Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 11:11 am, by: Tobias Trinks(Toby)
Hello. My JZZ31 died a couple of days ago. Was moving houses and towing a trailer. All was fine. The engine temp was a little bit higher than usually (one or two above mid line) but no anywhere close to overheating. The overheating light didn't come on either at any stage. Anyhow, I stopped at a petrol station and refilled the car. About two minutes later there was "smoke" coming out of the engine bay. It was the coolant fluid. Looks like too much pressure built up and one of the hoses came loose. Anyhow, it was in the middle of the night and I had that big rental trailer at the back. So I fixed the hose which came off, refilled all the coolant and continued my journey (around another 150km). Straight away I noticed that the engine wasn't running smoothly and that there was a loss of power (like it wasn't running on all cylinders). I was still able to tow the trailer though at around 90km/h. And no signs of overheating whatsoever.
I brought the Soarer to the local Toyota dealer. Apparently there is coolant in the exhaust system and they took the head off for further diagnosis. What they told me is that I will need at least a new cylinder head (which is apparently like AU$1500 for the part and another AU$1500 in labour. Seems expensive, doesn't it?). There are also concerns that there could be micro cracks in the engine block but the engine would need to get dismantled and dye tested etc...
I am just trying to figure out what the best options are. The Soarer is in good condition but in the end it's still a 16 yo car. I don't think getting the cylinder head fixed is not a good option because there could be more damage to the engine. I could try to get a replacement 2JZ-GE engine, all depending how much the garage would charge in labour to put it in. I could get a 2JZ-GTE but I suppose the required modifications would cost a fair bit of extra money? Or I could wreck it and sell if for parts...
Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 11:46 am, by: Scott Wilkes(Scottywilkes)
sounds like you cooked it and warped the head. Take note that the factory soarer temp guage is scarily innefective, 2 bars above centre and its pretty much overheating.
Id say your radiator is pretty blocked, and with the extra load of the trailer its raised the temp until such point that the alloy cylinder head has warped blowing the headgasket.
The reason the hose blew is most likely because of the headgasket blowing, the cylinder pressure made its way into the cooling system blowing the hose
You can pick up a ported/polished 2JZGE barehead on ebay for 700aud all refurbished.
Labour sounds about right, and head about right to if its a brand newy from toyota.
Now with the block, depends how hot the engine got, being a cast iron block, they will pretty much take anything, the thing im worried about is the piston rings. If it got hot enough it may have caused the rings to loose there tension, and as such your compression will be severly reduced.
If it was me, id be looking for a good condition 2JZGE to slot straight in, unless you can be sure the bottom end is still ok, then just slap a head on
Saturday, January 16, 2010 - 12:53 pm, by: Tobias Trinks(Toby)
Hey Scott. Thanks for the explanation, makes sense. I also think that getting a replacement engine would be the best option. Only have to find a reasonable priced one in good condition. Any ideas how much I would have to expect to pay for labour?
Sunday, January 17, 2010 - 08:26 am, by: Matthew Sharpe(Madmatt)
Indeed, 2 notches over on the gauge is pretty much boiling point, especially if you aren't running the right coolant mix.
If your cooling system is in good condition then the steam and expanded coolant would have been piped out the overflow - clearly it wasn't up to the job and the hose and head gasket gave way instead.
If you do decide to fix her, make sure you deal to the radiator at the same time - could just need a flush, or could need replacing - also chuck the radiator cap and put a new one on, that could be the whole problem - people don't replace them for years and when they need to do their job, they are gummed up and won't let the excess out.
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