overheated camry. fast forward. best fix?

[tomcat27]

2001 Camry. 2.2L engine. 120k miles. Previously posted - a family member drove the car for an hour with a stuck thermostat. replaced the thermostat, radiator (the cap seat was damaged from the heat!!), head gasket, water pump, overflow bottle inlet was clogged. the head was sent to a machine shop, .006 was removed . my fault: I never checked the block for flatness.

currently it is using a little bit of coolant (I presume the block is warped and I still have a head gasket issue) and, after I noticed that, it blew another water pump.

two questions:
- am I just unlucky on the water pump or is something causing it to blow the seal?
- what is the absolute, best, and quickest path to a running and reliable car?

Yes, my fault for the improper replacement of the head gasket.
The car is very serviceable; no rust, nice all around. I NEED it to be reliable. I figure a reman'd engine at this point. or the scrap yard.

 

[WyrTwister]

I would price both a salvage and a reman engine , including labor ,

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by tomcat27
2001 Camry. 2.2L engine. 120k miles. Previously posted - a family member drove the car for an hour with a stuck thermostat. replaced the thermostat, radiator (the cap seat was damaged from the heat!!), head gasket, water pump, overflow bottle inlet was clogged. the head was sent to a machine shop, .006 was removed . my fault: I never checked the block for flatness.

currently it is using a little bit of coolant (I presume the block is warped and I still have a head gasket issue) and, after I noticed that, it blew another water pump.

two questions:
- am I just unlucky on the water pump or is something causing it to blow the seal?
- what is the absolute, best, and quickest path to a running and reliable car?

Yes, my fault for the improper replacement of the head gasket.
The car is very serviceable; no rust, nice all around. I NEED it to be reliable. I figure a reman'd engine at this point. or the scrap yard.
You tried and learned something, an expensive lesson that you will remember. Once it gets hot enough to melt the rad, it's time for a new engine. 17 year old normal car = scrapyard engine.

 

[Donald]

If you have to pay for labor then I would go with a reman. If you can do it yourself then maybe a salvage.

RA ha s a reman engine for $2300 plus core, shipping. Then labor, maybe $800 to $1000. Add in some $$ for parts worth replacing during an engine swap and you are at $3500. A lot of money to spend on a 2001 Camry.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by tomcat27
2001 Camry. 2.2L engine. 120k miles. Previously posted - a family member drove the car for an hour with a stuck thermostat. replaced the thermostat, radiator (the cap seat was damaged from the heat!!), head gasket, water pump, overflow bottle inlet was clogged. the head was sent to a machine shop, .006 was removed . my fault: I never checked the block for flatness.

currently it is using a little bit of coolant (I presume the block is warped and I still have a head gasket issue) and, after I noticed that, it blew another water pump.

two questions:
- am I just unlucky on the water pump or is something causing it to blow the seal?
- what is the absolute, best, and quickest path to a running and reliable car?

Yes, my fault for the improper replacement of the head gasket.
The car is very serviceable; no rust, nice all around. I NEED it to be reliable. I figure a reman'd engine at this point. or the scrap yard.
You tried and learned something, an expensive lesson that you will remember. Once it gets hot enough to melt the rad, it's time for a new engine. 17 year old normal car = scrapyard engine.


If he had checked the block right after the car overheated and found it warped what should he have done? He could have scrapped the car and save the money he spent on the head? In order to mill the block he would have to pull the engine. At that point you look to a salvage or reman.

I would have no problem dumping the overheating car on a dealer and let them deal with it. You do not need to tell them anything. Its up to them to check it out. A private sale you should be up front with the problems.

 

[tomcat27]

Labor is free. we can R&R the engine in a day or two. it's not an easy engine to work on, it's canted rearward which makes access to the intake diificult - at least without a lift. on the surface, it's not financially worth it; but compared to spending $2500 on a used car, what do you get? oddly enough, RA is a few hundred cheaper than a local source for the same exact reman, although shipping negates that and I believe RA now collects sales tax. I would never sell to an unsuspecting private buyer; it's not worth it to me. too bad we just put alloys on the car for the kids.

 

[tomcat27]

by comparison, in one evening, less than 4 hours, we pulled a 5.0 out of a fox body and completely disassembled the engine.

 

[Pelican]

Originally Posted by tomcat27
2001 Camry. 2.2L engine. 120k miles. Previously posted - a family member drove the car for an hour with a stuck thermostat. replaced the thermostat, radiator (the cap seat was damaged from the heat!!), head gasket, water pump, overflow bottle inlet was clogged. the head was sent to a machine shop, .006 was removed . my fault: I never checked the block for flatness.

currently it is using a little bit of coolant (I presume the block is warped and I still have a head gasket issue) and, after I noticed that, it blew another water pump.

two questions:
- am I just unlucky on the water pump or is something causing it to blow the seal?
- what is the absolute, best, and quickest path to a running and reliable car?

Yes, my fault for the improper replacement of the head gasket.
The car is very serviceable; no rust, nice all around. I NEED it to be reliable. I figure a reman'd engine at this point. or the scrap yard.


Once an engine overheats as badly as yours, the prudent way is to get another one, any money spent on the overheated one will be wasted.

 

[The Critic]

Those are 2.2 engines are a dime-a-dozen. Find a low mileage used one.

 

[anndel]

If you have to pay for labor then I would go with a reman. If you can do it yourself then maybe a salvage.

^^^^ This ^^^^ and don't forget to check/deck the block if you have to.

 

[mk378]

Originally Posted by anndel

^^^^ This ^^^^ and don't forget to check/deck the block if you have to.

Huh? Replace the whole engine with a rebuilt or used one as a unit. Do not take the head off. If there is a problem inside the new engine, take it up with the supplier.

 

[maxdustington]

Originally Posted by Donald
If he had checked the block right after the car overheated and found it warped what should he have done?
Spent the time & money on a new engine instead of trying to fix a molten lump?

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by tomcat27
2001 Camry. 2.2L engine. 120k miles. Previously posted - a family member drove the car for an hour with a stuck thermostat. replaced the thermostat, radiator (the cap seat was damaged from the heat!!), head gasket, water pump, overflow bottle inlet was clogged. the head was sent to a machine shop, .006 was removed . my fault: I never checked the block for flatness.

currently it is using a little bit of coolant (I presume the block is warped and I still have a head gasket issue) and, after I noticed that, it blew another water pump.

two questions:
- am I just unlucky on the water pump or is something causing it to blow the seal?
- what is the absolute, best, and quickest path to a running and reliable car?

Yes, my fault for the improper replacement of the head gasket.
The car is very serviceable; no rust, nice all around. I NEED it to be reliable. I figure a reman'd engine at this point. or the scrap yard.
You tried and learned something, an expensive lesson that you will remember. Once it gets hot enough to melt the rad, it's time for a new engine. 17 year old normal car = scrapyard engine.



^^^^

Good advice here.

My lady has a 98 Camry 2.2 which developed a radiator leak which required a replacement. But no overheating thank goodness. Motors are quite good in those cars. Just need to be careful about sludge possibility in them. Ours has cleaned up quite nicely. A gift from her grandmother. A wonderful lady who is not here this fall. The car now has a lot more meaning now.

 

[Driz]

They do have low mile replacement engines available straight from Japan. Shipments come in daily and most have 50 or so k and are warrantied. I'd grab one of those for a grand over a 100+ k mile mill from a junkyard.

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted by Driz
They do have low mile replacement engines available straight from Japan. Shipments come in daily and most have 50 or so k and are warrantied. I'd grab one of those for a grand over a 100+ k mile mill from a junkyard.


Back in my consumer car repair days, I installed quite a few JDM engines. Back then the claim was that they all had 30k miles. Now the claim is apparently (according to a member that works on consumer cars currently) in the 50-60k range.

The engines in my experience were no different that any other used engine you were likely to find. Some had been maintained, and others had been completely neglected. If anyone considers a JDM engine, I would suggest pulling the oil pan, and the/a valve cover, to at least get some idea of whether the engine has been maintained.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by 02SE
Originally Posted by Driz
They do have low mile replacement engines available straight from Japan. Shipments come in daily and most have 50 or so k and are warrantied. I'd grab one of those for a grand over a 100+ k mile mill from a junkyard.


Back in my consumer car repair days, I installed quite a few JDM engines. Back then the claim was that they all had 30k miles. Now the claim is apparently (according to a member that works on consumer cars currently) in the 50-60k range.

The engines in my experience were no different that any other used engine you were likely to find. Some had been maintained, and others had been completely neglected. If anyone considers a JDM engine, I would suggest pulling the oil pan, and the/a valve cover, to at least get some idea of whether the engine has been maintained.


Agreed. I used 1 of these engines in a Civic with outstanding results. I was warned that some were extremely neglected. The shop that did the swap charged a little more but inspected the engine and included a warranty.
I think it was that famous "around the block" warranty.

 

[tiger862]

Originally Posted by tomcat27
by comparison, in one evening, less than 4 hours, we pulled a 5.0 out of a fox body and completely disassembled the engine.

I've pull many Camry 4 cylinder engine out before lunch, swapping out everything on new engine reinstalling before I went home. Customers usually pick up next morning. Heck that is most front wheel drives . I even did a v6 in 85 Gm pull 2 engines and installed good engine then drove car home in same day. Not that bad. I rather a front wheel drive any day to do a swap