OH NO!!!! Head gone, I think?

[snowwolf]

Well I have had the surf for over a year now with no probs, this morning after a short journey, all was ok, left surf for 10 mins to go to shop, on restarting, lots of white smoke/steam out of exhuast, drove home seemed ok, but expecting the worst, after 1 hour tried to restart engine, half a revolution it stopped dead, tried again but seems engine is locked, which seems like it is hydraulicing, probable has water in the bore, and as you can't compress water, it just stops it turning, has anyone elses head gone like this? and what will be the best way to unlock it, remove the injectors? if so, what cyls does it normally happen to, I have also got frothing in the coolant exspansion tank, any help gratefully received.

[stara]

oops, you need to get the water out pretty sharpish to prevent corrosion to the cylinder bore wall, if there is a delay until the head is coming off then i would:-disconnect fuel feed, remove injectors, turn engine over, get some oil into the offending bore (spray with long nozzley thing, wd40 type stuff should be ok to dewater and reduce any further corrosion). engine oil & filter will need replacing after head repair.

cross your fingers when taking the head off, hope the con rod has not bent, or damaged to piston, and hope any corrosion will be minimal.

[computingfuture]

wd40 type stuff should be ok to dewater and reduce any further corrosion

uhmm no it isnt, I work at a chandlery and you cannot use wd40 on boat engines as it works to absorb water in the long run. you should use the marine equivelent for outboard engines, I forget what its called.

[snowwolf]

head probs, I cry big time

I have not read on here about anyone else having the same probs as me, I do need to get it to a mates garage to work on it, I I get the water out of the bores, would it be ok to put back all the fuel lines and run it, I only have to drive it 1/4 of a mile, towing out of the question as I have been told that you should not tow a automatic.
any help on changing the head would be very gratefull, never done a head replacement before, but I am an engineer in a papermill so good with spanners and a big hammer LOL.
like all things, once you have done it once, it's easy the next time, I have read about UK cylinder heads, who supply the heads complete, but also read that the head gasket they send is not Toyota, should I have any concerns on that aspect.
Anyone close by who has done this job before (rochester kent) who would kindly come round and help, I would pay a good days wage if they could, and take them out for dinner, I have a use of a very nice large garage and I have quite a lot of tools, god I am begging arnt I.....

[marky]

I only have to drive it 1/4 of a mile. Im sure you are ok at low speed in neutral for this distance

[Rob]

You should be fine to tow your surf. Even though its auto, you can put the transfer case in neutral which effectively disconnects the gearbox from the rear wheels. As far as i understand, the issue with towing autos is that even though the gearbox is in neutral, the rear wheels are still driving it and [usually] the pump that lubricates the gearbox, only works when the engine is running. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong..

[stara]

uhmm no it isnt, I work at a chandlery and you cannot use wd40 on boat engines as it works to absorb water in the long run. you should use the marine equivelent for outboard engines, I forget what its called.

uhhhhmmm well lets hope he doesn't use it to keep his cylinder bore corrosion free for the long term then. or even keep it in the sea.

[snowwolf]

watewr in bore

The water will have to stay in there until saturday as I will be working thursday and friday, now I have released the rad cap, do u think I can turn engine over slowly with a spanner on the fly wheel an shift the water back into the water jacket from where it come from????

[stara]

even if it worked theres not much point, as there will still be water in the bore after doing it, and once air gets at the wet metal, it will corrode quicker than if it was submerged.

[Koi]

[QUOTE=snowwolf]I have read about UK cylinder heads, who supply the heads complete, but also read that the head gasket they send is not Toyota, should I have any concerns on that aspect.
QUOTE]

I got my gasket set from them, they did both sets, genuine and non genuine i bought genuine all packaged in Toyota packaging. If they have stopped doing the genuine sets then source them from elsewhere.

Also see web site for full write up on replacing the head.

[Smurf]

Hi
I doubt you will be able to get the water to go back into the jacket, if its cracked it will probably only open up when the engine is hot!! I didnt use a toyota gasket on mine, think it was ajusa and i have had no problems with it at all. If you dont have access to a machine shop you may be better off buying a complete head with cam/lifters already installed, i had to re-shim when i built my new head, the shims are quite dear for a set or you can just buy a few and machine them down to the right size.
Dont worry too much about the water, it will take a while for it to cause corrosion that cant be dealt with, a week is not going to cause terminal illness to your bores!! they made need a fine honing tool run down them just to clear any surface corrosion but should be fine.

[Vagrant No2]

I personally would not worry to much regarding the coolant being in the bore for a week . The coolant should have anti freeze in it which has anti corrosion additive in it . Any corrosion would only be light and wipe off with a oily rag . rebuilt engines with surface rust on bores before , no prob .

Only my opinion

[snowwolf]

Cheers for the replies

Thanks for all the replies, it is nice having people to fall back on when the going gets tough, well I better order a head from UK cylinder heads all complete and with all the stuff i.m likely to need, would it be a good idea to change the water pump? at the same time, anything else I should do at the same time??????? Taaa lads.

[Vagrant No2]

Thermostat may have been damaged if overheated so change that . Rad cap been done since purchase ? If not do that as well . Water pump should be OK unless showing signs of leaking from 'drip' hole or noisey bearing . T belt and aux belts if look aged . All are worth doing whilst apart . Fit and forget then for while .

Flush heater matrix whilst pipes off and rad also.

[snowwolf]

Head off tomorrow!!!!

Well I have ordered a new head from uk cylinder heads complete, and gonna take the head off tomorrow or tuesday, never done it b4 so any pointers would not go amiss....I will need em....regards Mick