udfxrookie

I picked up an 02 ES300 from a buddy that was going to junk it because of a leaking radiator. Car has over 200K and I DOUBT they took care of it (single owner though). I replaced the radiator and the engine stays cool. However I have only had it running for a few minutes
as I'm dealing with several other issues.

Now I have the overfill bubbling, which to me generally means:
1) blockage, as in thermostat is bad
2) water pump is bad or worse case
3) blown head gasket

I went to remove the thermostat to "test" it and it appears they didn't have a thermostat or it's in pieces inside their coolant system somewhere as I only pulled out the rubber gasket and ring for the thermostat but NO thermostat (spring, etc)
CAN this mean a bad water pump and is there a simple way to test VS taking off the water pump that's on there? Or does this mean blown head gasket (at which point I'm going to put in a new engine and transmission)

Oro

Put in a thermostat and the re-test. You cant start guessing about bigger issues if you don't have basic things in place working.

Water pump and head gasket on these rarely fail, so start with the basics.

udfxrookie

wouldn't NO THERMOSTAT in there allow the coolant to flow and NOT cause the issue.... I don't see ADDING a thermostat is going to give me any different results vs simply not having one in there and allowing it to free flow.

That is why I don't think that is the issue and it's something more serious such as the water pump and or head gasket. The person I got it from allowed it to overheat to the point the car shut off.

LeX2K

If you suspect a HG then pressurize each cylinder with air and see if it leaks into the cooling system. Or use a block tester.

udfxrookie

That's awesome, didn't know about the block tester, going to grab a kit now and give a shot.

I did however put in a new thermostat and it didn't fix anything. =(

udfxrookie

@Lexus2000
Thank you SO MUCH! That was the fastest and easiest test I've ever done on a car LOL. Unfortunetly it resulted in proving I have a bad head gasket.
The fluid went from blue to yellow almost instantly after the first squeeze proving there is without a doubt exhaust in the coolant. Now to decide if I'm going for a used engine with
low miles or pulling the engine and doing a complete overhaul.

LeX2K

Depends how badly the engine was over heated which is unknowable to you. If it was severely cooked then it will range from major work to the engine has to be scrapped. If you can find a low-ish mileage engine that's the way to go.

udfxrookie

Ok... so I found an engine with only 77k miles, 1yr warranty and only $600, which makes me VERY interested with the low miles.... I've done 2 engine swaps.... chevy cavalier 2.2 to 2.4 which required new ecu, cam timing, etc.... then a 2jzgte in my sc300 which I also had an entire
new engine management system and had it tuned....
IF I do an engine swap for the exact same engine just with lower miles... do I need to go to the dealership and have cams timed, or ANYTHING.... or is it just plug and play?

LeX2K

Complicated question. If the donor is exactly the same including the engine harness it's a direct swap. If the harness is different you'll have to transfer it from your car to the new engine. You should at least replace the rear main seal. Could also do a timing belt job it's easy when the engine is out of the car.

When separating the transmission from the engine keep the torque converter seated into the transmission don't remove it or allow it to slip out, otherwise you can damage the seals in the transmission plus the torque converter is tricky to get seated properly again.

udfxrookie

TY video much for the tips