3VZ owners - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

TheKevin · 03-17-2009, 04:59 PM

i'm just wondering how many other 3VZ-FE owners out there are having overheating/boilover problems.

i've had this same problem with the previous motor. i'd be able to drive for 30 mins max before it started to overheat/boilover. i replaced almost everything thats part of the cooling system. then from there it just went downhill. it went to only 20 mins of driving, then 15 mins, then motor oil became milky.

so then in may '08, i just had enough of that and bought a used 3VZ from japan. also, spent another $1200 on parts like a new radiator, water pump, thermostat, spark plugs, wires, etc.

Then today, after driving for 20 mins, i park in at home depot to get some stuff. when i get out of my car, i can smell coolant. sure enough, some guy walks over and says there is coolant all over the place. i pop the hood and the coolant from the resevoir is boiling.

***Knailgun*** · 03-17-2009, 05:15 PM

I had that same problem with mine.

I replaced the water pump, radiator, thermostat and anything remotely connected to the cooling system, now it runs Ice cold

***Eye8Pussies*** · 03-17-2009, 06:13 PM

check the headgasket....yet again...

midnightmach · 03-17-2009, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eye8Pussies

check the headgasket....yet again...

hater!!

xtremeskier97 · 03-17-2009, 06:59 PM

I had the same issue where it would boil over. I think mine was related to not being properly bled to get all the air out. Happened a few times and now it hasnt done it in a long while. Didnt replace anything. Oil has never got milky (thank God). I was scared that I had a blown HG, but I didnt.

Have you ever tried a coolant flush?

***Eye8Pussies*** · 03-17-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnightmach

hater!!

lol

no...just being realistic unfortunately.

but yes, spend an hour or so bleeding the system to be sure and then see if it still happens. if it still does and you've changed every component related to cooling...then it's not looking good

TheKevin · 03-17-2009, 11:51 PM

other than the head gasket, what else needs to be replaced? im going to hit up my mechanic in a couple days.

***Knailgun*** · 03-18-2009, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKevin

other than the head gasket, what else needs to be replaced? im going to hit up my mechanic in a couple days.

water pump, thermostat, flush the radiator

davemac2 · 03-18-2009, 11:55 AM

Boilovers are usually the head gasket, especially if you have just done highway or sustained high speed driving for 30+ minutes which stresses the block-head interface the most. Try doing a chemical block test for confirmation. The kits are only $30 or so. It can also be a bad coolant cap or poor coolant circulation due to a clogged rad or trapped air, but this is not typical unless the cooling system has been badly neglected or work on it was recently performed. Corroded water pumps will usually show as temperature creep. I think these 3VZ-FE V6's are prone to head gasket failure on cylinder #6 (right most cylinder at the front on driver's side.). It's almost always that one. I've had it happen twice on these engines, almost the same situation as you with a japan imported replacement engine failing yet again in exactly the same way and cylinder. My second one lasted for 3-4 years though (60K). I will have to get around to posting my pics of my 3VZ-FE head gasket job on here soon. It takes a good 12-16 hrs of labor to do these gaskets. If you take the shortcut of only doing the front head (reasonable for the typical failure mode on this engine), you can probably knock 5hrs off the job. The first engine that failed for me was unrepairable because the gasket failure had caused bad corrosion pitting on the block surface and a HG repair would not likely last long. This is always a risk, especially if you have not caught the HG failure early enough.

dave mc

TheKevin · 03-18-2009, 02:11 PM

^exactly. the previous motor was just FUBAR. i kept driving it until it was too late.

i just got a $800 quote from my mechanic to do a HG job. parts and labor.

93XLEcamry · 03-18-2009, 05:48 PM

dang this is happening to everyone....my car is still in the shop gettin the motor replaced....

after reading dave's post im afraid about the replaced engine now...just hope mine will last as long as his replace motor....

and dave, yea please do a 3vzfe hg replacement diy or post some pics....because as you all have know, this is happening to everyone

davemac2 · 03-18-2009, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheKevin

^exactly. the previous motor was just FUBAR. i kept driving it until it was too late.

i just got a $800 quote from my mechanic to do a HG job. parts and labor.

that's a very good price actually. I've been quoted $1500 about 3-4 months back. Maybe he is planning only to do the front head.

dave mc

TheKevin · 03-18-2009, 07:31 PM

93XLEcamry, how long has it been in the shop? it should take 2-3 days to install. be prepared for a HG job later.

ok, if i replace the HG do i need to resurface the heads? also, how likely is a BHG going to happen again?

BlueFusion6851 · 03-18-2009, 07:37 PM

If you do it again... it could last you another 150,000+miles, or it could last 50,000, there really is no true way of telling. Sorry to hear that man, I was having the same issues before I totalled mine... kinda took care of the issue.

TheKevin · 03-18-2009, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davemac2

that's a very good price actually. I've been quoted $1500 about 3-4 months back. Maybe he is planning only to do the front head.

dave mc

the price is for both heads and all the other little necessities, including resurfacing the heads. he does great work and i trust him. he's worked on my other cars and havent had any problems with those.

as of right now, i'm just a little fed up with this camry. i've put a lot of $ into it, mainly repairs. so right now i'm thinking of parting out and just taking a huge loss and sellin it or rolling it off a cliff.