3L engine -mayonnaise nightmare!

Hello, Co-Hiace fans.
We have a fabulous Hiace cruising cabin which we have lovingly restored and maintained over the years and it has rewarded us with fabulous excursions. We don’t use it that often, but like to drive it every few weeks to keep it running.
Last night we were on such manoeuvres when suddenly there was a bad smell and overheating. When we pulled over and looked into the engine bay there was french dressing everywhere! Including all over the road. I’m assuming at least a failed head gasket, possibly cracked head, although it has had a replacement head some years back.
Our task now is to find someone who can fix it for us. We’re sure it won’t be a cheap job as all the waterways will need flushing etc. but we have spent a lot of time and money doing the bodywork and the van is our escape pod.
So, can anyone on this forum recommend a trustworthy mechanic who would be prepared to take on our lovely van?
Thanks!
Fritzy

Hello fritzy

Very sorry to hear of the nightmare problem.

I can't recommend a garage but see this active thread where there's a couple of owners in the Bristol area and one has scoped out a garage in Warmley.

https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t4333-some-pictures-of-my-1993-lh119#24155.

Once you’re tackling the root cause, I’d also explore whether there might also have been any underlying or contributory factors, particularly with the cooling system. The cooling system on my van has suffered from neglect and I’ve now had the radiator re-cored (and with a thicker core). The heater matrix is currently away being done, too and I’ll be adding filters once things go back together. I’ll also be replacing the fan clutch and water pump for example. The thermostat seems fine, but I might renew it, too. I started out flushing and back flushing and all sorts of flushing but it required disassembly to solve the blockage problems.

As you'll know the 3L engine is not at all complicated but I’m not sure I’d tackle this myself. A head gasket failure seems most likely but that might mean a reskim or more work if the problem is clearly visible during inspection. In my discussions with various garages and workshops (such as for MOT or with the radiator) it’s older mechanics who remember these vans from ‘yesteryear’ who I’d look towards. Something else to contemplate is whether to replace the engine with a different unit. There are plenty of other Toyota engines out there and it might be worth exploring what else will match the mounts and gearbox. There’s a thread on here somewhere where someone put a Volvo engine in!

It’s worth asking how many miles / km? Anything else obvious (gauge / lights) or visible failures?

On a brighter note, as you have a CC, it'd be great to see some pictures, if that's possible? Perhaps share some snaps in the 'show us yours' section, if you've not done this? If you want to show some pictures of the damage it might be helpful for other, too.

I've recently posted some pictures of my CC, which I'm doing a lot of work on. Take a look here: https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t4317-my-lh119

HTH

Thanks so much for your reply.
I realise I haven’t updated my location details and we’re now in South East London. Warmley would have been ideal for us when we lived in Bath and I may still give these guys a ring, especially if they’re experts with these vans.

Good call re the cooling system. I will definitely try and optimise this as we are getting involved with a top end refurb.
I’ll try and dig out some shots of the van-I think it may have already featured on this site when it was in the hands of a previous owner, but I bought it in a very sad state and have done a lot of bodywork since.
Thanks. F

I highly recommend my garage, C & S Autos in Croydon. Family business, Brian knows these vehicles well and has replaced my cylinder head.

Thanks that’s great-I’ll check them out.

Hello fritzy.

I’m starting to run out of mechanical jobs to tackle on my van; plenty on with but gradually fewer to start, which is a bonus.

Now, I have to begin some of the bodywork, which is also easier with so much of the van ‘exposed’ (see my van’s pages here: https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t4317-my-lh119#24213).

I think you might have said you have done or had done quite a bit of bodywork so I’d be very grateful if you can give me a steer on some aspects, please?

Did you do this yourself? If so, did you fabricate pieces and weld them in or buy and fit panels? If so, where did you buy them? If you made, what steel did you use?

I’ve done a reasonable amount of bodywork repair over the years, but never tackled a job as complicated as I’m now faced with. I knew this would be so and while I have contacts and friends who can help I’m after some vehicle-specific guidance, please?

If you can help, please feel free to get back or PM me and we can hopefully discuss by other means.

Cheers!

https://shop.klokkerholm.com/xProductCatalogue/productCatalogue.aspx?Group=160786

Here is a very useful resource for anyone looking for new parts and repair sections for their vans.
I got a couple of new lower body panels from these guys with no issues. That was before brexit though, so it might be a bit more of a challenge these days. They’re in Denmark, I think.
Also worth a mention is this breakers in Japan. I’ve successfully bought bit from them before.
https://autoparts.beforward.jp/

So...finally the van is in the garage-looks like I was too quick off the mark with my rush diagnosis of head gasket/cylinder head. apparently its ATF in the cooling system - suggests I need a new radiator?
so is there an ATF cooler built into the rad on these? how does that work, and can where can I get a new rad if that's what I need?
thoughts and contributions always welcome!!
thanks
Fritzy

Depending on the variant yes there is an ATF cooler built in on the vertical radiator in front of the engine.  I wouldn’t search too hard for your unique one given that you have ATF in the engine coolant meaning you have that…but probably also coolant in your transmission and transfer.

Radiators are hard to find. Should be trivial to get yours fixed instead. The radiators in these things are basically unique to the van making repair more cheaper and prudent than sourcing one from Japan. At least here in the US. If need be, block off the transmission cooler and run a separate one in front of it.  Maybe a cool race car one because that’s my go to solution over here.

Great news you didn’t lunch your motor!  Hope you’re on the road soon.

I have just had a radiator recored in Gloucester. It was not cheap at £360 and this was just the radiator core as the gearbox cooler was not damaged. I can highly recommend the company as they really knew their stuff. I took the radiator in and he identified it before I told him what it was from. I like these old hands.

LH119V
I have done quite a lot of bodywork on my van. I didn't bother looking for panels and just bought a couple of sheets of 16 and 18 awg steel. I made a long sill by rolling the steel around some steel bottles and various small patches for rust holes at the bottom of windows. You need a lot of patience but it does get easier with practice. There are some bits that I would look for panels as it would be too much effort to fabricate.

Hello.

While not a positive result I think I’d prefer this to dealing with the head gasket.  

I have a M/T but believe there is a transmission cooler built in to the vertical radiator on auto vans. There are certainly trans cooler pipes that come forward and you can see these on the Toyota Electronic Parts Catalogue. Sorry to sound like a broken record but you can view this for my van here:

https://toyota.epc-data.com/regius_ace/lh119v/114894/

And, if not done so, you should customise this for yours to get the correct info.

I agree with @blgravely and @Gissit. I got my radiator re-cored not too long ago and you can read my long post on cooling here:

https://hiace-super-custom.forumotion.com/t4317-my-lh119 (scroll down below the pictures of the rear brakes)

Again, sorry for the broken record-bit. The original copper and brass radiators are far superior to the modern plastic and aluminium variants and ensuring correct fit of these is a lot of guesswork. I spent ages on this and opted for a re-core. It cost about what @Gissit spent and I got a 3-layer, but I had to send mine off. Anyway “read all about it!” as they say.  I too, was highly impressed with the knowledge in the company I went with and have sent off my front heater matrix for the same treatment.

@blgravely also raises the real and worrying prospect of coolant in the transmission and this is out of my knowledge area. Hopefully you can deal with this, but I think draining the ATF and checking is a must. I think getting the mess out of the coolant side should be more straightforward and flushing and back-flushing should get this done. Ultimately I think a little bit of ATF in the cooling loop will be much less harmful and easier to deal with than coolant in the transmission. My long post shows how I flushed my system.

To avoid this ever going wrong again I’d suggest a setting up a separate transmission cooler, but a good radiator rebuilder can advise. This should be fairly straightforward and to whet your appetite there are loads of YT vids on aftermarket auto-trans coolers. Heat seems to be the worst enemy for autos and improving their cooling is common, especially for vehicles that tow. I think that once the torque converter locks up they don’t generate much heat but it seems a lot is made when in ‘slip’ mode.

Lastly here, @Gissit thanks for your comments on metal work. I don’t want to hijack this thread so will reply elsewhere.

Cheers

guys, thanks so much for all the information. the van is sitting at the garage while they try and find a solution to the problem. there is a company they use which re-core rads but I think they're having a few issues finding the right core? I dunno. anyway, I'm going to share the information with my mechanic and hopefully we will find a way forward soon - its getting dangerously close to planned camping trips now, so the van needs to be ready!
Gissit, what company in Gloucester did you use to re-core your rad?
thx Fritzy.

Gloucestershire Radiator Specialists

Lower Tuffley Ln, Gloucester GL2 5DT
01452 419524 https://g.co/kgs/xv4LT7

Great thanks. M

It wasn't cheap but the guy impressed me. I walked in with the radiator and he immediately knew what it was from before I even spoke.

Hello.

I used: https://www.mrsheattransfer.com/ (no affiliation!)

Like above they knew the vehicle family immediately and also the difficulty of replacements and quality issues. They knew all the alleys I’d been down in trying to find an aftermarket replacement and when first contacting them I got a history lesson on cores and the current industry situation.

As put in my long post (see above for link) I’ve now got a 3-layer core for very little more than the exact 2-layer-core like for like replacement and pictures are in that long post.

I’ve also just got back from them my front heater matrix after that’s been re-cored. It was more a safety measure as it wasn’t leaking but very compromised (again see my long post, which I’ll update with that news). I chose to do this as it’s deep within a heater box and to access that the dash has to come out, which I did for other reasons. I didn’t want to have to do this twice! It's a pain!

Entirely your call but I’d not be inclined to keep the auto gearbox heat exchanger within the radiator. I can see why Toyota did it this way but it’s much more common nowadays to have an ATF to air cooler, plus they are really not expensive. This will lessen the cooling load on your radiator(s) and mean that any future problem can’t lead to coolant in your gearbox or ATF in the coolant. I'd also be installing a temp sensor on the gearbox.

Please do keep the updates coming!

HTH!

The company in Gloucester are part of a larger company that actually make the cores themselves. When I mentioned getting and extra core he said it doesn't need more cores it just needs everything to be maintained properly. He was a bit old school. I'm not sure how the leak between oil and water happens as the cores are separate. It is a pretty easy job to just add an oil cooler though as I ripped out all my A/C so access is easy.