Repair or sell?

[speedo]

Hello,

I have a '93 Camry Wagon V6 LE with 188,000 miles on it and I bought it in 2009 August for $2000. Since then I probably spent another $1500 on it to fix it's various problems.

However, a recent power steering fluid leak hasn't been going away. My mechanic fixed it for me and I took it back home to find out that it's still leaking and took it back to him. He said there was a 'air pocket' and he 'fixed' it again for me. I took it back home and again I saw it leaking.

Now comes the stupidity on my part. I thought the power steering leak is not connected to anything else and at worst I will have to steer hard without help from 'power' steering if all the fluid leaks out. So, why not just take a day trip to Austin (from Houston) and take the car back to the mechanic to fix it once and for all.

Little did I know that the radiator fan is somehow dependent on the power steering fluid. I reached Austin with an overheated engine and the car stalled in the middle of the highway. I let it cool down and poured water into the engine coolant container and drove it to a nearby garage where the mechanic told me that the 'head gasket' is damaged and it might take anywhere between $400 to $1500 to fix it. Also, he is the one who told me that the radiator fan runs with the help of the power steering fluid. Until then, I had never heard of this.

Do you think it's worth fixing this? Or should I sell it for whatever it's worth AS IS?

[Mister_Perkins]

dude where are you in houston? I am in Sugar Land. I can fix it lol

edit: if you do sell it, I am interested depending on the shape of it. Pm Me if interested

[slavie]

EDIT: My post was ill-informed, as it turns out. Deleted.

[carsrus]

Originally Posted by slavie

To answer your question: yes, it is worth fixing, as the car's value is more than that. Even if you were to get rid of it, fixing the head gasket will increase price and sellability of the car more than the cost to repair.

Radiator fan is somehow connected to power steering??? That is second most ridiculous thing I've ever heard about Camrys (my ex-mechanic holds the first position forever, after he told me that a slight vacuum hose leak caused my engine mount to break in a month).

Yes, overheating engine will give you head gasket trouble, but I have a hard time understanding the connection to steering. Camry has electro-hydraulic power steering, which is powered by electricity - not mechanical engine power. That's why Power Steering in your Camry works even without engine running. Radiator fans are powered by electricity and controlled by the relay, which relies on temp sensors. The only connection is has to Power Steering is that both are found in your car. It's almost like saying that your back seats caused your headlight to stop working.

I would steer clear of that particular mechanic - he either has his head on backwards, or he tried to stuff bologna down your throat.

Thats a double false boss. The 3z motor used a hydraulic fan. The power steering pump creates pressure which flows through lines to make the fan spin.

The Camry has good old mechanical power steering. Nothing electrical about it. No power steering when the engines off. 99.999% of cars on the road do not have electrical power steering. Its only become popularish recently in more higher end cars.

Getting the head gasket fixed properly is gonna be 1000+, and if its not done properly by a good mechanic the repair wont last. Both heads need to be milled flat at a minimum. Personally I wouldn't spend the cash. Maybe drop in a used motor, but unless you have a mechanic you know and trust A LOT, I would part it out if you have the means. You'll recover a good amount of money selling parts.

[carsrus]

Originally Posted by slavie

Radiator fan is somehow connected to power steering??? That is second most ridiculous thing I've ever heard about Camrys (my ex-mechanic holds the first position forever, after he told me that a slight vacuum hose leak caused my engine mount to break in a month).


I would steer clear of that particular mechanic - he either has his head on backwards, or he tried to stuff bologna down your throat.

Its completely possible that a vacuum leak killed a mount. Vac leak = excessive vibrations from wrong fuel mix. More vibrations = dead motor mounts. Its all in the realm of reality.

[speedo]

Thanks a lot for the replies.

Let's say that mechanic doesn't have a clue about what he is talking about. But is there a way to connect the two separate incidents - the power steering leak and the engine overheating? Or there is no connection whatsoever and the engine was overheating for a reason that has not been diagnosed yet and happened to happen at the same time the power steering fluid was leaking?

[pmesfun]

^Re-read post #4 please.

[speedo]

Oops... missed the details in carsrus' post#4.

The power steering pump creates pressure which flows through lines to make the fan spin.

So, that's the problem. If I take it to a Toyota dealer, are they going to charge 3 times the price of other mechanics?

[Mister_Perkins]

Dealers are going to charge a lot yes

[pmesfun]

Mr. Perkins offered to fix/buy the car from you(post#2), he's a camry genius.

[speedo]

Originally Posted by pmesfun

Mr. Perkins offered to fix/buy the car from you(post#2), he's a camry genius.

I got in touch with him through PM already. I was just wondering whether a Toyota dealer is even within the feasible range or not.

The car is stuck in Austin. Any ideas how to bring it back? I am thinking of taking my friend's Mitsubishi Outlander and a U-Haul car trailer. Do you think that's doable? Or is there a better idea?

Thanks for the all the help you guys provided already.

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by speedo

I got in touch with him through PM already. I was just wondering whether a Toyota dealer is even within the feasible range or not.

The car is stuck in Austin. Any ideas how to bring it back? I am thinking of taking my friend's Mitsubishi Outlander and a U-Haul car trailer. Do you think that's doable? Or is there a better idea?

Thanks for the all the helps you guys provided already.

I assume you don't have AAA. Is the Outlander the V6 version? I can't think of another way at the moment.

[speedo]

No, the Outlander's a 4 cylinder. And I just checked U-Haul website and it says that the Outlander won't be able to pull my car.

Spend more money on renting a truck from U-Haul...

[speedo]

UPDATE

I got it back to Houston on one of those 18-wheelers for $125. Not too bad.

Mr Perkins was supposed to have a look at it but he later told me he was moving out of state and he wouldn't be able to do it. So I took it AAMCO just a mile away from my place and they did an engine block test and found exhaust fumes in the cooling system. The fluid in the test kit turned from blue to yellow. The guy at AAMCO told me that it's either a blown head gasket or damaged cylinder heads.

He gave me a rough estimate of $1800-$2400 to send the engine to the machine shop. Also, it will be another $675 to replace the power steering hoses (the root of all these problems), flush the cooling system and refill.

I am thinking of going back tomorrow to ask for a more precise estimate for the engine.

Do you think it's worth it?

The KBB gives the following values: Excellent 2410, Good 2185, Fair 1685.

So, even if I fix it and try to sell it later, I will probably make a loss. But I am quite attached to the car and would hate to see it go. Also, I have been looking around on Craigslist for other cars to buy and most (at least in this price range) have their own problems that I would have to spend money fixing anyway.

Any suggestions?

[speedo]

I forgot to ask: How can one tell whether it is a blown head gasket OR damaged heads OR both? And will the repair cost vary a lot depending on which one it is?