esucaris1

Well I decided to replace the knock sensor so I could sell the ES but when I removed the intake there was major evidence of gasket failure as the gaskets were disinigrated around the water ports... I had used some sodium silicate (also known as liquid glass) to seal the mystery leak and the intake was coated with s-silicate beyond the sealing edge of the gaskets... well the car is back on the road and no overheating problems as of yet... Even if the head gasket is bad or a cracked head I had used sodium silicate once before on a old 64 International scout that had a bad head gasket so bad the water was in the oil... It sealed that leak and I drove it for 2 yrs so my rational is to get some drivin back for all the money I have sunk in this car... Any bets on how long she will go?

esucaris1

FYI sodium silicate does not mix with antifreeze you MUST flush all antifreeze before sealing leaks... however after running the engine for a couple hours you can THOROUGHLY flush the sodium silicate and add coolant

Pheonix

forever if the bearings are good.
A new 3vz-fe engine is around $500-750 imported JDM. You could replace the engine every 3 months and you'd be spending less than 50% of the cost to own a new ES. Hell a new v6 Camry for that matter.

esucaris1

Today the wife and I put the ES to the test... 201 round trip miles to Big Bear some 9000 feet elev. with the ac blasting... The road sign recomended turn off ac for the next 14 miles but I did say this was a test... I am happy to report the trip went well... the guage barley fluctuated the width of the needle In fact the wife even loves the lex now