Overheating

[Koi]

OK people had this mail from a fellow Surfer, I thought I would put it on here to get a variety of views on this one. Lets see if we can help this poor surfer get his motor back on the road.


Please can anyone help me.I have only just found this website,and I am hoping somebody can assist.I have a late 1991 wide bodied Surf 2.4 auto,imported approx.2 years ago.I love it and it's the best vehicle I have ever owned.My 2 year old will confirm this-he won't travel in anything else!
Anyway to my plea.I had an overheating problem in February this year,initially told head gasket but then told cylinder head was useless and would have to be replaced.After the shock I agreed to the repair (brand new head),together with other little jobs(timing belt,oil+fillter etc.).A final bill of £1440 (head was £600 alone).Plenty more enjoyable miles done all over the country(approx. 14000).About a month ago she started overheating again with a loud burbling sound from the overflow tank.straight back to the garage for advice.Garage suggested thermostat,radiator,water pump,cooling fan,all have been relaced.ran her and same problem.Tried with thermostat out-same problem.Garage suggested head gasket again,replaced this,same problem.garage suggested problem with injectors.I had the injectors done,another head gasket and head bolts-a final bill of £800.Drove her from the garage and after about 30 miles,temp. gauge up into the red.Switched off engine,water bubbling,exactly the same problem.Back to the garage rather angry to say the least and left it with them.They contacted me to say that they ha tried various things,but still had the same problem.They then suggested that maybe the head was damaged or faulty(found out warranty on head was 12 months or 12000 miles,whichever came first,I'd done 14000 since head replacement in February,therefore out of warranty).Great news I thought.Losing heart by now,but decided to have cylinder head checked-report back yesterday,head is fine.Garage are now scratching their heads.So as it stands I am £2200 down and vehicle is stuck in garage.
I'm sorry this e-mail is so long winded,but i felt I needed to explain everything to see if anyone can help.
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please could they let me know.anything at all,basic or technical,i really am desperate.
I'm starting to lose heart and as it stands at the moment my Surf is useless and worth very little.
thankyou for your time and hope to hear from somebody soon.
With Thanks

So come on folks a nice one to get your teeth into.

[wibblywobbly]

Interesting one

This guy has had some real bad luck. At the end of the day an overheat situation is either caused by inadequate cooling on a healthy engine, or a faulty cooling system, or by a gas leak into the coolant.

From what has been described so far everything that should be checked, has been checked.

I am assuming that the rad has been pressure checked, and that the new head has been checked also.

The only thing that has not been mentioned is the check for a cracked block. This is perfectly possible, and has happened to some.

Is the cooling fan cutting in, and has the coolant been checked for exhaust gas contamination? The answer is there somewhere.

Wish I knew the answer, and the best of luck in getting it sorted. He could also try the Aussie site, they have an additional area of expertise down there.

Rob G

[Ems and Jim]

Just an idle thought..... has the system been pressure tested ? Maybe the cooling jacket in the block is damaged / blocked / leaking / pressurising - just thoughts........

[Rob]

I'm assuming the radiator cap has been changed....there has been no mention of it yet and there usually is, in an overheating topic!

[JimL]

This fella in Oz has a theory here regarding the viscuous clutch and the amount of slush that should be in there. He's well respected on the Oz site

http://203.2.201.247/surf/4x4/Coolin...ing_system.htm

[Pete]

There is no mention of the steam from the exhaust which occurs with head/gasket failure either.
Pete

[Beanie]

Viscous Clutch

I'm a Surf newbe, in fact I haven't even got a Surf yet, but I do know that a failed viscous clutch is a well-known issue on some BMWs. I had one pack up on my 535. Easy to diagnose - shove a rolled-up newspaper into the blades of a warmed-up engine. If it stops it is knackered. If it blows shredded newspaper everywhere then it is OK. Also very easy to change. On a BMW it is a single 22mm nut but remember that it is reverse-threaded. Certainly worth a try.

[Gamedawn]

I was going to say that I couldn't see any mention of the rad cap being changed - but Rob beat me to it. About 3 months after I had my head done I got the fright of my life when the thing started boiling, throwing out coolant etc, etc. After I had finished panicking I noticed that the seal on the rad cap was split. £5 later and hey presto no more problems.

[tich]

I`d put my house on the head being knackered!. As has been suggested many times, and through personnal experience, bubbleing and gurgleing in the header tank suggests exhaust gases, especially if the water is a dirty milky grey colour.
When the head was originally replaced was it a new head or the dreaded reconditioned job?.
My sincere sympathy to this chap but no matter how much time is put into replacing other things, which in all probability are not required and a waste of money, a new head will be required.

Best of luck chap!
Tich

[sumo]

Ok this might seem daft but, was the heating system fully open? could it be an airlock? also I second the fan and radcap theory, had the radcap go on my old girl, lots of gurgling and overheating, new radcap problem solved. Try not to get paranoid about the overhaeting/head gone thing and think logicaly. Dont forget the glass is half full as well as half empty.
sumo.

[gemini]

get the surf away from that garage and cut your losses, its all a guessing game with your money, the injectors are nothing to do with the overheating and shouldnt have been replaced, the head needs taking off and pressure testing, this is the only way to be sure, it makes me wonder if the garage has fitted a recon head and not a brand new one like you paid for, find a decent garage or better still get it home and find a good mechanic, if it has a reconned head fitted get your money back

[tich]

Listen to Ian, he`s spot on!.

Winners never quit. Quiters never win!.

Tich

[LemmingLegion]

So, did this ever get solved?

[carlpppumps]

i bought a 2.4 surf with a known head gasket problem i replaced the head and everything else after putting it all back together less than 20 miles and into the red again i waited till it was cool and limped back to my factory took the rad off and fxxed into the skip everybody was telling me the 2.4 and the 3.0 use the same rad belive me they do not the 3.0 is bigger so i got a second hand one from e bay put it on and hay presto everything has been fine since then advice is take the standard 2.4 rad of and throw it away put on a 3.0 rad or bigger rad if you can how do toyota expect a 2.4 turbo that has the same rad as a non tubo to cool the engine when it is flat out going up hills or pulling something heavy common sence says it can not the only problem i have now is i have 2 rad caps as the 2.4 has the cap on the stat housing and the 3.0 has it on the rad in due course i will make a blanking plate for the rad cap on the stat housing