1992 Toyota Camry LE V6.

hey guys, so i have a large problem, hope someone cam help me out.

me and my brother really love working on cars so jumped on this camry when the headgasket blew. mint exterior and interior, the owners were just going to junkyard it so we bought it for 200$, thinking we could make some money off it.

we've spent almost 1000$ in parts, we didnt cut any corners, we did everything PERFECT. im SO confident in that. we followed the book exactly, did every torque setting, everything was perfect.

startup was not perfect. engine sounds like ****, sounds almost like a knock? running rough with clouds of whitish smoke billowing out behind. it doesnt really smell sweet like coolant, so im kind of confused.

also, the oil dipstick shows milky oil/coolant.

we took it apart down to the intake manifold to see if those gaskets shifted, but they, of course, were perfect. we also triple checked out vacuum, fuel and coolant lines.

did the headgasket blow again? the heads were machined and everything! i bought the headgasket set off Autopartsway, the brand is Ishino.

any ideas? possibly we DID eff up a coolant hose? could the milky oil be just left over from the first blow out?

i have a hard time accepting the HG blew again, but if it did, well, at least i now know my way around a V6. (first V6 for me)

thanks for reading my post,

Cory

 

did you compare the new gaskets against the old ones , if the new gaskets are not the same as the old ones it will leak just like a burn gasket will , make sure all holes on old gasket match the new gasket , also if gasket was install on the wrong bank is not going to seal , gaskets also have a top mark if top mark is down it won't seal , some of this v6 engine have a small oil cooler (usually is between engine block and oil filter ) if cooler is bad internal it will mix oil/coolant .


you also mention (we took it apart down to the intake manifold to see if those gaskets shifted, but they, of course, were perfect. we also triple checked out vacuum, fuel and coolant lines) manifold gaskets and head gaskets are two different thing , bad intake gasket on a toyota v6 is not going to mix oil/coolant .

(the heads were machined and everything) did you inspect them using a straight edge to make sure they are straight ???? machine shops are not always perfect . its also needed to insp. the block using the same tool .

 

thanks for the reply! yea i just read somewhere that the intake manifold gasket could be a problem :/

the headgasket was put on correctly, Ive done headgaskets before so know what to look for type deal.

i did NOT measure the flatness of the head or block, but will this time around as its all coming apart again. i have a suspicion the head(s) may actually be cracked, as they were not checked at the machine shop -.- . not going to make the same mistake twice

 

yeah... buying a junk car with "known" mechanical issue... ain't it an adventure? Buddy bought an Audi once like this, top notch everything, dumped a bunch of money into repairs, LOVED the car, just to find out that when it was hit, something moved, hit engine block, and cracked it.
So, yeah, you do very likely have micro-crack somewhere, or some other gasket does this. Except that now you have YOUR $1000 plus countless labor hours in it, and more to come, as now you simply must fix it, to get money worth back.
There's thing called pressure leak test, but that's more $$ outta your pockets.

 

Hey, come to think about it. If it's real nice car, simply drop an imported engine in. Used one. They are not that expensive and come certified low mileage.

 

yep, it's really nice car if given more emphasize on it, it would be better than before.

 

hmmmmm thats true. see, the problem is, i wish i would have known from the start!! I could have bought a JDM with the money i spent, but now if i do i'll be lucky if i break even when i sell the car :/

also update, the block is flat, i did a compression test and it was great. im very very sure coolant is getting in from the intake manifold. checking that now.

 

A ditsy girl I know bought an Audi A6 from a used car dealership that made it 3k miles before the engine decided to eat itself. I told her not to by that damn car and now she is $6k in repair bills and dealing with the legal aspect of all of it. Complete nightmare.

 

figured it out lol. So, the first head gasket WAS a dud, as coolant was getting in the oil. however, after the second time and getting rid of ALL impurities on the block, the oil was spotlessly clean and pure. long story short, me and some buddies figured out that since the camry has such a massive muffler, liquid coolant basically filled it up. so as the exhaust got hot, it was slowly burning off the coolant. after a solid hour of driving the camry runs like a champ and pulls hard! thanks guys,

Cory