truck.

On the plus side a gasket isn't that much to replace and it's a simple job :)

[GT4 BOOSTER]

is it possible to retorque the head bolts , as they stretch dont they ? just me being silly.

whats your plan just a new head gasket , and thats it ? possibly some toyota red for life ???

bad luck m8 i bet your reet ****** off :ffs:

[ricomr2]

Gonna get a trd gasket and get the head skimmed a little just to be safe.

The car was driving fine the whole time, just took ages to get back cos i was trying not to cook it!

I'll defo be putting red for life in its when it fixed.

Good thing is my work is just minute's from the house so

i can do without the car for a while till i can get the work done .

I've got a mate that should be able to do it for me so saves a garage bill

Head gasket is quite a straight forward job to do but i wouldn't attempt it on my own...

Ive never heard of re-torqing the head bolts mate.

[EarL]

Rico, alloy heads a notorious for warping when they overheat, so getting it skimmed is the safest bet. The machinist will be able to tell you if it's flat or not.

On the bright side mate, the compression of your motor will be higher when you get it back. That's always a good thing

[mikeb]

Yeah, make sure to get it skimmed while it's apart. If nothing else, it at least makes sure you've got a perfectly clean surface for when it goes back together. A local cylinder head specialst totally rebuilt and skimmed mine when I took it in I provides all the gaskets and seals and they charged me £120 for the work. There was nothing wrong with mine, but I got it done just for good measure while the head was off. On the downside, they made a crap job of shimming the lifters, so it's a bit noisier than it used to be.

No, you don't retorque head bolts on modern engines. You overtighten them instead (iirc 90 degrees on the 3s-ge). My Hanyne's manual contradicted the info on a sticker on the cam cover. It is best to get new head bolts, I reused mine, but If I had known the correct info when I started the job I would have got new ones.

It might be a straight forward job, but there is so much stuff to remove to get the head off it is quite timeconsuming. Mr T 'estimated' about £1800 to fit a new head gasket. I suspect it will be even more fiddly on a MR2 than a Celica due to restricted access of the engine bay.

[Roytoner]

Bad news my mate hope you get it sorted soon :ffs:

On the brite side you can aways use Jimlads

[JappyBeast]

Thats bad news dude...

[ricomr2]

Yes bad news indeed.

Spoke to my mate earlier and he thinks it might not be the head but the water pump by the way i described it.

He's coming to have a look thru the week so i should know for sure then.

Oh and paul... I'd be scared to drive Jims car now incase it breaks on me!!

The thing thats annoying me most is i put £30 fuel in just before it happened!!

[Roytoner]

Yes bad news indeed.

Spoke to my mate earlier and he thinks it might not be the head but the water pump by the way i described it.

He's coming to have a look thru the week so i should know for sure then.

Oh and paul... I'd be scared to drive Jims car now incase it breaks on me!!

The thing thats annoying me most is i put £30 fuel in just before it happened!!

←

A Scotsman putting £ 30 in

WHO'S CAR DID YOU GET IT FROM ?? :P :P

[houston]

might not even be water pump! had similar experience in my primera which turned out to be a faulty radiator cap causin an air lock, but i didnt notice temp gauge and really cooked engine!

[Roytoner]

JUST BEEN TOLD TO SAY SORRY FROM CHRISTINE .

sorry !! :P

[ricomr2]

Its ok... i stole Jims credit card and put it on that, but dont tell him :D

[JappyBeast]

LMAO.. thought it only had a £100 limit!!

[Jimlad]

I got a new one... :P

[JappyBeast]

lol... u and rico still coming to the xmas night out?

[fzr400]

Hi guys do you mind if i ask a qustion about heads?

jon

[JappyBeast]

You might want to start your own thread.

[Jimlad]

Hi guys do you mind if i ask a qustion about heads?

jon

←

ask away mate.... sure someone will be able to help you out.

[Roytoner]

Hi guys do you mind if i ask a qustion about heads?

jon

←

Well ??

[fzr400]

Hi Guys

just warped my head, got it back and they have taken some bits off, the bits are in the box, Im fine apart from 3 black plastic bushes they are about 10 mm in diameter with a 8mm hole through, and have an ledge all around as if it sits in something, and has a white painted mark on the bottom of it they came from the fuel rail I think, could do with finding out tonite or early tomorrow as Im putting it back on then !

any ideas cheers

Jon

[Jimlad]

possibly just for locating the head gasket??? ( rico said )

[fzr400]

Thanks, I think that sounds good to me, will try that tomorrow, as its gotta go on then, as for the guy earlier saying its an easy job, its been a nighhtmare, so many pipes etc, and im a fairly good with spanners and screwdrivers :bookworm:

thanks

Jon

[mikeb]

Hi Guys

just warped my head, got it back and they have taken some bits off, the bits are in the box, Im fine apart from 3 black plastic bushes they are about 10 mm in diameter with a 8mm hole through, and have an ledge all around as if it sits in something, and has a white painted mark on the bottom of it they came from the fuel rail I think, could do with finding out tonite or early tomorrow as Im putting it back on then !

any ideas cheers

Jon

←

They are indeed spacers for the fuel rail. I have a photo which just about shows them on my engine, if you need it let me know.

Goodluck with the rebuild.

[Jesus]

Turn problems into positives... it now gives you an excuse to fettle with your engine. Get that head ported while it's off, and while you're getting the head skimmed, spend time porting the inlet manifold.

Sorry to hear it's off the road, I know you lose your independence when you're without transport... but it will be all the more pleasing when you get it back.

Chin up mate.