The Saga Continues!!!

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Location: croydon

hey Guys,

well i thought i had done a headgasket in my car but this may in-fact not be the case.

Last night i did a cooling system pressure test. I did it cold and the cooling system held pressure fine. Even found a leak in a heater hose. fixed the leak re-tested....... held pressure........ no leaks......... no pressure droping.

by now i am swearing so i though i might do the test when the engine is warm to make sure it builds pressure.

done test from 0 builds pressure no problems. So i ran the car with the Radiator cap off to check for bubbles. and guess what..... no bubbles.

By now i am standing next to the fuel tank with a packet of matches the frustration is really getting to me.

I originally thought i have blown a headgasket because i took the oil cap off and looked underneath it and it was a little bit milky (the same with the PCV valve on top of the rocker cover. I checked the dip stick and the oil is still clean not Milky. the car does not use any coolant and even when taking the rad cap off it has ALOT OF PRESSURE under it.

Now i only drive the car less than 2km a day to and from work Embarassed

and i have been told it can just be caused by condensation because the car is never getting to its optimum operating temperature before it has to cool down again.

So i am at a loss as to what it could be so can anyone else shine a light and let me know what they think it could possibly be.
The car is a 1FZ-FE 80 series

Cheers Ben

Joined: 25 Jul 2004 Location: Central Coast, NSW

alot of condensation in the oil, check you oil level, then take it for a good run, when its cooled down again check you oil level. hopefully the moisture will have steamed out, if its not blowing any smoke

alterativly, get some of the oil out it and heat it up, if it crackles its got moisture in it, dont do this where it can splash you though hot oil is bad Smile

Joined: 24 Jul 2007 Location: Sunshine coast

Just Keep driving.

Joined: 05 Aug 2004 Location: VIC

Get a bike lazybones!

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Location: croydon

haha thanks for the reply guys. I have started riding to work. so hopefully this should assist in my fitness aswell.

but yeah i think it might just be condensation. Ill dump the oil and see how we go from there.

Ben

Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Location: Ipswich

punk_180 wrote:

hey Guys,

. the car does not use any coolant and even when taking the rad cap off it has ALOT OF PRESSURE under it.

Cheers Ben

When you say this do you mean when it has warmed up or after it has cooled down. If the cooling system has pressure in it after it has cooled down (ie. the next day) it sounds like a head gasket.

Just did the gasket on my 3L and it didn't show up in a pressure test or a cylinder leakage test but when we pulled the head off the gasket was rooted.

But because you are not using any water it doesn't sound like it would be the case for you.

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Location: croydon

no it has no pressure in it once its cold.

Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Location: Shed.

the cooling system can only have as much pressure as the cap is designed for - 12 - 14 psi sort of range.

most workshops can perform a test on the gas in the cooling system to determine if there is exhaust gas in there, takes a few minutes and should only cost around $20.

as others have said, some condensation in the oil could be considered normal, give it a flush and change and see if it continues, if it drives ok and doesn't use oil and water, stop worrying about it. lots of short trips aren't good for it.

Joined: 02 Aug 2008 Location: here

those engines have an oil cooler built onto the side of the block which can leak coolant into the oil.

Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Location: Blackbutt, Queensland

the exact same thing has happened yo my 1fz in my 100 ser and it turned out to be a cracked head so i am a little pissed off so im still driving it just carrying water now as it can lose it at any time have found a motor for a swap and just gonna drive it till it stops Rolling Eyes

then change it

Joined: 09 Jan 2008 Location: Ipswich

punk_180 wrote:

no it has no pressure in it once its cold.

Mate if thats the case and it is not using any water I would not worry about it. Change the oil and filter and sounds like you will be fine.

Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Location: croydon

well we comp tested it last night and well NOT GOOD
1-2-3-4-6 comp was within 1psi
cylinder 5 was at 44psi. so we are pulling the head off and going to reco it.

thanks everyone for your input.

Ben