1993 ES300 coolant in expansion tank is boiling
10-12-07, 10:31 AM
#16
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I heard that!
I got my '93 ES because it overheated (cracked radiator) and my sister didn't want to pay to have it fixed.
Granted, I only paid for a radiator and upper and lower hoses, but, IF i'm looking at head gaskets in the 'not-too-distant' future. . . .
I'm gonna trade this purple ES300 in.
It's only got 106,500 miles on it.
10-13-07, 07:10 AM
#18
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I had every reason you listed 1 thru 5 and then some (had the radiator tested for combustion gasses) to think it not to be a head gasket on my 93ES but guess what yep your right HEAD GASKET... here is somthing to look for when filling your cooling system... look for a steady stream of air bubbles in the waterneck... there will be some bubbles as you bleed the air out... but the bubbles will eventualy quit unless you are leaking compression to the waterjacket... there will be no water in the oil if the coolant is leaking into the cylinder... only if its leaking to the oil drain passages...
10-13-07, 09:58 AM
#19
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dont say that man! You're scaring me! My car only overheated twice because it ran outta coolant and i shut it off as soon as i can. So i think it should be alright. Dont see any signs of blown head gasket! ::Knocks on wood::
10-15-07, 11:13 PM
#20
I have a 1993 ES300 that has about 240k miles on it and the coolant in the expansion tank started boiling. I was told it was a blown head gasket, but here are my reasons why I don't think it is:
1) The oil looks just like regular clean motor oil. There is not white or creamy color to it.
2) There is no oil, sludge or grey film in the coolant tank. It looks like green Penzoil coolant.
3) The tank only boils when the engine gets warmed up. I think that if it was a blown head gasket, it would blow exhaust out of the tank when the engine was first started.
4) There is no smoke that comes out of the tail pipe. It does drip some water, but I think that's pretty normal for any car.
5) When you rev up the engine, there is no noise or vibration that comes from the engine.
I think that it's a stuck thermostat, but that's only a guess. I am open to any advise or suggestions anyone has. Thanks!
1) The oil looks just like regular clean motor oil. There is not white or creamy color to it.
2) There is no oil, sludge or grey film in the coolant tank. It looks like green Penzoil coolant.
3) The tank only boils when the engine gets warmed up. I think that if it was a blown head gasket, it would blow exhaust out of the tank when the engine was first started.
4) There is no smoke that comes out of the tail pipe. It does drip some water, but I think that's pretty normal for any car.
5) When you rev up the engine, there is no noise or vibration that comes from the engine.
I think that it's a stuck thermostat, but that's only a guess. I am open to any advise or suggestions anyone has. Thanks!
10-17-07, 12:20 PM
#21
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First of all, I want to say thanks for everyone's advice. It means a lot that so many of you have taken time to help me out. I haven't changed the cooling caps yet, but I have had two mechanics tell me that it is a blown head gasket. I found a complete Ishino head gasket set on www.autopartsplace.com for only $225, but I don't have a quote on just the labor. I only paid $600 for the car, so I am thinking about doing the job myself. I have never attemped a job like this before, and have an intermediate knowledge of auto mechanics. I was wondering if anyone had performed the job themselves, or can give some advice on time, skill and tools required. If/when I start, I'll keep you all updated on how it comes. Take care all.
10-17-07, 12:53 PM
#22
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my husband is a former mechanic (former as in, left the field in august)... for someone with "intermediate" knowledge he's on the fence about recommending you doing this yourself. there are a lot of ways to screw this up, nothing personal in the least but if you don't know the ins and outs you could inadvertently miss something and end up bringing it to a shop anyway. normally we're all about encouraging people to work on their own cars because that's how he got started fixing 'em in the first place. but this is a special case.
even a guy who knows what he's doing with an engine in general can miss something on an engine he's not familiar with. case in point, a mitsubishi truck hubs had to take apart twice. (let's say that's a rare instance!)
when he had "intermediate" experience some years back, he did a head gasket on his own car. thinking back to some of the things he did while working on that job, though it worked out ok in the end, makes him shudder to think about how badly that could have gone wrong.
get some labor quotes from independent places (chances are the dealer will be a huge ripoff) then see how you feel about DIYing it. he'll provide advice if needed.
even a guy who knows what he's doing with an engine in general can miss something on an engine he's not familiar with. case in point, a mitsubishi truck hubs had to take apart twice. (let's say that's a rare instance!)
when he had "intermediate" experience some years back, he did a head gasket on his own car. thinking back to some of the things he did while working on that job, though it worked out ok in the end, makes him shudder to think about how badly that could have gone wrong.
get some labor quotes from independent places (chances are the dealer will be a huge ripoff) then see how you feel about DIYing it. he'll provide advice if needed.
10-17-07, 09:36 PM
#23
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Seriously, before you do anything, change out your pressure caps. I had all of your symptoms exactly. I took it to the dealer expecting the worst, and after driving around in a brand new loaner IS250 for a few days before they got a chance to look at it, the only thing wrong were my caps. They charged me a grand total of $15, and I haven't had one single overheating issue whatsoever since for months now.
Oh and I didn't have to put gas back in the loaner because it was only 3/4th full, and I used up every last drop which was surely more than $15 in gas that I would have put in my car. So in the end you could say I came out ahead.
Oh and I didn't have to put gas back in the loaner because it was only 3/4th full, and I used up every last drop which was surely more than $15 in gas that I would have put in my car. So in the end you could say I came out ahead.
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texcorndog
ES - 1st to 4th Gen (1990-2006)
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