So, 12 months ago I spent 2700 on a V6 Vienta 1996 Toyota Camery. Nice looking car, good runner! That's over a months pay for me, so IMO a lot of money.

9 months later I was stuck on the side of Tonkin and Read Hwy intersection with a blown head gasket!

After much frustration, I made the decision to dive into my remaining savings to fix the car.
I paid 2500 to get the engine replaced with one from Japan- they also replaced the timing chain, pumps, thermo stat & plugs.

I was quoted up to 4500, at 3 places- much more to get my broken engine shaved and repaired.

4 months later, tonight.

I find myself tonight on the side of Karrynup road, having only driven 9000 Kms with another blown head gasket.

So ticked off.....

Mark _australia said...
In that case they did something wrong. (Presuming it had coolant and oil in it lol)
A head gasket will only blow that fast if they did not machine the head flat, the head gasket was faulty, or the head bolts were incorrectly torqued.

I'd argue it with them til blue in the face - cos HG's go for 200,000 most of the time.

It's a strange one. It sounds like they replaced it with a 2nd hand Jap import motor, and never removed the heads, even though they replaced the timing chain(chains?). Still, 9K kms out of a 2nd hand motor is not great. Does it have any warranty at all?

I know fark all about mechanics.
My late old man was a mechanic.
He used to blow up at me when I told him I only change the oil when the warning light has been on for a month.

My Dad use to work for Toyota,so here's his advice.
Sorry to say this,but if you do a search on Camry V6 head gasket's,you will soon see that the V6 Camry motor is prone to doing heads and head gaskets,some were even done under warranty when they were new.
Check to see if your radiator was cleaned and flushed after you had all that work done,as what tends to happen is that all the "gunk" from inside the engine gets disturbed or metal filings partially blocks the radiator,which then causes the engine to overheat,which then causes the cylinder heads to crack.or head gasket to fail.

Think you've all missed the bit where he said the engine was replaced. Sounds like a reco engine where they've done timing belt etc as part of the reconditioning. But they wouldn't have taken the head off, therefore not liable for 2nd HG blowing.

If the replacement engine blew a head gasket I'd guess one of two things underoath:
*bad luck, 2nd engine was due to go soon as well.
or
* something non-engine/head related causing it to happen.
Common thing which could be to blame is a hose or a metal part of the water cooling system develops a tiny pinhole leak, sometimes it only opens at full temperature due to expansion. Water sprays out on highway, fine mist so you don't see anything. Engine fine at highway speed due to air flow cooling, temp guage stays at/near normal. Overheats the minute you slow down. If you have blown HG twice right after coming off highway, this would be my guess.

^^^ that's only if you keep an eye on temp guage as you drive and it's never moved. If it's been up n down a bit then what flying ant said.

+1 for toyotas being only as good as other big brands, they still have common faults.

I would not have replaced the head, or engine, on a $2700 car.

Should've just bought another cheap banger.

deXtrous said...
I would not have replaced the head, or engine, on a $2700 car.

Should've just bought another cheap banger.

Yeah, I thought if I fix her up she will be good for another 4 years.

My reply was from when the O.P said he had 3 quotes that were expensive then went with the $2500 one. THEN it was edited to say the cheaper option was a low km's import motor.
Now I know it was not a rebuild - well waaayyy different story.

Mark _australia said...
My reply was from when the O.P said he had 3 quotes that were expensive then went with the $2500 one. THEN it was edited to say the cheaper option was a low km's import motor.
Now I know it was not a rebuild - well waaayyy different story.

Yes, the import was cheaper. It didn't have the heads shaved ect.

Should still have some form of warranty? Even our second hand motors from the wreckers over here have a 6month warrant that covers poor workmanship. I say a quick call to consumer affairs would be a good start.

Underoath said...

I think, (and after getting told off from the misses) I need something more reliable. I might have to spend 5 figures.

My only issue about getting a bettet car, is I have always preached about buying a car with cash. Don't get a lone, save and buy!

Now I feel quite hypocritical.

Stick with the ethic. Don't get a loan and pay interest to buy something that will only go down in value. Makes no sense unless the item makes you money.

Get a better car; yes but don't pay more than $3,000 for it. Just get smarter with your buying.

If you need the size of the Camry, I believe the 2.2 litre four cylinder models are one of the most reliable cars you could buy.

If you don't need that size get an AE 101R Corolla (1995 to 1998??). My daughter's Corolla has 360,000 klms on it and still goes like a train.

Toyotas around that vintage just have the edge over anything else. What you must do though is change the oil and filter every 5 to 10,000 klms and keep the cooling system up to scratch.

www.carsales.com.au/?utm_source=carpoint/all-cars/results.aspx?q=(((((((SiloType%3d%5bDealer+used+cars%5d)%7c(SiloType%3d%5bDemo+and+near+new+cars%5d))%7c(SiloType%3d%5bPrivate+seller+cars%5d))%26((Make%7b%3d%7d%5bToyota%5d)%7b%26%7d(Model%7b%3d%7d%5bCamry%5d)))%26(State%7b%3d%7d%5bWestern+Australia%5d))%26(Cylinders%3d%5b4%5d))%26(Price%3drange%5b2500..5000%5d))%26(Service%3dCarsales)&sortby=~Price



www.carsales.com.au/?utm_source=carpoint/all-cars/results.aspx?q=((((((SiloType%3d%5bDealer+used+cars%5d)%7c(SiloType%3d%5bDemo+and+near+new+cars%5d))%7c(SiloType%3d%5bPrivate+seller+cars%5d))%26((Make%7b%3d%7d%5bToyota%5d)%7b%26%7d(Model%7b%3d%7d%5bCorolla%5d)))%26(State%7b%3d%7d%5bWestern+Australia%5d))%26(Price%3drange%5b0..5000%5d))%26(Service%3dCarsales)&sortby=~Price

cisco said...

Toyotas around that vintage just have the edge over anything else. What you must do though is change the oil and filter every 5 to 10,000 klms and keep the cooling system up to scratch.

Kinda hard to change the oil every 10,000 kms when it does a head gasket every 9,000 kms

Or are you saying change the oil every time you change the head gaskets?

Underoath said...

Mark _australia said...
My reply was from when the O.P said he had 3 quotes that were expensive then went with the $2500 one. THEN it was edited to say the cheaper option was a low km's import motor.
Now I know it was not a rebuild - well waaayyy different story.

Yes, the import was cheaper. It didn't have the heads shaved ect.

This is the problem, second hand engines could be in any condition and have more kays than the engine that you are replacing. Low K in Japan is high in hours running because of the traffic and the cars sitting still alot!!
There isnt an easy fix tbh

Did they remove and service your radiator when they replaced the engine?
You need to try and find out what's caused it if you want to try and get some sort of reimbursement.
If it's something that the installer has missed when fitting the second hand engine then they may help you out in some way.
Generally on second hand motors you'll get a 3 month/5000k warranty. (whichever comes first)
I'd be checking Radiator for partial blockage, thermo fans for correct operation and thermostat to start with...

Underoath said...

So, 12 months ago I spent 2700 on a V6 Vienta 1996 Toyota Camery.

I [then] paid 2500 to get the engine replaced with one from Japan

I'm going to ask the question everyone wants to ask.
Why didn't you just buy a whole Camry?

busterwa said...
Shame you dont windsurf else you'd have to buy one of these to transport you 7 boards 6 sails 9 adults and 16 dogs. haha

[Image of a truck]

Ohhhhhh, now I get it.