eknine9

iTrader: (8)

So I did something rather stupid, and today I paid for it.
For quite a while I've known my engine thermostat is going out, but it was still working intermittently and I live within biking distance of school and work so I just drove the car less, and then one day I got in it and the thermostat appeared to be working correctly again, so for some rather trivial and stupid reasons I decided to put off getting a new thermostat, (starting a business, was in debt, used spare cash on business and debt, being lazy, replacing the harmonic balancer, etc.)

Over the past couple days business really started to pick up and I was no longer having money problems, so I ordered a thermostat and had it sent to my parents house since I'd be visiting them today until christmas and figured I would have plenty of time to do a radiator flush, coolant drain and refill and replace my engine thermostat.

My parents live roughly 6.5 hours away from me and had gotten me cirque du soleil tickets for 3 pm, so I decided to leave my house at 6 am this morning to give myself plenty of time to get here.

About 2.5 hours into the drive the engine temp started climbing, so I figured maybe the engine thermostat was getting stuck again so I revved the engine a few times which worked for a little while, but then it began creeping up again and would not go down when I revved it. So I got off the highway, cut the engine on the feeder road to stop it from getting hotter, and pulled in to the nearest gas station. The car was fine because I turned it off in time, but I was unfortunately3 hours away from my house and 3 hours away from my parents house. I had no tools except for the courtesy tools left by Lexus in the trunk near the spare tire.

I went in to the gas station to see if they knew of anyone nearby that had tools I could buy. She ran outside and grabbed a guy who was leaving in his car who happened to be the owner of a mechanic shop across the street. He agreed to sell me a bent 12mm wrench so I could get the T-stat housing off. He charged me $20 for this piece of ****, I'm really grateful he was there for me.



Of course he left in a hurry and later, once I got the car jacked up I found out it didn't fit the bolts for the T-stat housing.

Thankfully I brought my jack, jack stands, and the trusty 2x4's I use to get the car high enough so my jack can reach the front jacking point.



So it was up to the Lexus courtesy tools to get the job done. An allen key with a flat head on one side got the clamp for the lower radiator hose off, while lo and behold the little tiny hand wrench in the tool pouch happened to fit the bolt on the thermostat housing. Of course it took quite a lot of finaggling, cursing, cutting my thumb, and burning my fingers to get the bolt off, but off it came.

Once I got the T-stat housing off I could see why the T-stat had lasted as long as it had while being broken. The washer that seals it into the t-stat housing had been forced out by the radiator fluid and left a small area for the fluid to push through and bypass the t-stat. It had also led to a slight bit of fluid loss around the housing which had been evident when I was removing the hose.



The offending t-stat seen here.

After removing the t-stat I cleaned up the T-stat housing and placed it back onto the out pipe from the engine without the T-stat of course, and bolted it down and then reconnected the lower radiator hose, which also took a while and gave me a nice cut on my knuckles. Then I bought some more radiator fluid from the gas station (they only had green so I had to make do) and tipped the gas station attendant nicely for letting me use their back sink and work on my car in their parking lot without giving me a hard time. Then I left, and drove to my parents without the engine thermostat, and I guess I probably got worse gas mileage on the way back but I couldn't really tell.

Of course I managed to get pulled over twice on the way back for not having a front license plate (2 verbal warnings) and didn't make it home in time for the show, but I did make it home, and my car is in one piece and I learned a very valuable lesson. If something is broken, fix it before it possibly leaves you stranded, injures you... or worse, totals your car.

StiCk3

iTrader: (5)

bad gas mileage probably caused by the cooler than normal temperatures and ECU did not go into closed loop, causing some over fueling.

and yes i have half-assed/left stuff un-done and i paid the price for it, fortunately it was just time lost and not an engine. Live and learn!

TheAzn

iTrader: (2)

It usually depends on the severity of the issue and the time of occurence.

I recently had to replace my heater control valve. I wanted to take care of it the moment I found out that was where my coolant loss was from. But $300+ new!?! No way. So I waited a week and a half until I had time to go to my local junkyard. Fortunately enough, there was a white SC400 with a clean, fresh heater valve... $26.

Of course I kept a close eye on the coolant level. As long as you know the problem, how long and how much you can keep it at bay until you can fix it, you'll be fine. But like said, depends on severity. Some stuff can't wait.

Bankswood

What kind of piece of s*** guy/mechamic sells you a tool bent or not. The way I was raised you
A) stay and help the person in need fix his car
B) at the very least loan you several tools and have you leave them with the convenience store clerk.

What an absolute *******!!

StiCk3

iTrader: (5)

honestly, most mechanics are not willing to work out of the goodness of their heart simply because they are paid by the job (flat rate) and "free" work is the LAST thing on their mind, especially when they're leaving work.

as far as the bent tool, some guys at work do have tools they bend for better accessibility on some jobs. Judging by the pics it looked liked he heated the handle of the tool and beat it to the angle he needed.

hernadoric

ECU did not go into closed loop, causing some over fueling.

1JZPWRD

iTrader: (59)

Glad you made it home safely. Always fix stuff just before you try and make a 6 hour drive anywhere.

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

He had already closed the shop and was on his way to Abilene. He had no reason to stay and help, and I'm glad he inconvenienced himself by stopping to unlock his shop again to get a tool for me. Even if it didn't fit, I still appreciate the gesture.