About 2 weeks ago my car overheated because of a hole in the radiator hose. After replacing it my car ran fine until last night. After putting gas and starting it it was "running weird’ as in the noise was not the same. The check engine light was on too. I went and checked the check engine code and it said that cylinder 2 has misfired.
Now my car runs really harsh whenever you turn it on. It seems like it is about to die/turn off. It has turned off twice on me while on a stop sign and clearly it’s not as powerful as before. After reaching a certain temperature( little bit below the middle, that’s where it usually stays) the car will run normal again. It accelerates nice and the sound is smother like before. Also I have noticed that when I turn it on a “sloosh” sound is heard.
My suspicions are that is a blown (or damaged) head gasket. I opened up the radiator cap and there was bubbling and I was told this was one way to check if the head gasket is blown.
The coolant level seemed a little bit low in the radiator but the coolant reservoir had a decent amount (around 70-80%.) I put in some more and the coolant reservoir ended up “spilling it out”. It has a little hole in the cap which spurts it out whenever there might be too much(?)
Has anyone experienced the same issues before with their car? Would a sealant work temporarily (around 2 months.) I drive only a small distance everyday, would it still be okay to drive?
In addition the temperature sensor had something wrong with it (there was a code for that too) Could that be another reason why? My car doesn’t overheat anymore but I am not sure if I should trust my temp gauge anymore.
You may have air in your system, google the method to burp your radiator.
Check your oil fill cap and see if there is ‘chocolate’ on the cap, that is a sure clue that you have water in your oil and more than likely a head gasket breech. The 4 cyl Toyotas of that age are know for head gasket issues, if caught early and repaired the engine will last a long time. Sealant is hit or miss, mostly miss. If you were going to junk the car in a few months I would say give it a try, but if it is a keeper head for your local mechanic and get the head gasket replaced. Also check your timing belt, if still original time for a new one.
I was reading around the internet and yes, there might be air in the cooling system. I also read that I should check under the oil cap for “mustard” looking material. When you say “chocolate” you mean the color or actual solid material that looks/feels like chocolate.
I just went and checked and it had nothing of the kind, just oil. One noticeable thing though was that whenever I opened my radiator cap there seemed to had been air trapped inside (there was like a plop sound similar to when you open something sealed.) The car has been off since 8am this morning. Idk if that provides more info.
It sounds like the cylinder head warped the first time it overheated, now coolant is leaking into the cylinders when the engine is off and the cooling system is under pressure causing the misfire after starting.
The “sloosh” sound that you hear indicates that the cooling system is low, how much coolant have you been adding to the radiator?
If it ever gets to the point that there is water in the engine oil the engine will be too far gone and will need to be replaced.
Apparently there was no water in the engine oil from the earlier test. Would a warped cylinder head show signs after 2 weeks? I added some coolant yesterday and the coolant tank it’s pretty full (might be overflowing) Funny because I haven’t poured any coolant in it from 2 weeks ago but I have poured it straight to the radiator and the level of the tank increased I think.
Would it be a good idea putting more coolant in? Wouldn’t that mean there would be more fluid in the cylinder from leaking? Should I even be driving my car? Would a sealant work?
Thanks a lot I know I asked a lot of questions in this reply!