Need Advice Re: Temperature Light

[daveyoder]

I noticed the temperature light of my 2002 DVD (just a couple months out of warranty, of course) and the temp light started blinking on the highway only. It quickly turns off when I'm off the highway and going slower. Took it to Toyota and they cleaned out the radiator and changed the thermostat. Was fine for a short trip from Milan to Switzerland, but now a few days later the flashing lighti s coming on again on the highway.

Now Toyota is saying it must be a pricey 1500 Euro engine repair of the head gasket (?) saying it has a leak. While there they had to add quite a bit of water to the radiator, which was of course refilled after being cleaned out two weeks ago. I need to drive to Naples on Wednesday and there's not time to get it repaired, and I think the mechanic said (my italian sucks) that as long as I keep the radiator topped of I should be OK if I don't drive too hard when the light is blinking. He said stop if the light turns solid red.

I'm broke right now and this is scaring me. Does anyone have any thoughts about what else this could be, or even the cold hard truth if it sounds like the correct dx?

Many thanks

dave

[earpl]

if its loosing water its eiter the head gasket or rad, see if you can see any water under the car after its being running for a while if nothing get the head gasked done, wouln't bother with toyota though, get somewhere else to do it, just buy th gasket from toyota.

[Viper_7]

If it's your head gasket..don't drive anywhere.

Take off ya oil filler cap..what's it like..any white residue/film?

Never fill ya rad with just water..if Toyota did that take them to town on it.

Get a pump....find your expansion tank..take pump get a nice seal... apply air pressure..look for leaks.. could be rad..could be pipes.

if toyota want 1500 euro then they must have something more substantial than just a Head Gasket.... unless it is..and driving around has wrecked the rad...warped/cracked the head.

If it is the head gasket though, temp light wouldn't just be blinking and you'll be going a substantial amount of coolant.

Vipes

[daveyoder]

Thanks for the replies...

Toyota said it's OK to drive it as long as I take is slow and the light doesn't turn solid red... I think they were saying there is a small leak in a seal having to do with the head gasket, not that it was cracked I don't think. I have been driving it around without problems. Is that a major mistake? In fact they said I should be able to drive it to Naples, seven hours.

I topped it off with water and took it on the road for about 45 minutes tonight and the light stayed off. There was definite spillage of coolant from the plastic overflow tank to the right of the radiator, which I have noticed before.

Could it be a water pump or something? Perhaps if it's not circulating... But that probably wouldn't explain the fluid loss.

They didn't say to fill it all with water, just top it off with water.

The only other thing I've noticed is sometimes when I give it the gas the engine revs higher than the acceleration and then comes back down... as though the clutch is slipping? It's a stick of course. I don't know. Help! Don't know what to do.

[Viper_7]

sorry don't mean to ruffled feathers..

topping up with water though..,make sure it's de-ionised at the least..if you can't get you hands on that use boiled water as a last resort..but try and add some anti-freeze as well..simple water and iron don't mix well.

The expansion filler caps only take so many bar..so yes..if the water/cooland isn't cirulating it will escape..but you'd likely see this ( steam escaping)..and the temp light would be on permenantly.

did you check the oil cap? was it clean? or is there any white residue in there?

also what's the water in the rad like?...although it's hard to see ...check the expansion tank...is there a film of oil floating on the top..?

diesel engines though are much tougher than petrol.

It's not a major mistake driving with a dodgy head gasket...but..it's better to get it looked at sooner than later as water is getting into the head....head gasket is just a glorified washer at the end of the day seperating the coolant from the oil...problems with overheating cost more..if the light is just flashing... sounds like yes you can live with it for now..but take note of how much water/coolant your topping up with.

vipes

Edit..oh...and is the cooling Fan coming on?

another trick with over heating engines... keep ya heater on..and open ya windows (so you don't bake!) heater takes some of the heat away from the engine)

[daveyoder]

Thanks Vipes!

I'm using my wife's bottled mineral water from the store... probably worst of all!

I'll take a look at the oil cap when i go down to my car in a couple hours to move it...

I'll look also into the radiator liquid too, though it was just changed when they cleaned it out...

I just realized however, how can I top it off on long hauls when the engine is hot? Doesn't sound practical.

edit: yeah the fan is coming on.

more soon

dave

[daveyoder]

just checked... no white film in cap, radiator fluid looks oil-free...

[Electrify_dizz]

I had a similair problem with my Saxo not so long ago, and it was simply because my Coolant levels were low. I took it in to a garage who wanted to charge me £400 for a job a friend did for £100. Be wary with garage prices, because more often than not, they are charging £60 an hour + for Labour, especially at official garages.

For now, I wouldn't top it up with water, I would top it up with coolant. Coolants not expensive, just stop at any garage and you can get a bottle for a fiver or so. Much safer than topping up with water as if you keep having to top up, it wont be long until theres more water than coolant, and that could cause further problems.