Few things to fix, New and ongoing issue Options

[kagemidnight]

I got my car back with a new 5sfe motor swapped in last week. I have a few kinks that I need to figure out though. First thing is, sometimes my car doesn't start or even turn over. I was told that the battery and alternator are both good but I have a bad terminal on the battery. This seems like an easy fix however, I want to make sure that it is actually the terminals and not something else. I can get it to start without popping the hood and making sure the terminal is snug on the battery, I just pop the clutch in and out a few times and it will usually start up.
Second problem is something that I just noticed today. My car was idling for a few minutes while I ran into a parts store, when I got back in I noticed that the temp was almost all the way up at the H. The second I start to drive the temp drops back down to normal. I somehow had a puncture in the top of my radiator cap so I replaced it thinking it had something to do with that, new cap,coolant is fine and it still idles hot. I took the vacuum hose off my intake and put a breather filter where it goes into the engine last night, could this be what is causing it? Please let me know, I would really appreciate it.
thanks.

This post has been edited by kagemidnight: Oct 13, 2009 - 11:49 AM

[Batman722]

bad thermostat, overheating can easily kill the new 5s...

[kagemidnight]

doesn't seem to be overheating though, just about 3/4 up the thermostat when idling and completely normal when driving. It also wasn't doing this before I put the breather filter on. Any suggestions on how to fix, or check if it is actually the thermostat?

[nics]

doesn't seem to be overheating though, just about 3/4 up the thermostat when idling and completely normal when driving. It also wasn't doing this before I put the breather filter on. Any suggestions on how to fix, or check if it is actually the thermostat?

3/4 up is high. needle should be slightly below mid. as batman722 said, start on the thermostat. it might starting to get stuck close.

[kagemidnight]

Talked to my mechanic today, I think we're going to take a look at the thermostat and prob replace it. Having a few other uneasy thoughts about my car now. I'm not sure why but sometimes when I'm in first or second, about half way through the gear where the power is supposed to kick in when you hit the gas and it doesn't happen. Sometimes it's normal and I get that fun burst of power, and other times nothing. It also bogs sometimes when I let off the gas to coast, it's as if I'm in a low gear going fast and letting off the gas, but I'm in 4th or 5th doing only about 40mph and it coasts, bogs, coasts, etc. It's always something with me and cars. I was hoping to be able to start saving up for some mods when my car was in perfect condition but now I have all these other things to figure out. Thanks in advance for any help. One more question about the breather filter I put on, mentioned at the top. Should I have some tubing or small piping separating it from the engine a bit? I attached it right on the nub that stick out of the side of the motor?

update: took the breather filter off and ran a vac line from the valve cover to the intake but it didn't fix the overheating when idling.

This post has been edited by kagemidnight: Oct 13, 2009 - 1:45 PM

[soulshadow]

Make sure your coolant is overfilling out of your radiator when your engine is normal and running because if its not then its pretty much empty or you have a leak somewhere. Make sure you don't open it when its hot. Best way to check is open it first and then start your engine and let it warm up to normal. This usually solves a lot of heating issues for my motor swaps, because if its not full coolant isn't being cycled around from motor to rad and your getting mostly steam.

[kagemidnight]

The coolant is full. I also had to drive down the road just now, when I started it up alot of exhaust came out for about a minute. It was pretty thick and smelt really fumy. I think this has to do more with the hesitation problem I have not the overheating.

[nics]

uh ohhh seem like an internal leak there. coolant goes to the combustion chamber and get burned. white smoke is comming out right?

when it overheats, does it push a lot of coolant to the reservoir? if it does that is one sign

[kagemidnight]

brought it to toyota while I was on break today because the exhaust was pouring out white smoke while idling, not just on start up. BAM, blown head gasket...... If I can get this fixed hopefully it will be the cure to the hesitation/studdering as well. But what was the cause of the blown head gasket? The motor only had about 60k on it and my mechanic told me it looked near mint when he pulled it apart and did the swap recently.

[Batman722]

My car was idling for a few minutes while I ran into a parts store, when I got back in I noticed that the temp was almost all the way up at the H.

bad thermostat, overheating can easily kill the new 5s...

But what was the cause of the blown head gasket?

when the motor overheated it caused the gasket to fail from the head warping from the heat and then it leaks coolant into the cylinders.
again, overheating can easily kill your new 5s...

[soulshadow]

The motor only had about 60k on it and my mechanic told me it looked near mint when he pulled it apart and did the swap recently.

What? He pulled the head off the motor? I hope he used a new gasket, cause once its off it needs a new one.

[kagemidnight]

ok so it started with a bad t-stat or something else that caused it to overheat while idling? Because of the overheating a few times the gasket warped and blew? Hopefully I will be able to fix this, although the simple fact of not having a way to get around is almost as bad as the money I will have to spend on it. I'll replace the thermostat since that appears to be the start of this whole problem, replace the head gasket and I should be in clear water for now? About the hesitation while driving, was this due to a loss of compression and will be fixed when I replace the head gasket? Sorry for all the questions, realizing now that I need to ask about absolutely everything before I go ahead and jump into a project.

if he didn't replace the old gasket when taking the valve cover off, would this eventually cause the head gasket to go?

This post has been edited by kagemidnight: Oct 15, 2009 - 12:58 PM

[nics]

i suggest you also check your head for cracks and holes. idk if you took it apart already but make sure to check it and its possible that its just not HG only. if you're taking it apart, replace other stuff as well like water pump other gaskets and seals.

[presure2]

did you do the timing belt before installing the new motor, and did you check timing after it was installed?

[kagemidnight]

how do I check my head for cracks/leaks? I'm most likely going to replace all the gaskets and seals, timing and drive belts, and also my thermostat because I think it went bad before all this happened. I should replace the water pump too?

[nics]

visual inspection??

when i had my head gasket done, the shop told me that the head was bad and showed me the holes for the water jacket were corroded and chipped.

i do recommend replacing the pump if you've never changed it or dont know the maintenance history of if.

[kagemidnight]

so I got a quote for a full gasket kit from toyota for over $200 or just the head gasket for $79. I do want to replace all the gaskets but don't have tons of money to be throwing around. Is there a difference between the $200 kit I'd get from toyota vs. a much cheaper kit off ebay?

[nics]

so I got a quote for a full gasket kit from toyota for over $200 or just the head gasket for $79. I do want to replace all the gaskets but don't have tons of money to be throwing around. Is there a difference between the $200 kit I'd get from toyota vs. a much cheaper kit off ebay?

got mine from 1sttoyotaparts.com
get the valve grind gasket kit. i belive its around $160
overhaul gasket kit is around $180. includes gaskets for the bottome block like for the oil pump etc.
make sure you get the 98+ kit so that the head gasket is MLS but i believe they dont make the composite anymore and is superceeded by MLS HG 11115-74120
Difference of OEM and ebay kit may be quality. i said maybe because other people used ebay and works good. IMO not sure in the long run.
dont forget head bolts too. they stretch when applied torque. someone from this forum told me to replace it as well.
here's an idea on how much to spend

[kagemidnight]

I might just try and stick it out with the OEM toyota parts. I'll be eating nothing but pasta for a month haha. My mechanic said we can hold off on the water pump for now, which I'm ok with since I don't want to be adding any more expenses. What do you guys think about that? I'll most likely try and get to it soon but for now he gave me a list of parts and prices, full gasket kit, timing belt, drive belts, t-stat, seals, of course oil filter and fluids for $380.56 straight from toyota. I'll probably knock out all the cheap vacuum hoses that were on the previous engine and put better ones on but that doesn't cost that much.

[bmj67]

no point in holding off on the water pump. you might as well do timing belt, water pump, thermostat, VC gasket ,HG and new head bolts all at once. also take the head to a machine shop have them pressure test the head for cracks and surface it. if the HG blew it will be warped