valley

Drove car in the morning....beautiful...love this car...Es 300. Came home, parked it. Left it til the afternoon. Wanted to take family for a ride. Cranked it over, heard a deep grunt. then dead. I tried to start it again, got Click Click Click...then on the 10th click it started...ran rough but smoothed out...then I noticed thick white smoke coming from exhaust, along with coolant.
What do you think guys? A blown head gasket? Who fixes that? That'sbig bucks, right?
Valley

amf1932

Yup........If you have coolant coming out of the tailpipe it's most likely a blown head gasket. I don't know what they charge to replace it so you'll have to shop around to find out. Of course the worst scenario is a cracked engine block, but that's more unlikely.

valley

Thanks Alan. I'm sure that youre right. It is probably a blown headgasket. Now tell me...What would cause it? Could a new radiator, improperly installed cause pressure that would blow it?
Valley

amf1932

If after the radiator was installed and the coolant was poured in improperly that could cause the headgasket to blow. Lexus/Toyota has a certain procedure that should have been followed otherwise there is the possibility that an air bubble could have formed inside the water jacket in the engine block. This could overheat parts of the block and cause this to happen.
Here is the correct procedure:
1- Radiator & block drain plugs tightened.
2-Heater controls set on maximum.
3-Slowly add new coolant(a 50/50 mixture of water and antifreeze) into the radiator until it's full.
4-Add coolant to the reservoir up to the lower mark.
5-Leave the radiator cap off and run the engine until the thermostat opens(coolant will began flowing through the radiator and the upper hose will become hot).
6-Turn the engine off and let it cool.
7- Add more coolant mixture to bring the level back up to the filler neck.
8-Squeeze the upper radiator hose to expel air, then add more coolant if necessary.
9-Replace the radiator cap.
10-Start the engine and allow it to reach operating temperature and check for leaks.

I know this is after the fact, but that is my take on this situation.

LexDiamond

Coolant coming out the tail pipe means REBUILD TIME= $$$$3000, NEW MOTOR $5K AND a used motor is around $1300 with $700 install. It's gonna cost you $2k+ Sorry to hear about that

Do you have white exhaust fumes? That is a tell tail sign of blown headgasket. Also stand about 5 feet from your exhaust when you start it up in the morning. If you smell a somewhat sweet scent your definately in trouble