toddpa332

Replace Both Caps .. Had 2 Older Es's before ..If you dont replace them , the cars will overheat , throwing colant out the reserve.

CtrFwd

Does anyone has a updates on your cars? I'm having a same overheating problems on my 93 ES300 and thinking about changing a radiator caps, thermostat and water pump(with Timing Belt) in this order. Or should I pressure test it first? It seems that fan is working fine. Usually overheating occurs when I have A/C on, and yes I'm adding a coolant every few weeks with no leaks any where. I've only drive this car may be once or twice a week so I am kind of puzzled.
Thanks.

esucaris1

my problem ended up being the head gaskets actually my engine block was rusted and pitted under the head gaskets had to replace the eng... have it leak down tested...

CtrFwd

You replaced an engine or gasket? I hope this is not a problem for my car but I'll keep this in mind. Is "leak down" test same as pressure test? I've also notice yesterday that my engine got very hot quickly like within 5 minutes of idling.

esucaris1

well I had just bought the car 6 mos ago... who knows how long the overheating had been a problem... the block being rusted and pitted isnt the norm, usually you can just surface the heads and replace the head gaskets... I've been a mechanic for 17 yrs and had never seen that before...and yes it is a type of pressure test for the head gaskets... here is somthing that i did notice the old eng had continuous small bubbles from the waterneck as I was bleeding out the system (probably compression leaking into the coolant)... the jdm engine quit bubbling after a few minutes

92ES5sp

Yea if its running hot more than likely there is a coolant leak somewhere, obvioulsy if youre adding coolant. Be it internally or externally. I would PT it.

By the way, what is the OE coolant for the 3vz??? Is it Toyota Red or the green stuff?

CtrFwd

I think my car came with Toyota Red coolant, I've just flushed/replaced with Toyota red last month. right now, I'm just waiting for new radiator caps to arrive and If this doesn't work, I'll PT my car.

prlexus

Well I have been having the same overheating problems with my 92 ES, about three years ago it started to overheat and it was a clogged radiator, replaced it and problem solved. about a year later same problem, clogged radiator, replaced it, problem solved, last summer the radiator clogged again, and like clock work, replace it and overheating problem ended. About three weeks ago, the car started to overheat again, so I take my ten month old radiator out and back to the part store and get a new one.

Unfortunately the car continued to overheat, I took it in to the shop and they found a blown intake manifold gasket. Had the intake manifold gasket replaced along with the water pump, thermostat, both radiator and inlet caps, timing belt, bearing, tensioner and the crank shaft pulley because upon taking it apart, I discovered it was damaged.... well the problem is still there, it overheats and boils over to the coolant recovery tank, the tank had a crack in it and I used the JB weld and it is holding water without leaking.

I can hear the fan coming on and the temperature gauge remains at the normal level, then after about 10 miles of driving it climbs back up to about 3 forths of the way, after I take off from a stoplight, the temperature drops back to about normal......and when I park the overflow tank starts to over flow......there are no leaks anywhere and I have replaced just about every thing in the cooling system......

Any suggestions on what may be causing the car to keep overheating..........I read some of the other post and it looks like some of us 92 93 ES owners are having just about the same kinds of problems. I have 182,000 miles and the car runs strong and smooth, now that it has been overheating it is a bit sluggish and idles a bit rough......I also replace the spark plugs.

I don't see any steam coming from the exhaust, no water in the oil and no oil in the coolant. If the head gasket is blown, has anyone tried any of those liquid products that are on the market to seal the head gasket? if so how good do they work?

Any input would be helpful..........

Thanks!

92ES5sp

Wow thats a tough one....

You mentioned the engine has a rough idle. That is probably due to the fact that every passage way (IAC, EGR, and the throttle body itself) are clogged with deposits; or low compression. Does the engine misfire? I would check compression only because you say the radiator keeps clogging. I think you have a leaking head gasket. If youve got 2 cylinders next to each other with low comp. its probably blown.

I think your fan is doing what its supposed to. You just wont know for sure what the problem is until you put a compression gauge on it.

Good luck

esucaris1

that sounds exactly like the overheating problem I "had"... I should have listened to phoenix and performed a leak down test... my head gaskets were bad... anyhow I bought a jdm eng and problem solved

CtrFwd

Wow this sounds more and more like my car except usually this happens when I have a A/C on. First thing first, I'm getting a new radiator caps today so I'll replace these. But I'm also getting a "leak down" test and may be cooling system pressure checked soon. Only thing is that my car only have a 65000 miles and sat in a garage most of a time so I'm a bit puzzled that cooling system is already failing. Eventually I have to replace water pump, thermostat along with timing belt but I was thinking of wait until around 90,000 miles.

ta1972

iTrader: (1)

I'm having the same freaking problem again. I thought i fixed the problem with the overheating issues,but it came back again. This is my first experience with a car like this. My car is a 92 es by the way. I never came across car like this ever!!! I have been trying to tackle this problems for about a year now. I tried taking the car to a lexus dealer to get a leak down test for the heads,but they told me the cost for that test is $300 freakin dollars.. I first tried to take it down to the local mechanic,but they said they don't have a tool for that type of test, What bullsh-t!!!.

esucaris1

yeah I screwed around for six mos. finaly got so bad I replaced the eng...

prlexus

Well I think I finally found the problem, it is a blown head gasket, well it seem like it is a very small leak. I just hope this fixes the problem, I will post the results once I get the work done. I do have one question, one mechanic suggested that I try a liquid permanent head gasket repair since the leak seems to be small.

Any input on the head gasket liquid repair, has anyone used it and did it work permanently or did the problem reoccur.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Pheonix

well being a mechanic you coulda done it cheaper replacing the heads, but pulling the engine is much quicker for those so inclined. plus you get to more easily replace more of the major gaskets on the engine while the used engine is sitting on a stand / crate / whatever.