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Sr180 Head Gasket Gone Again After Replacement Engine


Tom196
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Hi All,

I know the 2.2D engine is very well known for its HG problems I have recently noticed water was being blown from my expansion tank and bubbles coming through the system. All of which lead to the head gasket. So today I rang my nearest toyota dealer in sheffield to see what my options were, and they said my car has already had a 3/4 engine in 2012 so they wouldn't replace it again.

The car has only done 64k miles in total since 2008, so probably about 25k maximum with the new 3/4 engine. I would have thought that a 3yr old engine would still be under warranty? even if it is a replacement.

Do I have any foot to stand on with this? If they have replaced a faulty engine with another faulty engine surely they are in the wrong?

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As far as I'm aware Toyota are replacing the 3/4 engines under goodwill rather than any form of warranty. Does the car have a Toyota service history?

I would be inclined to contact Toyota GB and see whether they can provide some assistance, but bear in mind that you're asking for a goodwill contribution, so keep any discussion polite, etc.

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Sorry to hear about your blown engine Tom, what were you doing - trying to keep up with Golf GTi's and Honda Civic type R's?

No, seriously, I've got a question what's a three quarter engine? I've fitted many a short motor ie the cylinder block, crankshaft and pistons and many a full motor but not familiar with a 3/4 engine. Is it a short motor plus sump and cylinder head but sans camshafts, chain(s) and drive gear? I don't expect it would include flywheel and clutch assembly, injectors, common rail system or ancillaries like the vacuum pump although I do believe they replaced the water pump under the original warranty.

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As far as I'm aware Toyota are replacing the 3/4 engines under goodwill rather than any form of warranty. Does the car have a Toyota service history?

I would be inclined to contact Toyota GB and see whether they can provide some assistance, but bear in mind that you're asking for a goodwill contribution, so keep any discussion polite, etc.

Oh ok, it does have a toyota history. I will give them a call and see what they say, thanks. I might get my dad to ring them and just mention the 4 new toyotas we've had in the past 15 years :laughing:

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Originally dealers rebuilt these engines, but think there were issues with a few of these dealer re-builds, and later Toyota decided it was more practical to use factory built 3/4 engines. Think there was at least one person (on the Rav4 club) who has had a second replacement.

Do you know whether yours was a dealer re-build or a factory built engine?

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why dont you contact auto express and what car magazine , they have a section in there magazine where they contact car makers on behalf of customers who think they have a case,nothing to lose ?

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Hi,

I am a little concerned about this as my car has used about a litre of oil in the last 5 months/ 2000 miles.

As a precautionary measure has anyone tried using a head gasket sealant such as steel seal, k seal, blue devil, prestone, wynn's etc.

Also, has anyone tried detecting if the head gasket has gone - I have seen measuring unburned fuels/ hydrocarbons from the water reservoir, or some sort of block tester

Best wishes and sorry to hear of your troubles!

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If toyota replaced a 3/4 engine would it have a new engine number?

On all the paperwork I have from when the car was brand new until now, the engine number has never changed. I was told by toyota that the engine was done at a particular dealer in 2012 and I have all the details from when the car was sold by that dealer in 2012 as a "toyota approved used car".

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Have you checked your engine number matches the V5?

It would be the responsibility of the current owner at the time the engine work was done, to notify the DVLA of any change in engine number and supply supporting information from the garage or manufacturer.

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Toyota may do things differently, but I know when VW group change an engine under warranty the new engine arrives with no number on it. The dealer fitting the new engine stamps it with the same number from the old engine. The old engine has the number ground off it and goes back numberless to VW to be refurbed. Therefore nothing in the DVLA's records would show the engine had ever been changed.

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Hi,

I am a little concerned about this as my car has used about a litre of oil in the last 5 months/ 2000 miles.

As a precautionary measure has anyone tried using a head gasket sealant such as steel seal, k seal, blue devil, prestone, wynn's etc.

Also, has anyone tried detecting if the head gasket has gone - I have seen measuring unburned fuels/ hydrocarbons from the water reservoir, or some sort of block tester

Best wishes and sorry to hear of your troubles!

Toyota would say that that consumption is still within spec..

Personally, I would say that it is worrying & get the car checked by a dealer. Your car (unless it has over 112k miles or hasn't been maintained according to Toyota's schedule) is still within Toyota's goodwill warranty for the head/HG issue so until you do that I wouldn't try using any sealant of any kind.

You can test for HG failure with a sniffer test (plus other signs like dried coolant stains splattered around the relief valve for the expansion vessel).

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Toyota may do things differently, but I know when VW group change an engine under warranty the new engine arrives with no number on it. The dealer fitting the new engine stamps it with the same number from the old engine. The old engine has the number ground off it and goes back numberless to VW to be refurbed. Therefore nothing in the DVLA's records would show the engine had ever been changed.

The new engine from Toyota has a number on it, which is given over to the customer. The customer must contact DVLA to get it changed on the V5. The DVLA would only deal with the vehicle owner, never the dealer, hence it is the owners responsibility

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This is turning into an absolute nightmare.

I took it in to Toyota today so they could diagnose the problem, to then wait around for an hour so they could tell me I need a new expansion tank cap. I explained the cap was brand new anyway but because it wasn't official toyota they said they still need a new one. After going home for 5 hours while they got a cap I took it back for them to fit it and tell me everything is fine now, Its definitely not a head gasket.

Guess what, I lost about 2 pints of coolant on the 3 mile trip home.

I will forgive the people I spoke to for treating me like I know absolutely nothing, and trying to fob me off by telling me that the SR180 has a special cap with a valve inside it that other cars don't have.

But Im not happy after paying £50 for them to completely get it wrong, and they obviously didn't even check to see if the replacement cap had actually fixed the problem.

1. Am I entitled to my money back?

2. What are the next steps I should take from here? Should I just book it in again and hope they do diagnose it this time?

I apologise for the rant, and thank you for any replies

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