Celica Gt4 St185 With Problem (possib Head Gasket)

[paulstorey]

Hi all

Hope for some advice.

I have a 1991 GT4 widebody celica which up until recently has been fine. However in the last few weeks I have been experiencing some problems. The symptoms are:

- Poor idling intially on startup however after a while it runs fine

- Hesitation on pickup sometimes (not all the time)

- Some black smoke when revving but only intially

- Only getting 3/4 boost pressure.

I got a friend to look at the car today and after having a quick look he has noticed the notorious "mayonaise" in the oil cap. Currently the oil is still fairly clean and the water seems oil free. We believe it looks like the head gasket has gone but is there anything else it could be (I know, wishful thinkin!!)

Has anyone had this sort of repair in the past and if so what sort of costs were involved, is there anything else worth doing and more importantly is using a local garage ok or should I use a specialist (and Im not made of money before anyone suggest going to the dealer!!).

Can anyone recommend a place to get it done at a good cost local to Uxbridge/Watford (NW/W Outer London)

Thanks in advance for any help

[paulstorey]

Sorry about the duplicate post but initially the system said it failed to post!

[Sketchy]

Well from the sounds of it it probably is the HG if there's mayo in the oil, and is a problem with the 185 when running high boost.

Don't worry about the dealers no one who owns a four would recomend you take it there, the only guy you need to know is Ian at Toyauto Centre, he's the god of all things four related and being an independant keeps prices on the nice side.

Have you checked the ecu for error codes, only I won't have though that a HGF would cause reduced boost. Also do you have an aftermarket boost gauge (What boost is it running) or are you going by the stock gauge??

I'm sure dak our resident gen 5 man will be along soon.

[paulstorey]

Hi

Thanks for the reply, car is completly standard apart from a set of 17" alloys. Boost gauge is standard as well and its getting 3/4 boost maximum during all driving.

I take it from what you said, you wouldnt leave it with a local garage (they have serviced my other cars but nothing this technical so was a bit worried to leave them with it)

[mikeb]

Hi all

Hope for some advice.

I have a 1991 GT4 widebody celica which up until recently has been fine. However in the last few weeks I have been experiencing some problems. The symptoms are:

- Poor idling intially on startup however after a while it runs fine

- Hesitation on pickup sometimes (not all the time)

- Some black smoke when revving but only intially

- Only getting 3/4 boost pressure.

I got a friend to look at the car today and after having a quick look he has noticed the notorious "mayonaise" in the oil cap. Currently the oil is still fairly clean and the water seems oil free. We believe it looks like the head gasket has gone but is there anything else it could be (I know, wishful thinkin!!)

Has anyone had this sort of repair in the past and if so what sort of costs were involved, is there anything else worth doing and more importantly is using a local garage ok or should I use a specialist (and Im not made of money before anyone suggest going to the dealer!!).

Can anyone recommend a place to get it done at a good cost local to Uxbridge/Watford (NW/W Outer London)

Thanks in advance for any help

←

Could be HG, but not all your symptoms point to it:

- Poor idling intially on startup however after a while it runs fine

Could be idle control valve or ignition

- Hesitation on pickup sometimes (not all the time)

Ignition

- Some black smoke when revving but only intially

Stem seals or turbo seals

- Only getting 3/4 boost pressure.

Many, many possible causes.

A major symptom of a blown HG is air bubbles cooling system. Sludged up oil cap could just be cheap oil or lots of short journeys.

[daktari]

As pointed out, short journeys and/or poor quality oil could cause the mayo scenario. Also check to make sure the thermostat is working correctly. Should be registering half way on the temp gauge in a very short time, 1-2 miles. Running around with an over cool engine won`t help.

As sketchy mentioned, check for error codes. There`s a link in the stickies somewhere on how to do it if your not sure.

Again as previously mentioned, black smoke could be anything from stem seals or turbo seals (Although that tends to be more grey/white.) My first thought was overfueling. (Anyone remember the old renault turbos) You really need to check all the vacuum pipes for cracks, leaks and general good fit as a vacuum leak can cause a multitude of problems with issues like fueling and poor performance generally. If the vacuum pipes are brittle i would cosider changing them. Might be worthwhile checking the air filter and AFM to make sure they`re clean too. While your under the bonnet check the connections to the various senders. Sorry there`s nothing specific here but trying to solve problems from descriptions can be a bit hit and miss.

If your using the standard boost gauge i wouldn`t worry over much about the 3/4 boost thing. These gauges are notoriously slow and inacurate. Invest 20-30 quid in an after market item and you`ll get a better picture of whats happening.

Good luck.

[paulstorey]

Hi, thanks for all the advice. Looks promising in that I do lots of short journeys (2 miles to work each day!)

Will check all hoses this afternoon.

If it needs to go to a garage is this the sort of thing my local garage could deal with or would I be better taking it to a turbo/toyota specialist?

Thanks again for all help so far.

[daktari]

Hi, thanks for all the advice. Looks promising in that I do lots of short journeys (2 miles to work each day!)

Will check all hoses this afternoon.

If it needs to go to a garage is this the sort of thing my local garage could deal with or would I be better taking it to a turbo/toyota specialist?

Thanks again for all help so far.

←

If you take it to a local garage ask them 1st if they`re au fait with turbos etc. It`s not rocket science but you need someone who really knows their way round an engine bay.

[GTForbes]

well if your taking it to Ian at the Toyauto Centre then his price for a head gasket repair, which includes a re-conditioned head was £900 las time i asked him. i thought it'd be cheaper doing it myself and was wrong, total was closer to £1500 and it's still not perfect.

your local garage could do the job easily enough if they are compitant but like daktari says, your best asking them if the are experianced or confident to work with turbo's.

don't think there's much on the advice side i can giveyou except, when was your rotor arm, dizzy cap, plugs and leads last changed? these were the cause of my hesatation, lack of boost and general poor performance

[paulstorey]

Thanks again for all the advice. Have checked all the obvious hoses today and they seem fine. The thermostat is also operating correctly.

The plugs were changed at last service but hadn't thought about the leads or Arm and Cap.

Wont be going to the Toyauto centre as unfortunately its to far but I am going to take it to the same garage a friend uses for his Golf Rallye. Its his friend who runs it and he has dealt with many turbo and supercharged cars in the past.

Will update once I know more.

[dawesy]

checkfor air leaks (split hoses etc) these cars detest them. if there is only a little mao in the cap i wouldnt worry as its common this time of year due to cold damp days and especialy so if the car has only made short trips never getting really hot.

if it isnt using a lot of water or overheating then its most likely not the HG.

check all the vaccume <SP> pipes for splits and security