rtk7

So i've been running very very low on engine coolant and bought the long life lasting red coolant or whatever its called. I know its a special toyota coolant i guess but i bought it and it said mix 50/50 with water i did and added it in the resevoir to about full and let it sit. I start to drive it and it's running differently, when you shift it into drive and hold the breaks so its at about 750 rpms it runs really really rough and the car feels very sluggish now? like im in L or 2. Is the coolant breaking it? or is there gonna be a problem in the long run that its starting now

Nad1370

The coolant had nothing to do with your sudden rough idle.
Could be just coincidence that it did after you put it in.

Low coolant huh? Any leaks? could be a leaky headgasket and burning it in the combustion.

rtk7

hmm idk? i know some seals arent good probally cause i do have some oil leaks on the engine but its not really bad but i can see it
how much is it for someone to replace the head gasket?

kphu

iTrader: (8)

after you ran the car, did the coolant get lower again? If you continue to lose alot of coolant and its not "leaking" anywhere then its definitely going somewhere which means inside your engine. If your burning it off then its a bad sign of things to come.

i would guess a head gasket replacement would run you about $500 - $700 as its labor intensive.

byf43

I see in your profile that your car is a '95 es300.

Here's my suggestions:

1. Check the oil level.
Is it normal?
Is it over-full?
Does it look 'milky' or like coffee w/ cream or a frothy chocolate shake??

2. Do you see white smoke coming from the exhaust?

3. Does the engine run rough from initial start-up, or, when warm?


I just had the head gaskets replaced on my '93 es300. Granted, I had other stuff replaced at the same time (preventive maintenance/repairs) but, here's the rundown.

• Heads removed and pressure tested to ensure that they weren't cracked.
• Heads planed (or 'trued') so that the mating surfaces would be flat.
The pressure testing and planing of the heads was $150.00, done by a automotive machine shop
• New gaskets on top-end of engine.
• New timing belt.
• New water pump.
• New thermostat.
• New sparkplugs and wires
• New coolant
• New Oxygen sensor (Left side 'Main' sensor). Originally why car was in the shop - repair cost $361
• Oil and filter change
• Labor

Total cost: $1991.37

With 108,500 miles on the car, it runs like a new one and runs very cool.

Granted, in your area, you might be able to get the repairs done cheaper, plus, you probably won't need the O2 sensor replaced, either.

Lexucan

Replacing the head gaskets is pretty expensive. I've done some asking about the cost at my local Toyota dealership's service department. The head gasket job was only a couple of hundred dollars less than the labor cost of replacing the whole engine.
When you say you added coolant to the reservoir, did you also add coolant to the radiator and the other coolant port on top of the engine? And are you sure the new coolant you added is compatible with the old coolant that was in the car? If the two coolants aren't compatible your radiator and engine could be full of a thick jello-like substance by now instead of a liquid.

rtk7

well its not a big difference its just i noticed it when i was at a stop light and i had my brakes pressed in and i heard a little bit of rattling on my door panel and noticed my car was rumbling a little bit? but the engine was just warming up anyways.
when i change oil i always empty it out an add 5 quartz. so i dont think i overfilled it. i got a non alcohol coolant so it said it was ok to use it. but i was just wondering if im having head gasket problems and such. but like i said it was very noticable but it seems like it changed? but maybe i never caught it before but i want to make sure everything is ok because im going to sell it i think come summer time

kphu

iTrader: (8)

this could be pure coincidence...it could also be because of carbon build up and time for tune up. How many miles on the car and when was the last tune up? A cheaper thing to do is a seafoam treatment.

rtk7

car has 131k miles on it. last tune up was year and half ago but it wasnt droven till 6 months afterwards and i've done 3 oil changes so far. can you tell me what i can do for a tuneup on my car and price? like

air filter-10
oil change-25?
kinda like that?

fireman155

new plugs
new wires
fuel injector cleaner(seafoam)
new fuel filter

kphu

iTrader: (8)

A full tune up at lexus dealership will run you $400 easy. I'd go with the $8 can of seafoam + 1hr of your time first to see if that improves the ride.

Here's the instruction provided by the guru (Pheonix) who introduced this stuff to our forum - https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=185227