busted radiator? or BHG?
 

I have an '89 N/A with 107k. The seam around the top of my radiator is cracked and leaking coolant at a really slow rate. Even after driving for 45 minutes it's a minimal leak. When I take the cap off the next morning when it's cold it releases pressure from the cap. I took it to a shop today and the guy told me it must be a BHG causing the radiator to crack. I have no overheating issues and the temp gauge needle is steady at half or below half on the gauge. The oil looks clean and there is nothing coming out of the exhaust. Is this guy blowing smoke up my rear or could it possibly be a BHG? Could a BHG create enough pressure to crack a radiator?



Dennis

i dont think so if the pressure gets too high the radiator cap will open and dump it in the resivoir tank, do bhg tests such as compression tests and check for presence of exhaust gasses in the radiator, also check for cooling problems such as the thermostat, radiator cap, all hoses, water pump, fan mechanism ect.

^^ right. Unusual, but perhaps cap is bad, get a new one, and get a radiator asap, like now!

The seam will cut loose soon, and coolant will be squirting every where.

And no, BHGs don't crack radiators, so get a new mechanic too !

that's kind of what I thought. I'm getting a radiator today. Crazy oriental mechanic must have thought he had a sucker!


Thanks guys

Replace radiator before BHG does actually happen. Report back if any odd symptons do show up after new radiator installed

im a crazy oriental

should have known there would be a crazy oriental on this site! :bow:

replaced radiator and drove it about 50 miles with no issues. temp guage never got out of line. it runs great and there doesn't seem to be any problems. i'm going to do a compression check if i have time just to check it. i don't think i will find any problems though. at what mileage is everyone having gasket issues? should i re-torque my head bolts now to possibly prolong gasket problems?

peopel are mixed on the retorquing theory. ive heard people say they did it (insert number here)k miles ago and its still fine, and other people say the OEM bolts arent meant for retorquing or reuse. so eh, up to you i guess, id just replace it if i were in a spot like that. more work but definitely a better feeling.

the headgasket can really go at any time...it made it past the 3 year warranty supplied by Toyota, but the general consensus is around 100k miles. ish. about. around.

which sucks, because my engine is around 100k....buuut, the original owner blew the first one, so i dunno if this one was from toyota and torqued to 70 (its from a 92 apparently) or just some random website somewhere. it (supposedly) blew at around 30-40k miles, but i dont know if it was the headgasket or not.

is it safe to assume that the head gasket problem happens more often on the turbo cars due to the extra pressures caused by boost? or is it just as common on non turbo engines? it might be possible that the original owner of my car already replaced it. they were the original owner until 2005. maybe i can check my local dealer to see if they have any service records on it.

it happens on both cars, although id (personally) say it happens moreso on turbocharged cars.

if theres a way of knowing whether toyota did work on the car, other than giong to a SPECIFIC place and asking so, please let me know =D id like to know the same thing haha. itd definitely save me a LOT of trouble.