Hi! Can someone please confirm my suspicions? Using water, black sludgy deposit on radiator cap. Leaking head gasket? '96 Camry 4cyl 495,000 kms. Still starts, runs and drives fine. Using a wee bit of oil but nothing too major considering the mileage.
mojo49,
Aug 13, 2:58am
Run a tin of Chemiweld through the cooling system. Then refresh the coolant. Then cut the small valve on the underside of the radiator cap off and still put the cap on firmly. The cooling system will run at atmospheric pressure and with any luck will stop using water. The overflow- recovery tank will still work fine. The car is unlikely to overheat unless the cooling system is partly blocked as there is considerable reserve built into the system. I ran a Mitsi L300 like that for 3 years, no problem and towed with it as well.
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 3:03am
Thanks mojo49 I'll give that a try. sounds like it worked well on your old Mitsi
mojo49,
Aug 13, 3:16am
I am sure you would like to get it past that 500Km mark just for the hell of it. Not worth spending $ on, so better to try an alternative solution. Yes it worked well and I have done it to a couple of other cars for people since with good outcomes.
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 3:25am
Yeah Nah -NOPE while chemiweld had it's reputation in the cast iron cylnder head days . Nowadays it is crc block seal or seal well cubes. Best application method is to use the old skool kitchen grater and grate up the blocks warm engine drop some coolant and insert ya 2 grated cubes top up drive for 20 kilomteres or so at highway speed and then leave to cool completely then recheck water.
Do NOT waste ya time dismantling the vacuum valve in the radiator cap as it will still have the pressure stated on the cap
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 3:25am
You're right mojo49 it is my goal to make it 500,000 kms not far to go now. Is it easy to cut the valve off the radiator cap?
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 3:29am
snoopy221 are you saying chemiweld is no good on alloy heads?
mojo49,
Aug 13, 3:35am
Rubbish.There will be no pressure in the radiator. If you look at a cap and cut the valve off which allows the coolant back into the radiator from the overflow tank you should be able to understand how the cap works. And Chemiweld has worked fine on alloy heads for me. I have done it several times and had 100% success every time so don't say it won't work. It does!
mojo49,
Aug 13, 3:38am
Just get a set of side cutters and slide them under the inner valve and nip the thin shaft. Do not damage the main seal around the outside of the cap or you will lose fluid from the top of the radiator. Check the overflow tank every few weeks and top it up as needed.
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 3:42am
Not wasting my time apart from ONE reply to someone with absolutely No Knowledge of how a pressurized cooling system works and why water boils at 100 degress at 14.7 psi atmospheric pressure and at a HIGHER boiling point at radiator cap pressure controlled by the BIG spring Not the small vacuum valve . And yes with todays highly developed engines the metal cracks like a windscreen and the crack radiates and chemiweld is not in the same league as seal well blocks is as newer technology
We are talking about a 96 Camry done nearly 500Km. I have a degree in physics and have probably forgotten more about the relationships of temperature/ pressure and boiling points than you have every learnt. My method will work on that car. With a bloody hole in the radiator cap it does not matter how much spring tension there is. The radiator is effectively open to the atmosphere via the overflow tank which is not fully sealed. The coolant will run at 80 deg C or below so long as the system is working properly and will not boil unless it is overloaded. That will only happen if the system is short of coolant or run under extended heavy load. Think about it and learn from an old codger who has done stuff and knows lots of shit. Read #4 in your link.
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 4:13am
In that you have a minimal diametric bypass hole between the seals. Yes i see your point however not a normal accepted calibre of advice given I M O
mojo49,
Aug 13, 4:18am
Thank you, but suitable advice to enable the OP to keep his 32 year old car going past the 500Km mark and much more. Of course I would not suggest that on a relatively recent car, but the one in question is an end of life example that my EOL solution suits. It is about horses for courses. A good solution for you to remember when a client with an old banger asks, rather than telling them to call the wrecker. It could keep some old codger with an old banger going until he stops driving, for which he would be eternally (although maybe not for long) grateful.
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 4:25am
Meh good old seal well blocks and zee kitchen grater and no need 4dasidecutters////// seal well is a plastic type repair effective on minimal metal highly stressed lightweight modern engines. Chemiweld was a good product but not as good as seal well blocks is reliable on modern engines
Editted to add that ALL chemical repair compounds rely on the pressure to force the compound in to the crack so zee sidecutters and zee repair process negate each other in reality
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 4:38am
I'm certainly keen to do as many miles as possible in it! It still runs and drives surprisingly well for the mileage. I guess living rural helps its longevity since it always gets hot running which is better than short distance stop/start city driving
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 4:40am
re# a degree in physics
As an apprentice on the second block course we were told you can NOT run a wet and a dry fuel together. mmkay 351 clevo in ya parking lot runs CNG in the primaries and petrol in the secondaries wanna go for a drive and prove that wrong?
We went on to develop a petrol injection system [pulse box injector pulsing from 1200 rpm to full on at WOT and 4000 rpm] Dyno sheets showed we had MORE horsepower on CNG with petrol injection enabled than we had on petrol alone Care to hypothesise why?
mojo49,
Aug 13, 4:49am
You only cut the valve off after the chemiweld has been forced into the cracks and has set solid, not before. That is partly why the concept works. Yes there may be better products available now, but the key is to take the pressure of the cracked area which minimises the risk of leakage and coolant lose.
mojo49,
Aug 13, 4:50am
Your post is OFF TOPIC. Settle down lad. But a very clever bit of engineering nonetheless.
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 4:53am
LOL the funniest thing is physics itself in that case shows how backward we are in terms of fuel breakdown. As the injection system would only work if the fuel was injected AGAINST the incoming air as it gave the appropriate breakdown. Whereas all carburettors emuslify then direct the fuel with the incoming air with resultant lack of breakdown [Note this was in the eighties] But still. actually obeys the laws of physics properly edits to add we also had the latent heat of vaporization of a liquid fuel allowing manifold pressure dropping and more oxygen gain hence more horsepower
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 4:55am
So I think we all agree that mojo49's solution works, but there may be a better product to use than chemiweld. Happy days! I will give this a try but perhaps will use one of the products suggested by snoopy221 instead of chemiweld. Thanks for your help!
And my post of proven application -not in pamphlets.
bluecambridge,
Aug 13, 4:57am
snoopy221 now you're just showing off (with your post about fuels etc)
snoopy221,
Aug 13, 4:59am
Meh anyone who goes ! I have a degree-LOL1!
mojo49,
Aug 13, 5:02am
Yep. Someone with a degree has just taught you something about pressure, cooling system leaks etc.
mojo49,
Aug 13, 5:02am
Looks like a good modern product. Well worth a try.
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