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Background: the Prados/Patrols and other assorted Japanese cars (right-hand drive) not made for the U.S. market have entered Peru and had their steering changed to the left-side. Mostly this was done with diesel Prados, but a few petrol versions as well. The problem is that because of the low numbers of petrol, there are very few parts for that engine.
I bought my switched-steering petrol Prado at a very good price, and would like some opinions on my current situation and if the price I paid was 'too good to be true'. So....
Once upon a time an American in Peru bought a 97 2.7l SWB Prado for a very good price. After driving it around for a month (500km) with no problems, he made a road trip up to the second hightest mountain range in the world, the Andes. All went well for those 600 km. He drove back down to the coast and in one of the coastal towns in traffic another 300 km later, noticed his engine was over heating and went to the Toyota dealer.
The dealer said 1. usually they don't work on changed steering, but this one is done so well, they would work on it 2. you have to pay $1,400 US to replace the busted radiator and associated parts.
On the way the next morning to pay them to start the work, I stopped by a non-Toyota mechanic recommended to me, and he said that he could do it all for $300, using a bronze radiator instead of aluminum: more channels than the OEM aluminum and easier to fix if something went wrong. I went back to Toyota, talked with the mechanic and he said "financailly it would be better to go with them and if you're not doing long extended trips in the desert, there really is not that big of a difference from using bronze or aluminum." So I went bronze.
My temperature indicator now was around 3/8 (instead of the 1/2 as before) and I felt good driving the 500 km back to Lima and in the roughly 2,500k (mostly city) since.
Then the engine started to over heat in heavy stop-and-go traffic about 3 weeks ago, cooling down when idling or driving above 35 kph. But it started getting worse, overheating much quicker, and not cooling down as much at idle. I was checking the level in the radiator reservoir and it was always full. I never got it to overheat, but close, so I looked for and found a recommended 4x4 mechanic to take a look.
He first tells me that bronze is a mistake, nowhere as good as aluminum, I should replace it. I remind him it was fine for 3,000km and while maybe not the best choice, can't be what just started happening 3 weeks ago. After a couple checks, he takes the tubing that leaves the reservoir and puts it in a 3/4 full small plastic water bottle. Every 20s or so (I wasn't counting) a bubble would appear.
Then he said that my head (the major part of the engine on top) is bad and needs to be replaced. I asked him how he knows, and he pointed to the gasket between the head and the block and said "that gasket is too thick. normally they are much thinner." Then he explained "the head warped due to heat, they shaved it down (to make its bottom parallel to the top of the block) and used a thicker gasket to compensate." One of his guys saw the large gasket, he did the bottle check and the bubbles in the coolant represented an improper seal. He suggested they were slackers to do the shaving/thick gasket and that I should do it right and replace the head.
Upon calling around Peru, there is no head at any parts supplier, they don't stock them as my engine is so rare... probably why they did the thick gasket in the first place as there was no other way, and that is my only way while waiting and paying absurdly for a new head or finding a used one.
I questioned the coincidence/luck/evil of all this falling apart only 3 weeks ago and he checked the heat of the radiator (much cooler after the 30 minutes of talking) opened the radiator cap and noticed there was no coolant. He pulled out the full reservoir, poured its contents into the radiator (the level went almost to the cap) and replaced it. "The coolant is not circulating through to the reservoir, why it read full every time I looked at it. Maybe you just keep watching the coolant level and replace the gasket. Not ideal but we'll see how it goes."
On the 15km drive back to my place my indicator was back at 3/8 and it didn't budge once. I checked the radiator after it had cooled down and the level had already dropped (not visible) but there was nothing in the (previously emptied) reservoir either.
I returned and said "I never see any coolant under the truck where I park. Where does it go?" and he said "it was escaping through the exhaust pipe."
I'm going for a second (Peruvian) opinion of course, but comments, criticisms and insults encouraged.
I bought my switched-steering petrol Prado at a very good price, and would like some opinions on my current situation and if the price I paid was 'too good to be true'. So....
Once upon a time an American in Peru bought a 97 2.7l SWB Prado for a very good price. After driving it around for a month (500km) with no problems, he made a road trip up to the second hightest mountain range in the world, the Andes. All went well for those 600 km. He drove back down to the coast and in one of the coastal towns in traffic another 300 km later, noticed his engine was over heating and went to the Toyota dealer.
The dealer said 1. usually they don't work on changed steering, but this one is done so well, they would work on it 2. you have to pay $1,400 US to replace the busted radiator and associated parts.
On the way the next morning to pay them to start the work, I stopped by a non-Toyota mechanic recommended to me, and he said that he could do it all for $300, using a bronze radiator instead of aluminum: more channels than the OEM aluminum and easier to fix if something went wrong. I went back to Toyota, talked with the mechanic and he said "financailly it would be better to go with them and if you're not doing long extended trips in the desert, there really is not that big of a difference from using bronze or aluminum." So I went bronze.
My temperature indicator now was around 3/8 (instead of the 1/2 as before) and I felt good driving the 500 km back to Lima and in the roughly 2,500k (mostly city) since.
Then the engine started to over heat in heavy stop-and-go traffic about 3 weeks ago, cooling down when idling or driving above 35 kph. But it started getting worse, overheating much quicker, and not cooling down as much at idle. I was checking the level in the radiator reservoir and it was always full. I never got it to overheat, but close, so I looked for and found a recommended 4x4 mechanic to take a look.
He first tells me that bronze is a mistake, nowhere as good as aluminum, I should replace it. I remind him it was fine for 3,000km and while maybe not the best choice, can't be what just started happening 3 weeks ago. After a couple checks, he takes the tubing that leaves the reservoir and puts it in a 3/4 full small plastic water bottle. Every 20s or so (I wasn't counting) a bubble would appear.
Then he said that my head (the major part of the engine on top) is bad and needs to be replaced. I asked him how he knows, and he pointed to the gasket between the head and the block and said "that gasket is too thick. normally they are much thinner." Then he explained "the head warped due to heat, they shaved it down (to make its bottom parallel to the top of the block) and used a thicker gasket to compensate." One of his guys saw the large gasket, he did the bottle check and the bubbles in the coolant represented an improper seal. He suggested they were slackers to do the shaving/thick gasket and that I should do it right and replace the head.
Upon calling around Peru, there is no head at any parts supplier, they don't stock them as my engine is so rare... probably why they did the thick gasket in the first place as there was no other way, and that is my only way while waiting and paying absurdly for a new head or finding a used one.
I questioned the coincidence/luck/evil of all this falling apart only 3 weeks ago and he checked the heat of the radiator (much cooler after the 30 minutes of talking) opened the radiator cap and noticed there was no coolant. He pulled out the full reservoir, poured its contents into the radiator (the level went almost to the cap) and replaced it. "The coolant is not circulating through to the reservoir, why it read full every time I looked at it. Maybe you just keep watching the coolant level and replace the gasket. Not ideal but we'll see how it goes."
On the 15km drive back to my place my indicator was back at 3/8 and it didn't budge once. I checked the radiator after it had cooled down and the level had already dropped (not visible) but there was nothing in the (previously emptied) reservoir either.
I returned and said "I never see any coolant under the truck where I park. Where does it go?" and he said "it was escaping through the exhaust pipe."
I'm going for a second (Peruvian) opinion of course, but comments, criticisms and insults encouraged.
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