rbross2005

Hi guys, my names Rob. Awesome site btw. I've browsed around the forums a bit looking for a solution to my problem, but I'm financially unique to everyone else so I figure I'll just post my dilemma and hope to get some sound advice...

I own a '93 Lexus ES 300 and about 3 months ago I cracked the head gasket on it (that's what I believe at least, no mechanic is actually going to take apart the engine just to diagnose it). At first the car was just burning off coolant slowly and it was fogging out of the exhaust. Now the engine overheats immediately and burns off coolant instantly. I check under the oil cap for undesired mixing and found nothing. Now the car has been collecting cobwebs for about a month or so.

I purchased the car 2 years ago with ~150k on it for about $5,000. Now it has 197k. I just replaced the brakes and rotors. It needs new rear struts as well as front tires, But can live without them for now. The guy I bought the car off of had an eclipse deck, amp, and 10" subs professionally installed as well. The interior is in excellent condition as is the paint job.

Being a starving college student I'm pretty much broke and I need wheels and soon because classes are starting. Right now my options that I'm aware of are as follows:

1. Take out a private/stafford loan and repair the car.
2. Take out a private/stafford loan and replace the engine (ebay?).
3. Take out an auto loan and purchase another car, parting this one.

How fast can a car be parted? I don't really have the time or the space for a delapetated car shell while I sell it one headlight at a time.

From the dealers I've talked to so far, noone is really interested in taking a car that needs heads/gaskets on a trade in. I think the highest offer I got was 600 bucks.

The car still runs, and if I knew how to fix it I would, but my landlord is kind of a jerk about stuff like this, which is why I'm not sure if parting it would be very practical. I could probably just tell him to shut up and keep the car covered or something. dunno.

I've been leaning towards buying another car, installing my system into the new car, and parting/selling the old one.

Ideas, comments, suggestions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

ivory98es3

iTrader: (1)

Welcome to Club Lexus first and foremost......
A couple of questions for you:

1 - Have you had a mechanic or someone you trust (must have knowledge of cars) look at your engine to make sure it is 100% the head gasket? yes, headgaskets fail over time but it is usually something that causes it to fail. If you go this route, try and get an estimate for the cost (because you never know what you are going to find once the head is removed (some machining could be needed, other parts might need to be replaced, etc...) and if you are taking out a loan, might as well inflate it a little to cover the other repairs you need (i.e. rear struts).

2 - Are you mechanically inclined (or have friends that are) to be able to help yourself and do some of the repairs needed? tools? jack and jackstands? etc......plenty of help available on these boards.

3 - You need to figure out if its cost effective to repair the ES or look for another car. You need to do some research and come with a rough estimate of repair costs (parts & labor) v. cost of a newer vehicle (which also may need some work, you don't know) v. engine replacement and take which ever is going to be the cheapest for you but still give you reliable transportation in the end.

I know it sucks, been there years ago when I was in college. Good luck to you and hopefully others will chime in with there $0.02

OceanView

I agree with the above suggestions.
You might want to look at getting a bike in the meantime for transportation.
You could also buy another used car.

powerwave

another option, if it's in good shape, is to sell the car as is, noting the engine trouble. if the body's in good shape you can get something for it at least. might be easier than parting out, we bought our 250 with a dead engine in it and man we're having awful luck parting our old camry.

might make for a decent down payment on your next car if the repair expenses become prohibitive.

if you're sure it needs a head gasket, maybe talk with a dealer tech and see if he's willing to do the job on the side... a lot of em take side jobs.

always consider cost all options before choosing one. i know what it's like to be broke, i went to college and straight to grad school so i haven't had any above-poverty-level income... well... ever. do whatever works best for you in the end, sorry you're having such luck.

rbross2005

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I always just feel like selling/parting it and moving on to another car, until I open the door and get into it, and then I don't want to let go of it

Part of me was hoping that one of you lexus savy techs would tell me about the secret button below the steering wheel that checks your headgasket and lets you load a new one in through the glovebox

Anyone know how difficult is it to part a car as old as mine? I live in San Diego...

Pheonix

parting out would be rediculously bad. it's an extremely time consuming process.

in general, unless you pay lots of money to bump your work up. good engine machining shops have a turn-around time of 3 days. That means you'd loose the car for a week+.





Cost of repairing & re-gasketing the engine would be about what buying a used JDM imported engine & swapping that is. The differance being the JDM engine would be in unknown condition, and it too would likely benifit from all the maintenance applied to the other engine. <cough> master externial gasket set <cough>. Also gives almost free labor on replacing the two main seals; to which the RMS is impossible to change without unmating the transmission.

charley240

iTrader: (6)

lol. sorry. yeah, it definetly is time consuming to part a vehicle. especially one thats as old as ours. but if youre willing to part, i am interested, maybe the whole vehicle, or a lot of front end parts( hood, headlights, fenders, and windshield).
let me know.
im working on a project car that needs a lot of work.
Charley

No-Neck

OK, a quick easy check for a bad head gasket. Park on level ground, fill the cooling system all the way to the top of the filler neck, start the car- if the water "jumps" out of the neck you have a bad gasket, if the water goes down - the head gaskets are ok and you have another problem.

Sorry, no secret button hidden any where ! !

esucaris1

You may only see a continous stream of air bubbles in the waterneck if the head gasket is not severely leaking don't misunderstand that statement to mean that it might not be that bad... Any head gasket leak IS BAD

rbross2005

So this is a really late reply, but closure to this thread nonetheless...

I sold the car about 2 months ago for about $650. I also took a trade to get my replacement vehicle a $300 detail job (interior, clay-bar, the works). Sadly, I no longer own a Lexus and thus no longer have a place in this community

The replacement? A Toyota of course. I bought a dark gray 2002 Toyota 4Runner limited with ~63k miles, one previous owner (a lease). I pulled the amp and dual 10" subs out of the es300 and installed them in the back of the 4Runner. For those of you familiar with 4Runners the 2002 was the last model they made before redesigning it into a soccer-mom SUV (IMO anyways). Granted the newr models have a 4.0L over the 3.4, but god the older models are just so much more gorgeous. I did a lot of waiting and searching before finding this vehicle at a mom & pop dealership in the far rural outskirts of San Diego, and I could not be happier.

I do however miss my Lexus very very much and even though it was a bit outdated ('93) I loved that car to death and fully understand every single person's love for Lexus, no matter what model and year you may own. I'm quite positive that I will own another one someday. Thank you all for your help and best wishes to you and your Lexus.

1993ES300x

ROB... i used to own a 93 Es300 (look at my name).. also had it while i was in college(year old 2004) same as you i had a head gasket problem.. mines were a small leak at first than after a year it became a problem(one i can't ignore).. finally i donated it to charity.. and now got myself a Audi A6.. i love this car.. but the Lexus will always have a place in my heart. hahaha..

i still come to this forum daily, mostly the clubhouse or the car chat. stay around and enjoy..