This is a story of woe. It really happened and cost me thousands of dollars all for the sake of a $50 part because sometimes mechanics get it wrong and customers pay the price. It’s long story so don’t stop reading now, it might be of interest and you might learn something. A beautiful car we almost abandoned for no good reason
We previously lived in Canberra, where this story took place, but 10 years ago moved to Western Australia. What a great place WA is.
From the beginning
Around 2005 my wife & I were looking for a secondhand car and eventually settled on Toyota Cressida. We wanted one because her parents had one from new and it had always been reliable and I used to sell them new at a Canberra Toyota Dealer. We got ourselves the last Cressida model Toyota made and it was a brilliant car and we loved driving it.
Mechanically they were one of the best engines around. Fuel injected straight six with loads of grunt and was smooth as silk in every respect. The Cressida was pretty much top of the pops for Toyota, with the exception of the Crown (I hated those).
I covered about 60 – 100 kilometres everyday with ease and reliability. I spent much of my day travelling between appointments for my Computer Repair Business and the Cressida always got me there in comfort.
I maintained it myself, changed oil & filters every 5,000 kilometres, checked wheel bearings, diffs, replaced fuel filters & greased everything I could find. It is probably true to say it had more services than most. I also didn’t scrimp on the quality of oils or coolants and always used the best stuff I could find.
But then, one day…
We were happily driving from Canberra down to the South Coast for the weekend and I noticed the temp gauge needle was creeping up above normal. It had never done that before. Fluids were checked often and the cooling system was always bled.
The temp continued to rise above 3/4 of the way up the gauge so I pulled over so I could check coolant levels. I let it cool down before I opened the radiator cap, because I’ve fallen for that before, and checked the coolant level. Did I say coolant? What coolant! There was no coolant visible and I couldn’t explain where it had gone. No visible leaks or signs of trouble I was perplexed to say the least. I topped it up and bled the system as best I could on the side of the road before carefully continuing on my way.
I was monitoring the temp every few seconds as we drove, which soon started to wear thin , but thankfully we completed our journey without further incident. We put it down to gremlins – they exist in cars you know.
On our return trip home the temp began increasing for no apparent reason and again we discovered no coolant in the radiator. There was obviously a problem!
We took the car to the experts who told me the head gasket had blown and water was probably going out the back in the form of steam. I had to be honest and tell them “I had never seen steam coming out the back”. It was something I checked for regularly.
We had the head gasket repaired at a cost of $1,800. That included labour, head machining and the gasket kit.
The following weekend we headed back down the coast and guess what… the temp gauge started climbing again and there was no coolant. The engine was running rough as well.
The head gasket had blown again (steam out the back too) but this time we were a few hundred kilometres from home. I telephoned the mechanics who said “we cannot explain it and there is no reason for the head gasket to blow. For the moment chuck some chemiweld in it and you should be fine!” I’m not fan of additives, although chemiweld is particularly good stuff, but even so I’d rather have the problem solved. Patching it up without knowing the root cause cannot end well if you ask me.
Replacement Engine
After having the head gasket repaired again (at enormous cost), and having continued issues we concluded it was an impossible task. Nobody could explain why the gasket kept blowing repeatedly. We decided to source a replacement engine, start from scratch and be done with it.
We found an engine, in Adelaide in South Australia, with around 40,000 kilometres on it. The cost was $2,000 delivered to our chosen mechanic which sounded awesome to me. A local mechanic who I had done computer work for said he’d install the engine for $1,500. The total cost of engine & installation was $3,500.
The car was only off the road for a few days and I was over the moon to see it again. I figured we were done with trouble and there was clear sailing, or driving, in our future.
Bang – another blown head gasket!!!
Ask yourself this question – “What are the chances of blowing a head gasket three times in a row, after having it repaired twice and then an entirely different engine installed?” Slim to none, right!
You guessed it, we had another blown head gasket and I was mildly annoyed to say the least. Over $7,000 spent and we still have the original issue. Of course the mechanics will take no responsibility for incorrect diagnosis and I seem to have no recourse.
It’s time I figured this out myself and I’m not prepared to spend any significant amounts of money on it.
Suffice to say, I spent many hours attempting to isolate the original fault and I stumbled on it quite by accident. With the car parked in my driveway, the engine running and me standing in front of it scratching my head – I was hoping for a light-bulb moment. And then it happened… the temperature started increasing and the coolant started to boil. What I didn’t see was the thermo fan engage.
OMG
The car started boiling and the fan never even attempted to start!
I removed the thermo fan and tested it by applying power and the fan started working right away. After further investigation I discovered the temperature sensor was faulty. I replaced the sensor, topped it up with coolant & started the engine. Now all I have to do is wait. Eventually the fan started spinning and air was being drawn through the radiator and the temp gauge never moved above normal. Problem solved!
For the sake of a $50 part we had spent over $7,000 and not a single mechanic had said to themselves “what caused the head gasket to blow? There must be a root cause! Temperature rises for a reason!” But none of them asked themselves any questions, they fixed the symptoms without addressing the disease.
Let this be a lesson to everyone. Mechanics, in general are great and you will have no issues but occasionally they get it wrong.