Caling international rescue...!!!Help we are going nowhere.

[Helen]

Tom drove from London to Sheffield and back yesterday, Surf ran really well. But this morning he took it to the car wash and while waiting the temperature guage went up quite high, seemed like the fan not kicking in and temp went down after driving off. Again while stationary the guage went up a bit. When he parked up he couldn't get the key out and now can't turn it....it just wont start....and the key still won't come out..... He has called the RAC but I said I'd check on here as well to see if anyone can assist...

UPDATE.... The RAC man turned up and said it was something to do with the viscous fan... not kicking in I assume... oh and the reason he couldn't move the key.....it wasn't in PARK.... boy did Tom feel silly. I'm sure he's not the first or will be the last to do that. He left it running and about 10 minutes later the temp went up a bit and he could hear 'something' kicking in. Luckily the RAC man had owned an import and was aware of these probs. Glad it wasn't someone who knew nothing and just wanted to drag it off to the nearest Toyota shop.
Thanks

[pops]

Tom drove from London to Sheffield and back yesterday, Surf ran really well. But this morning he took it to the car wash and while waiting the temperature guage went up quite high, seemed like the fan not kicking in and temp went down after driving off. Again while stationary the guage went up a bit. When he parked up he couldn't get the key out and now can't turn it....it just wont start....and the key still won't come out..... He has called the RAC but I said I'd check on here as well to see if anyone can assist...

UPDATE.... The RAC man turned up and said it was something to do with the viscous fan... not kicking in I assume... oh and the reason he couldn't move the key.....it wasn't in PARK.... boy did Tom feel silly. I'm sure he's not the first or will be the last to do that. He left it running and about 10 minutes later the temp went up a bit and he could hear 'something' kicking in. Luckily the RAC man had owned an import and was aware of these probs. Glad it wasn't someone who knew nothing and just wanted to drag it off to the nearest Toyota shop.
Thanks

tom dont feel silly mate, if most of us are HONEST we all done it at some time,

[speedymacfish]

silly

Yep think we've all done it!! Did it myself only last week







G

[Helen]

Update in the update...

Well after the RAC man left, Tom started to drive home..... and didn't get very far before it started to boil again.... Tom does not have any luck with cars so he immediately thought... this is it...head's gone.... I asked Tom after the first RAC man visited if all pipes and rad were same temp. no cool bits anywhere, Tom said he thought the RAC had checked.... perhaps not.
RAC came out again and said the thermostat was stuck.... he has done something that will make it stay open so water is cooling all the time. Tom has now managed to drive home (Hove to Shoreham) and the temp gauge was slightly lower than normal running. He is driving up tonight , hopefully, and will keep an eye on temp. We hope these are not symptoms that the head is indeed going (or has gone) and that they are not just patching him up only to be able to drive a few more miles. Must say both RAC guys were very helpful. Tom is breathing a sigh of relief as he only joined two weeks ago... Second one asked for number of Milners as they are now getting quite a few Surf owners joining and don't know where to get parts. I should be on commission with Milners. I'll mention this to them when ordering new thermostat....

If there is something else we should be checking and replacing I would be very grateful to hear....

Murphy the Muck Savage must live......

[TAZMAN]

Hi Helen.

I might be wrong, and I stand to be corrected, but did Tom flush the engine coolant or know of it being done at all? It is usually advised to flush it and change the thermostat as a precaution once you buy one along with the usual oil/filter/air/cambelt change, as there's no telling how long a Surf's been standing idle and in what climates. I'm well known as the mechanical numbnutz, but hopefully this might be of some help..

[Helen]

We had the filters changed and the rad flush done over a week ago for the exact reason you give Tazman, but didn't do the thermo cos I found that bit of info after ordering the filters so Tom said leave it......... I passed on all the details i'd got from this site about making sure there were no air blocks after and since done it has been fine although we don't do loads of journeys in it so Sheffield was it's longest so far. He's on his way up the M23 as we speak so fingers crossed no more probs. I will be ordering a new thermo tomorrow and getting the rad done again... Thanks Tazman.. it seems the more I read on here, the more worries I have...

[Koi]

Viscous fan runs all the time even on tickover. A check to see if the oil is ok is to:
With engine off you should be able to turn the fan with a little bit of resistance felt. On tickover you should be able to stop the fan from turning by sticking a rolled up newspaper in it.

[Driver]

We had the filters changed and the rad flush done over a week ago for the exact reason you give Tazman, but didn't do the thermo cos I found that bit of info after ordering the filters so Tom said leave it......... I passed on all the details i'd got from this site about making sure there were no air blocks after and since done it has been fine although we don't do loads of journeys in it so Sheffield was it's longest so far. He's on his way up the M23 as we speak so fingers crossed no more probs. I will be ordering a new thermo tomorrow and getting the rad done again... Thanks Tazman.. it seems the more I read on here, the more worries I have...

Hi,
Don't know if this might help but it might be worth a go, Recently when I had my Cambelt and water pump changed by Steve at Engine Co. Stockport he recommended that the Fluid that helps to drive the Main Viscous Fan was changed as this can break down or leak causing the fan not to draw enough air through the main Radiator. Even though the Main Fan appears to be working correctly i.e turning it's difficult to tell if it is drawing enough air through the Rad !! I am not sure if changing the Fluid is an easy DIY job maybe somebody else on here can advise. Also don't rely on the small electric fan to cut in at the right time as these only seem to cut in when things start to get really hot and when they cut in tends to vary allot. I have now connected the small electric Fan to a manual switch as well as the sensor in the Thermo housing this allows me to switch it "IN" if I am towing or sat in Traffic but it is important to leave the auto thermo switch connected just in case you forget !!!

[Gamedawn]

If you're going to replace the thermostat, I'd recommend you replace the pressure cap as well. The rubber seal perishes and this gives the same symptoms you are describing. Made me think my head had gone again - boy was I glad when I found the problem.

[Guest]

If you're going to replace the thermostat, I'd recommend you replace the pressure cap as well. The rubber seal perishes and this gives the same symptoms you are describing. Made me think my head had gone again - boy was I glad when I found the problem.

Same here.

Cheers

[Helen]

Phew

Thanks for all your messages and PM's. It managed to drive the 50 or so miles home last night with no further overheating. We're assuming if head prob it would have certainly bubbled over on that trip. We may have got away with it.... everything is crossed......

Get the tools out ..... we're going in......