hi people.
unfortunatly i am still having overheating problems with my townace following the headgasket job recently.
it had seemed to be fine for two weeks of around town type driving,( altough a small top of the rad was required) but yesterday decided on a day out at whipsnade with the kids and grandparents.
the mason alarm sounded a warning just as we joined the m1 (thanks dave) and after a cooling down period found that we needed to add 1.5 ltres of coolant.
set off again , made it to the next junction before the needle crept back up and the alarm went off.
this time stopped by an aa guy who looked things over.
he checked for water in the oil, was ok, then did a sniffer test for exhaust fumes in the radiator, negative, but he was having trouble doing it as the coolant, once topped up, kept bubbling over.
he also checked the radiator cap and said it was not holding pressure well.
he then attached a pressure guage to the water inlet which showed a rapid increase in pressure once attached.
he then told us that he could not be sure but that maybe the head was cracked and arranged to lift the car.
i have since been back to the garage that did the head gasket who will take the car back in on tuesday. they suggested fitting another radiator cap, which i have done.
the car seems fine running sedatley around town. however when i turn off the engine i can immediatly hear bubbling steam into the expansion tank. when i check after cooling about half a litre has exited to the cooling tank.
this afternoon i choose a route that involved a long hill, the needle climbed high but recovered after the hill. on inspection the expansion tank was full and the rad system a litre short.
as mentioned i am going back to the garage who are intending to 1st test for exhaust fumes in the rad ( using a gas analyser) but i would very much welcome any opinions. thanks steve.
- (#12568) Steve, 7 Aug 04 14:34
I'll guess that the head is either warped or cracked. Was it surfaced and pressure tested before rebuild? It's very unlikely that a gas sniffer will pick up a small leak from a clean- running diesel anyway.
- (#12568) David Miller, 7 Aug 04 14:48
hi there , i recently had a sim thing with my hiace - had a brand new head and gasket , was ok pottering or on short trips but anything else it lost water , turned out the head gasget was not very good ( cheap one at £30 ) head taken of again !!! change the gasket - used a payern one this time with raised sealing sings on all holes - not just sprayed with black sticky stuff , now done 24,000 miles inc motorway at 70 mph+ no probs , if your getting pressure soon after starting and bubbling in the water at best head gasket - worst , your head . when you do get it back from your garage check for ANY bubbles in the water ,from cold with the rad cap off,run on tickover and watch ,you may get some swurling when the thermostat opens -but no bubbles- the first time i did mine i had small pea sized bubbles every 3-4 secs even from cold . i run a 2.4td hiace super custom
- (#12568) grant, 7 Aug 04 18:46
Thanks for the opinions guys, will have to see what the garage have to say on Tuesday.
Yes David the head was sent away for skimming, but as yet I dont know if it was pressure tested, I may find out on Tuesday.
The headgaskets were original Toyota supplied from Japan.
Guy can you tell me where you got yours in case I do have to follow that route?
Thanks Steve
- (#12568) Steve, 8 Aug 04 13:44
Hmm, head gasket from japan? I wonder if perhaps you got an old- style composite gasket rather than the multishim style supplied now?- while some individual gaskets around the head are unique to the townie, the head gasket itself is the same for all 2Cs so the latest spec for the last of the 2CT-E Avensis is the best...
- (#12568) David Miller, 8 Aug 04 14:40
Steve,
a thought, did you use the original head bolts or replace with new? My toyota parts dealer assured me I could reuse the old ones, however I was urged by others to change them out, due the the altered tensile strength of the old stretch bolt. Could be that if one sprung loose it could have caused the gasket to go.
- (#12568) Ron, 9 Aug 04 07:31
ron, used new headbolts so they should not be a problem?
latest from garage is that on my return they ran the engine for an hour and , of course, it did not overheat. they have asked if they can keep it over the weekend and take it for a thrash down the motorway to see the water loss/overheating problem. i have said yes, so we will see.......
- (#12568) Steve, 11 Aug 04 11:32
This is the trouble with the townace. Its designed to sit in stationary traffic for hours on end, and that's why it has the viscous coupling to replicate the ram airflow when stationary. Thrashing down the motorway is when things can go wrong because the engine is under the most load and produces the most heat. Tell them to run it with the passenger floor up, and watch the fan. If it stops turning above 3,000 rpm, then suspect the viscous coupling.
- (#12568) dave Bright (Bournemouth), 11 Aug 04 14:11
Hi - I wonder if anyone can help. My 1993 Royal Lounge Ace suddenly started having overheating problems about 2 months ago, after over 2 years trouble-free. The mechanic who services it stripped it down and found that the cylinder head is cracked. He has been trying to find a second-hand one to save me paying 500+ for a new one but hasn't been able to locate one. Does anyone have any good ideas as to where I could get hold of one? I live in Hertfordshire by the way, and have only recently found your site, which is excellent. I had an Ace for 4 years before this one and it was brilliant - no probs at all - but I can see from your site that over heating is a very common problem. Many thanks.
- (#12568) Victoria Fisher, 16 Aug 04 04:14
Yes Dave ,as you said the viscous coupling is the number one suspect at the moment. I have one on order from BBC spares. Is it a big job, I may try it myself if its straightforward????
- (#12568) Steve, 16 Aug 04 12:00
P.S. Bill at BBC spares said he would suspect the rad being blocked, so a recore would (I guess) be my next option.
- (#12568) Steve, 16 Aug 04 12:03
Had the same problem but hadnt had the head done I had only just got it.Turned out to be the radator had it changed and no more poblems even on step mountain passes.
Cheers jim.
- (#12568) Jim Bentley, 16 Aug 04 13:28
Hi Steve,
its not a big job to replace the viscous coupling, although the drivers floor has to come out to remove the radiator cowling. Then there is good access to the 4 nuts holding it on.
Fair point about the radiator recore, it could be either.
- (#12568) dave Bright (Bournemouth), 17 Aug 04 02:36