rodel

iTrader: (3)

I've never heard of a head gasket blowing due to radiator sealant.

Check for these symptoms for a blown head gasket:

The heater blowing cold air, excessive steam coming out the the radiator, milky brown fluid in the radiator, oveflowing coolant reservoir, engine consuming coolant.

rodel

iTrader: (3)

Carfax is not intended to research engine/mechanical problems. It's meant to show a trail of ownership, title changes, salvage titles, etc...

SharpLS-96

As someone else has mentioned, hopefully no one used " Stop Leak" ( a product such as this http://www.autobarn.net/chc3-12.html ) in the radiator. If they did you're in trouble since it causes nothing but a major headache. Never ever use a product like this because it clogs up everything other then it's intended for. Dealer's are known to do this to cover up any potential problems for a quick fix in addition to keep profits high.

Carfax is just a tool to give some basic info so you shouldn't rely solely on the info it provides. Nothing beats going through a car physically from head to toe.

Good luck!

LB Lex

Do you have a warranty on the car just in case it turns out there's major damage?

JellyBean

It doesn't sound too serious. If it was a blown head gasket, the engine wouldn't idle smoothly and it would be constantly spewing anti-freeze smelling steam from the exhaust. I speculate that the antifreeze hasn't been changed AND somebody added some uncalled-for additives. I agree with a poster above who said that a flush and a drive can cure every symptom you mentioned.

fasted1953

Isn't it great when part of the solution involves driving the GS, especially driving it hard. Like what Ralph at Runge's garage in Chicago used to call an "Italian tuneup" in a less PC era.

gserep1

CARFAX is JUNK in my opinion as well. The dealers use it to sell confidence, but it is all crap. I bought my 99 GS4 from Scottsdale, Arizona last summer, and the dealership was singing the praises of CARFAX. It showed the changes of ownership and registration renewals, and indicated a MINOR accident a few years back but nothing major.

When I asked the dealership about the accident, they acted suprised, and said that they hadn't read the whole thing through and through...just the front page that the car passed inspection. That doesn't sound likely, since so much touch up paint was used, and after 7 months of washing and general wear, the paint is starting to peel off.

After taking delivery of the car, while rummaging through the owners' manual, I came across repair orders from the original owner, and was able to piece together all the events of the accident.

It seems the car was struck from the rear on the drivers' side, and pushed into the back of the car in front, causing front end damage, as well as rear. Someone was not very careful about removing old information from the car, but it is a bonus to me. They replaced the left rear light assembly, left muffler (resonator) and a lot of front end parts like the front fender and hood, because there were no vin numbers on the existing fender or the hood. It all made sense AFTER I took delivery.

In summary, I am getting peeling paint on the front from touch up paint used to cover up things, and now I have to replace struts (actually after 6 years it should be time,. but that left rear strut now is very weak, and sags under load, and the left front headlight assembly gets water in it during a rain storm, or when washing the car...it was obviously cracked during the accident, but not replaced, because it showed no obvious signs of damage. The passenger side headight assembly is fine, so I have to conclude the driver side leakage is a result of trauma that was not caught on the estimate.

So I am living with the consequences, and slowly rebuilding it into the car I want it to be. But MAYBE a closer examinaton by me and an independent inspection center would have revealed some of the flaws. Luckily, mechanically, it is nearly perfect. I have one passenger door lock assembly going out, but that is it. There was paperwork showing every required service being done by Lexus for the first 60,000 miles, so it is in pretty good shape.

Even more interesting is the fact that other paperwork in the car revealed private information on the previous owners, and I found out that they were in their 60's and 70's, so luckily I don't see any signs of abuse of any kind. I would have definitely removed this info from any car I sold or traded in.

If I had to buy another GS, I would inspect the car better, and trust CARFAX LESS (NONE)

LexCiting

I was also going to suggest that someone probably put some "Stop Leak" in there as someone mentioned before. I actually did this once as a precautionary method, and when I needed a new radiator because of a leak, it had the same type of crap that you described in my old unit. I would have the system flushed, and monitor your antifreeze (once the car is cooled down) every once in a while. If you need to add antifreeze after a flush, there maybe a problem. Also check your temp gauge in the car when driving. Good Luck.

HD-GS4

Thanks for all the replies.

I got the car back from the dealer today. They replaced the thermostat, and kept pumping clean water through, until the blockage was freed. They also got the fans working. Apparently, some of the gunk was blocking the sensors that turn the fans on.

Anyway, I'm still a little frustrated with the outcome. After driving the car, the heater still isn't very warm. If I have it set to 85 degrees, and the blower on low, then it seems to blow out pretty hot, but if I turn the fan up, then it's like it can't keep up, and blows out room temperature air. There is still a slight amount of steam coming from the radiator area of the vehicle when I stop at a light, etc. I also noticed today when I was installing my new floormats, that the carpet is sopping wet. The front areas, as well as the rear areas. I suppose that could be from the fresh water they kept pumping through the system, in an attempt to get the blockage freed. It wasn't red like the coolant. Just clear water.

I'm kind of frustrated with my dealer for telling me my car was ready and fixed, only to find out later that we're only part way there.

So, the fan problem has been fixed, and the blockage is gone (so they say), but I'm still not getting much heat, there's steam coming out of the engine, and the carpet is wet.

I had to swing by the dealer to get some stuff out of my trunk that I needed for an appointment. I walked back in to the shop of the Lexus dealer, and the technician was working on it. He seemed like he knew what he was doing, and took the time to show me what he had been doing, and what he thought the problems were.

Anyway, if you could still offer your help given this new information, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

rodel

iTrader: (3)

Inadequate heat and wet carpet may be due to a bad heater core.

Steam coming out of the engine....I still think you should get your engine tested for a blown head gasket.

HD-GS4

I should probably clarify... the steam is coming more specifically from the rediator. It almost looks like it is coming from the cap itself.

HD-GS4

One more thing...

I decided to check the system myself just now for any air, by running the engine with the radiator cap off until the thermostat opened. I then filled it with antifreeze, and put the cap back on. Interestingly, it seems to be blowing out more hot now, but I think I narrowed the problem down even further. You know how the GS has those dual climate controls for both passengers? Only my two passenger vents are blowing out hot. The two driver side vents are room temp. I've made sure to try it in and out of passenger mode, but no matter what I do, the passenger side is the only side that gets hot.

Is there some sort of valve that controls the heat coming from the antifreeze to each side? Perhaps it isn't working, or is blocked?

SharpLS-96

I agree with Rodel, your carpeting should show no sign of water at all unless your Heater Core is shot.

How would they (the dealer you used) wet your carpeting by flushing/running water through the system? The only way for that to happen is if you have a bad heater core. I happen to think your have a hole in the HC and that's the reason your carpeting is wet and your heat doesn't blow hot.

Sorry to say but I think the previous owner/seller pulled a fast one on you by using a product such as Stop Leak in the system to hide the problem and decided to use mainly water & very little antifreeze so the odor would be non-existent in the interior cabin in order to sell the car. Once your dealer flushed your system all that crap from the Stop Leak was blown out and the hole in your Heater Core reemerged.

Give it a couple of days and if you begin to have an odor in the car from antifreeze then it means you need a new heater core. Changing a heater core is an expensive job since the entire dash has to be removed basically.

JellyBean

I agree 100%. Keep troubleshooting until you're absolutely sure it's the heater core.

00lexondub

iTrader: (2)

i didnt mean that was the cause of the head gasket.. i was just thorwing out some reasons it was gunk..