SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Hello,

I have a 1992 SC300 Stock 5 Speed. I replaced the head gasket last August but didn't have the head or block decked or resurfaced, just replaced the gasket and put it back together. I have driven the car only about 8,000 miles since the gasket replacement and began to notice I was loosing steam/coolant out of my radiator cap.. I replaced the cap and still had the same issue of losing coolant/steam from just under the cap...I would lose about 1 cup to a pint of fluid a day. I figured out finally it was my radiator. The little lips that the radiator cap grabs onto were worn out on the back side, if I pushed down on the cap while the engine was on the steam release would stop. Why lexus made the top and bottom of the radiator out of plastic is beyond me. Besides the radiator issue my car ran just fine, no hesitation on aceleration, smooth idle, temps right in the middle of the temp guage.... Then one day about a month ago it got to about 85 degrees outside and my coolant was lower than I had thought and while sitting at a stop light with my a/c on my car temp began to rise super fast.... It never got to the red but ot to the line just under before I looked down and saw it.... I immediately pulled over and walk my butt to the nearest gas station and got water. Filled her up and at that point decided to get a new radiator... I picked up a KOYO all aluminum radiator from a guy on a local lexus club page on facebook (NWLO NorthWest Lexus Owners) that he said was in a 94 TT supra.

I installed the new radiator and it definitely doesnt fit like the threads on tt Koyo radiators, which leads me to believe it isnt a koyo for a supra.....But it does fit and takes more fluid than my stock radiator did to fill it up....

Now for the problem I am currently experiencing :

As soon as I put the new radiator in I noticed that after my car warms up I get extreme pressure built up in my radiator hoses and feels like air... moreso in the top radiator hose but definitely in both top and lower. The pressure remains even after my car is off for a night and completely cooled... My car does not over heat and runs right in the middle of the temp guage like it always has but the pressure is there....DOesnt feel like any water is being circulating, I have an air compressor pumping air into my radiator hoses preventing water to enter. Today I started my car with the radiator cap off....both hoses felt like deflated tires....no water in them at all....but when I squeeze them it would raise the water in my radiator....When cold I revved my engine with the radiator cap off and nothing happened that I could see, however when it warmed up and I pressed on the gas and fluid shot out of my radiator.... Which leads me to think head gasket/warped head. I have no milky residue in my oil nor do I have any oil in my radiator whatsoever that I can tell... My oil looks like regular oil and the coolant mixture is 40/50/10 Coolant/Distilled water/Water wetter...

My mechanic buddy came over yesterday and said my head gasket was fine and that if it was blowing exhaust into my radiator I would see it coming out the radiator when the cap is off and smell it. He said my pressure issue was becaus emy radiator cap was not the highest point in the cooling system. As like I said before it doesnt fit like it is supposed to . However I raised the radiator up today when I did the accelation with the cap off test and it was the highest point and I still had the pressure issue blowing coolant out when gas was pressed and when I capped it off the pressure began to build again.

When I got home this even my top radiator hose was balooning it was so pressurized. Could anything but a head gasket not allow water/coolant into my engine? Could this be a water pump or something else?

I have spend numerous hours over the last few weeks to a month googling and reading threads on diagnosing what my problem is and found different opinions quite often.... And to be honest I have quite royally pissed off my other half by dedicating my time after work solely on google searches to figure this out/ and also searching for the best price on arp head studs and also for a oem TT 2jzgte head gasket... So if anyone can chime in on where to purchase those for the best price that would be great. I have been known to waste countless hours in the past looking for the absolutely best price on something only to save a buck or two...lol Kinda pathetic I know... But I have also noticed when searching for arp head studs that different model/item numbers come up in my searches and all say they are for the 2jzgte/2jzge.... ANyone here that can tell me what model/item number of ARP head studs I need? Or which ones you have bought and work or fit. I need to get this figured out before I really puss my other half off and i ignore my family for who knows how long with my excessive searching and reading... SO please club lexus. Help a Brother out!!!


Thanks in advance for everyone who takes/took the time to read this and also to those who offer some advice or diagnoses or links to the parts I need and have asked about.
I included a pic of the car because i know it sucks to read a whole long post and not at least get to see the car... Door is open I know but it was all I could find this late at night. lol Time for bed!!!! Been on this dang computer for way too long!!

scoobySC3

iTrader: (1)

Glad you did a bunch of testing on this, I would have tried all the things you did as well. And to be honest, to me it just sounds like you need to burp the system really well. There are cool radiator fillers what are a big funnel with a radiator cap adapter at the bottom, this allows the coolant to be at the highest point in the system, so you can effectively burp the system of all air. Also as long as the rad cap is good, that will be your pressure relief valve, so lets say it is a 1bar cap, as soon as the pressure in the system reaches over 1 bar(14.7 psi) it will bleed off the pressure to the coolant overflow bottle. So the pressure you are seeing in the hoses should be 100% normal, as any excess pressure should be vented through the cap. Were the radiator hoses replaced with new ones when you did the new radiator? The ballooning of the hoses may be due to old worn out hoses not being able to withstand the pressure. Also the fact that you can rev it when cold and you don't see any exhaust in the coolant system tells me that the headgasket should be okay, however I have seen turbo cars that will only leak pressure from the combustion chamber to the coolant system under full boost/high load situations. So weird things can happen with a super tiny leak in the head gasket.

Do you know if the new headgasket you put in was a MLS(multi layered steel) or a stock like compression gasket? Reason I ask is generally a MLS gasket will require a more perfect sealing surface, with tolerances much smaller than stock.

I have not researched the headstuds, so take this with a grain of salt, but I assumed the any 2JZ headstuds would work in any 2JZ block, but again, I could be wrong.

Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Rick

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Thanks for such a detailed response Rick. I will have to definitely look into one of those radiator fillers you mentioned. There are a few performance car parts stored in my area and maybe one ofvthem will have something like that... If not, I will do my best to burp the system and then let you guys know what i find after that. The head gasket I used was a fel pro gasket set from oreilly..just a stock replacement made by felpro. . It was metal but I don't think it was layered. Thanks again! I will be sure and post after I do the burp.

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

And in regards to the arp head stud question... I would think any set for the 2jzge or gte would fit as well, just curious as to why different sites list different model or item numbers for the arp head studs if they are all the same.... Shouldn't there just be one model or item number? Just sounds confusing. Example I found a set on a site for 71.99 and them no others anywhere near that price but all different item numbers so I wonder if the cheaper set will actually fit. Later on when I tt home I will post the actual numbers in question.... Off to get a fancy radiator burper.

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Okay so I got home from work and went to try and burp the system.... Cant get the top hose to fill with water.... I pulled the top hose off of the radiator and a very small dribble of fluid is moving out of the hose as well as what looks to be exhaust... a white almost steam like wisp of smoke that is constant... My radiator smells of gasoline as well.... Not looking good... I also thinkI might be seeing a few drops of oil floarting on top of my coolant inside of the radiator... So I am pretty sure the head or head gasket is the issue.....Sure don't like that diagnosis but ya. Trying to get my mechanic buddy back over to check it out and help me find the problem for sure. Can't handle not knowing for sure... I would much rather it be somethig easier like my water pump but I dont see how that can be..... Anyone else with some input here?

scoobySC3

iTrader: (1)

yeah if you are seeing steam/exhaust in the coolant and oil droplets in the coolant as well, I would guess headgasket. That sucks dude, but at least you know what the problem is and can address it as opposed to buying and trying things in hopes you find the issue. You can run a compression test as well, the tester is super cheap at Harbor Freight and apart from removing the throttle body, should be super easy to check.

Let us know what you figure out.
Thanks,
Rick

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Ya I took the thermostat out of my car tonight and put it all back together and started the car with the cap off and immediately saw constant bubbles.... When I drained the coolant to remove the thermostat I could see an oil rainbow and film on the top of the coolant in the drain bucket... Only coolant has been in the drain bucket so It is a confirmed head gasket. I am actually leaning towards a warped or uneven head being the cause and it probably just took the 10,000 miles since I changed the head gasket out last time for the gasket to fail with the warped or uneven head... Should have had the head blocked or surfaced or machined or whatever... My friend quoted me 150 for labor to do it with my help plus whatever it costs me for a gasket set, machining the head and for fluids.... He is ASE certified and should make the job go quick and smooth. Looks like she will be sitting for a month or so while I gather the parts and the funds to pay him for the labor. Thanks for all your help though!!! I cannot say how much an asset this forum has been for me. Both in posting and in researching.

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Okay, so now that I know it is my Head Gasket.

I would like to purchase the OEM Toyota TT 2jzgte Head gasket as everyone on here as well as the supra forums seems to think extremely high of them. I also want to purchase ARP head studs.

Anyone know the cheapest reputable place to buy both of these items?

Thanks!!

Best I could do on the headgasket was from Wide open throttle motorsports. for 151.00 plus 10 dollars shipping
tried to put a link to the head gasket but it keeps bleeping out the address...

And for the arp head studs for 2jzgte for 63.19??? Item number 203-6005 Sounds too cheap as most are 120 or more for the 2jzgte but are different item numbers anyone know the difference ?
http://autoplicity.com/products/3124...gn=GSNOFITMENT

Next cheapest ARP studs are 112.00off ebay but are different item number: 203-5405

http://compare.ebay.com/like/1105847..._lwgsi=y&cbt=y

95SC3T

iTrader: (3)

is your car boosted?? i thought people only used the tt headgasket when turboing their cars.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

At least you fund out the problem, and I bet this time it will be done correctly ith everything changed and double checked. These symptoms suck and an be fixed, at not so much labor cost if you do it yourself. Make this a DIY thread and post some pictures... Trying to stay positive!

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

JayC25 - I plan to go NA-t here in the next few months.... I have most everything for the build (turbo, downpipe,intercooler, oil lines and sandwich plate, manifold,wastegate) Just need to get a blow off valve and a piggy back system...Course my main focus now is my head gasket... I think I am gonna order a Gates timing belt and upgrade that while I am at it as well as replace my oil pump, and water pump as well... I will post pics along the way to keep you guys enthused and here to help me....

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Ordered my head gasket last night from drift motion, paid 132.00 plus shipping and I got the oem tt gasket, and also ordered my gates timing belt from amazon 59.99 for that... My order actually got doubled somehow from drift motion and I got charged for two head gaskets, so I am hoping if I call the this morning right when they open I can have them cancel the one and refund me for it... Few more things to buy and then the work will begin.

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Just received my head gasket froone California based online retailer.... Came in a genuine Toyota cardboard sleeve but I have my doubts that it is a genuine Toyota head gasket.... First off the gasket has 4 rivets in it.... I was under the impression that only the cometic tasks had rivets and that was everyone's main complaint about them... Can anyone confirm that the oem Toyota head gasket for part number 11115-46052 does in fact have 4 rivets holding the multiple layers of metal together? Should it have come in Toyota plastic? As most pics off google for it show plastic with red toyota writing on it. Mine like I said came in a cardboard Toyota sleeve. It inside that was just a regular poly bag with the head gasket in it.. No genuine Toyota or anything mentioned on the gasket or plastic.... Anyone got any input?
...

SupraDremr

iTrader: (5)

Anyone out there that can confirm this????

Lexsingle

factory toyota also has the rivets holding multiple layer together on the gasket if I remember it correctly, toyota card board wrapped don't remember if the wrap has any writing on it or not though, only reason I remember is I have removed and replaced alot of them while building cars with oem parts. if memory serves me right the rivets are goldish in color