Mcgink
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2004
- Location
- South of Boston MA
- TDI
- I-Red,"The Passat formerly known as Harlequin" 97 B4, a non VW GTDI too
So, we have a 98 Camry (~300k mi) with a blown head gasket amongst the TDI's. No fluid mix but it's definitely burning coolant and pressurizing the coolant system. As much as I disapprove of using sealants instead of fixing it right, the car itself IMO is just not worth it (Don't tell R ). There's a few products that are available to reportedly repair (Band-aid IMO) headgaskets. Has any one had any success with these products? Some have silicates, one has carbon fiber, and some have no particulates. Hate to plug the core but would want to mainly get it driveable again.
The heater core has a gurgle for many years and heat seems marginal IMO (thankfully, I don't drive it much ) Who knows how long it's been pressurizing the cooling system. The daily driver just doesn't notice things untill nearly FAIL unfortunately. I guess we're not all Technicians.
It was first noticed by the DD as a coolant loss. It was leaving no stains in the driveway and I found no apparent leaks. A pressure test revealed a small leak (hairline fracture) in the lower rad tank at the trans connection. After flushing the system and running for an hour with just water in it, no loss or overheating with existing cap (Junk). New Rad, T-Stat, Cap, and some (while you're in there) hoses/clamps. Now the system is whole and it ran fine in the driveway even at 2500 RPM till the fans kick on and doesn't seem to lose coolant.
The road test is a completely different story (especially the side of the road part ). After ~5 mi, the temp gauge swings top to bottom then everywhere in between. Then limp mode and Cel and off to the breakdown lane with the 4-ways on only able to get like 300 RPM but no stall . Rad hoses are hard as a rock and steams like a locomotive, I dawn the Ov-Glove and carefully release the pressure cap. Idle comes up after about a minute and I ad coolant. Got it home after stopping a few times and adding coolant with the cap off.
The heater core has a gurgle for many years and heat seems marginal IMO (thankfully, I don't drive it much ) Who knows how long it's been pressurizing the cooling system. The daily driver just doesn't notice things untill nearly FAIL unfortunately. I guess we're not all Technicians.
It was first noticed by the DD as a coolant loss. It was leaving no stains in the driveway and I found no apparent leaks. A pressure test revealed a small leak (hairline fracture) in the lower rad tank at the trans connection. After flushing the system and running for an hour with just water in it, no loss or overheating with existing cap (Junk). New Rad, T-Stat, Cap, and some (while you're in there) hoses/clamps. Now the system is whole and it ran fine in the driveway even at 2500 RPM till the fans kick on and doesn't seem to lose coolant.
The road test is a completely different story (especially the side of the road part ). After ~5 mi, the temp gauge swings top to bottom then everywhere in between. Then limp mode and Cel and off to the breakdown lane with the 4-ways on only able to get like 300 RPM but no stall . Rad hoses are hard as a rock and steams like a locomotive, I dawn the Ov-Glove and carefully release the pressure cap. Idle comes up after about a minute and I ad coolant. Got it home after stopping a few times and adding coolant with the cap off.