overheating 3s-Ge

[RohaN]

I was out for a easy drive to the beach on sat in the celica, & the following things happened:

temp gauge went right up, then back to normal quite quickly, suggesting that the thermostat got stuck, then begun working again.
About 10 minutes later, the car started to ping REALLY badly,
i was about 30 seconds from the destination so decided to sus it out when i got there & coasted down the hill.

about 20 meters down the hill after that thought, the car stopped running altogether as soon as i pushed in the clutch & the revvs dropped.
it wouldnt start, so pushed it off the road

i opened it up, & the engine was seriously HOT, checked the oil, & no water, checked the rad once it cooled & no oil in there.

once it cooled for a few hours i tried it again & she worked fine, but about 5 minutes on my way home it started pinging like nothing else again & as i pulled over to avoid further damage, it just cut out again, same as before.

the only thing i can think of Is either my thermostats rooted & not letting any coolant into the engine, or my water pump has had the dick.. but my temp guage is telling me there's nothing above normal temp..

Anyone?

Cheers

[-==L=a=N=c=E==-]

-blown headgasket
-water pump died
-blocked thermostat
-cracked block

any combination of the above.

no coolant is not good, and it sounds like you've done terminal damange. I assume you topped up the empty radiator before starting it again?

[lime89]

Hows the oil presure look once its reving? Are you sure its a pinging noise and not louder, like a bearing noise? Mine had similar symptoms just before I spun a big end 2 months ago.

Have you had any work done to it recently? Personally I wouldn't be driving it anyware until you can suss it out. I would wait for some further feed back from the guys on here, then if you are not very auto minded, or do not have the space/tool to check it out your self, get a mechanic to take a look at it.

Good luck with it

cheers
lime

Edit: Lance I think he meant there was no water in the oil and no oil in the water, not no water at all, I had to go back and re-read it though

"checked the oil, & no water, checked the rad once it cooled & no oil in there."

Edit again: The over heating and stalling sounds almost like oil starvation leading to siezing the crank... What ever it is, doesn't sound to healthy.. The dedicated 162 thread might also be a good place to check at some stage.

[RohaN]

Cheers guys
The radiator wasnt empty, it was full when all this happened, which is why i'm thinking (hoping) its a pump/thermostat issue.


I'm definatly sure it was pinging, massive pre-detination, not a big end issue, plus it didnt happen the 2nd time when i first started it.

definatly heat caused this one.

the car only has 140,000 k on it since new.

[-==L=a=N=c=E==-]

ah ok, sorry i must have mis read that.

I assume then also, that when the engine overheated, that the radiator was cooler in comparison?

If this is the case, if you need to get home, remove the thermostat if you think its jammed (replace it while your at it, but we are talking just to get it home)

If that doesn't stop the problems, the waterpump has proberbly gone bye bye. or a blockage somewhere.

[lime89]

140k from new is pretty rare!!!

Well if you think its thermostat, change it over, <$20 and it takes like 10mins. Then maybe get a presure test done on the coolant system at a radiator shop.

lime

[RohaN]

140k from new is pretty rare!!!

yep its been a bulletproof car till now.

Thanks for the advice guys, its currently sitting a public car-park about 10 mins from home, so i might drive it carefully in a few stints to get it home then pull out the thermostat, & go from there if its the water pump.
I recon the council might be a bit cranky at me if i set up workshop in their carpark.

Cheers!

Rohan

[lime89]

I would be inclined to tow it home if you can....

When I pulled mine out a while ago, I found a genuine toyota thermostat in there, siezed open, I have 270k on the clock!

Dont need a work shop, 10/12mm ring spanner, maybe a flat head to pry the housing off, some gasket glue and the new thermostat and some water to top the radiator back up when it leaks out

Let us know how you go with it.

lime

[Aust162]

When you pull your thermostat out see if you can reach the blades on the back of the waterpump with your fingers. try and spin them. if they spin, then the waterpump is dead. hopefully its only the thermostat.

let us know how you go

[-==L=a=N=c=E==-]

10 minutes? surely you could get it home before it is even fully warmed up by that stage.

[HAVABEER]

check your hose's to make sure collant isn't pissing out of somewhere.

but if worse comes to worse.....might have to do a head gasket replacement.....get head checked to see if it has warped.

[RohaN]

When you pull your thermostat out see if you can reach the blades on the back of the waterpump with your fingers. try and spin them. if they spin, then the waterpump is dead. hopefully its only the thermostat.

Thanks for the tip! i'll be trying that one for sure.
i managed to drive it home last night in about 5 minutes without raising the temp by much, lots of coasting & avoiding hills & she's home in the drive. no pinging, excelent.
I'm gonna pull out the thermostat tonight after work & see if its rooted.

Cheers

Rohan

[RohaN]

Well.
Sure enough, the thermostat was cactus, Fixed that, no worries. stuck my fingers into the water pump and it seemed solid, but the impeller blades were pretty corroded though & it didnt look good.
i then jammed the hose in the radiator once it was all together & looked for leaks.
Water was pissing out of behind the timing belt cover near the back of the water-pump and also out of a small hole in the block that looks like a bolt once resided in it.

not good.

That timing belt/water pump cover is right up next to the engine mounts, & to get to the water pump, am i gonna have to lift the engine out?

Thanks for any info guys, the engine itself is fine, it still runs like a sewing machine, but the cooling system is in pretty bad shape.

[-==L=a=N=c=E==-]

you don't have to lift the engine out, but it sure makes the job easier.

If you look in my tech articlesdatabase in my sig, there is a BGB for the ST18X (similar to the ST16X except for body)

Cliff notes:
Support engine by crane
remove drivers side engine mount
remove belts and crank pulley
remove coveres
remove timing belt
replace water pump

and reverse to install.

[RohaN]

Thanks a heaps lance, doesnt sound too bad, should be able to manage that.
bring on the weekend!