hi, hope someone can assist me, ive just bought a townace super extra turbo diesel from my local auctioneers - knowing absolutly nothing about mechanics. silly me. admittedly it was a little impulsive. you see, i got a little excited, when i saw a mpv on a j reg for £950. it had 10 months mot, so i thought i was safe-ish! anyway you know whats coming next, i started to drive it, and after 20mins its temp gauge was off the scale. so the garage have now told me, (what i seem to be reading a lot about on these pages) that its the head gasket. on further inspection it appears the cylinder is cracked. i have been quoted £1500 for the repair, or tow it away from the garage, and pay £130 for the time it took to detect the problem (stripping it down). because i am female, im wondering if im being swindled, as i wouldnt know a head cylinder if it smacked me in the chops. ive realized, that the price i payed, reflected the condition, but this doesnt help me now. i really have fallen in love with this van, but my budget was stretched in the first place. would i get my money back if i was to sell? or is it worth getting a loan, to get this work done? would this be the end of the problems, or could this be the start of many? if i got the repair done, @ £1500, plus the original cost of the van (£950), would it be overpriced? i dont know what to do for the best! c`mon you experienced towny heads! what would you do in my position?! i know theres a lot of questions, but the smallest piece of advice would be greatly appreciated.
- (#10229) Christy, 18 Aug 03 17:46
ok...
Usually when the engine gets that hot... it siezes the engine... and can crack the head. or the head was already cracked when u got it.. cus.. the water from the system runs into the block.. and causes overheating.. but anyways.. u have a big problem.
firstly did you take it to a reputable garage?
and the second is you have to decide if u love the thing enuf to keep it..
lastly... u will find there are some great mech's (home diy ones.) that will charge u much less for the repair..
and u can prob get a head from a scrap yard...or price it from a recon place.. and anyone that knows their stuff can throw it in no problem...but u need to tell them they need to find out why it cracked in the first place..
could b....that someone tried to fit a head gasket and didnt tighten it down propely.. twisted it and it cracked... but if its another problem like an overheating problem..that needs to b sorted to..
hope u sort it out cus sounds like u wanna keep it..
- (#10230) jan, 18 Aug 03 21:52
Hello Christy.
£950 for a J reg Townie is very cheap. Last year I paid £4500 for a G reg Townace Royal Lounge 4x4 Auto. £1500 total is not a bad price to pay for fixing this problem, others have paid much more. Make sure they use new head bolts, and fit a new cam belt. If you can stretch the budget by another £40 or so, have them change the water pump. Someone recently said its a five hour job to replace it, but with the engine already stripped, it will only take minutes. So you are looking at a total cost of £2500 not a bad price for a Townace, (depending on its general condition). These things need a bit of TLC, and some knowledge of mechanics would be to your advantage. If there is a local school that run a night classes on basic mechanics. This will help you a lot, and will be a small price to pay.
Hope that helps
dave Bright (Bournemouth)
- (#10231) dave Bright, 19 Aug 03 1:51
Thankyou very much Jan and Dave for your advice, I will be seeing Mr bank manager v. soon to get a loan. I couldnt bare to get rid of it now! The bodywork, interior, electrics, air con, ect are all in A1 condition, its just under the seat (so to speak!) thats not. Ill ask around if anyone knows a good diy mechanic, and Ill start ringing round for these parts. Ill tell them I want new head bolts, a gasket set, a cylinder head, cam belt, and water pump. Also I need to find out what caused the gasket/cylinder to crack in the first place. Does that sound right?! Oh yeah, whats this vin plate malarky all about? Will I have to give a code to the reconditioned place? Someone has suggested to me that a new engine altogether would be easier, and possibly cheaper, any thoughts on that? So, although I have overshot my budget, it seems I havent done too badly then, and I can tell my friends to stop shouting "just get rid of it quick"! and "You should never buy cars from an auction" as I am now empowered with knowledge, from the Townace nutters! This site is really good. Im considering those mechanical classes too. I think Ill need them as a townnace owner, by the sounds of it! It will all be worth it though, when we're all in the car loaded up to the eyeballs, kitchen sink included on our way camping, and day trip heaven!
- (#10232) Christy, 19 Aug 03 13:57
Cracked head is unfortunately Quite common on the 2CT engine. One Toyota site I visited recently suggested that the 2C engine is ok, but the addition of a turbo seems to cause a big differential in temperature between the inlet and exhaust sides of the engine, which leads to cracking. But then there’s a lot of theories about cracked and warped heads on the 2CT.
www.ukcylinderheads.co.uk supply the gasket, bolts for around £80 delivered. They can also supply a recon head for £395 +Vat+ Delivery, which is just short of £500
www.bbcspares.co.uk can supply an engine with reconditioned head for £500 + Vat + delivery.
As there’s not much to choose from either option, you pay your money, you take your choice.
Get a new radiator cap and once its up and running, and check the expansion tank and filler neck religiously, every day to begin with. Keep an eye out for leaks, and don’t delay fixing any that you find.
Vin plate is just in front of the drivers seat under the flap of carpet. It has the information that is needed by the parts man. He types it in to the computer, and it loads up the details of your Townace.
Good luck, and if your camping down my way any time, let me know.
dave Bright (Bournemouth)
- (#10233) dave Bright, 20 Aug 03 1:39
looking for local garage.wirral area please.for repair core plug or head gasket not sure which many thanks.
- (#11054) sue, 8 Oct 03 11:40