Hey everyone! My name is Paul, and in this video i'll be testing the oil in my RAV4 to find out what's wrong with the engine.
My RAV4 has been losing a lot of coolant for a while now and i recently noticed
white smoke coming from the exhaust.
This definitely looks like a blown head gasket but i want to know for sure before i fix it.
The head gasket is one of the most important parts of the engine and it can fail in a lot of different ways.
For example: smoke in the exhaust may be caused by a leak between one of the cylinders and
the coolant passages going from the head to the engine block.
In episode 14 I did a few tests to find out if my head gasket is bad.
The compression in my engine was good and it passed this test.
That means the head gasket isn't broken in between the cylinders, but that doesn't mean it's good.
There are many other places for the head gasket to leak.
I tested for exhaust gas in the radiator and it passed this test too.
that means the head gasket isn't broken between the combustion chamber and coolant passages... or is it?
That is a lot of smoke. Something is definitely getting burned that shouldn't be.
Maybe it's burning a bit of oil or maybe it's burning coolant.
I also did a pressure test on the cooling system and the car failed. The radiator and coolant bypass hoses were leaking, but
The cylinder head doesn't appear to be leaking coolant or oil to the outside of the engine.
Perhaps the worst kind of failure is when the head gasket allows the coolant to mix with the oil.
In episode 23, I replaced the oil pan gasket and notice the oil looks very strange...
It looks a bit like coffee with milk
This is a clue that there's coolant in the oil.
I let the oil sit for two days and the top half inch separated from the rest.
At this point i'm 100 sure there's coolant in my oil.
There is another more accurate way to test your oil.
I went to blackstonelabs.com and requested a free oil test kit.
I filled out my name and address and told them my car sucks.
5 days later, this black container showed up.
There's a small container inside for the oil and a label for your name, address, vehicle information, and type of oil.
You can write your credit card number here for payment or you can do it online.
I'll shake my separated oil and pour some in the bottle.
now just put it in the bag and pack it all up.
The square container already has a shipping label, so all you have to do is drop it off at the post office.
Shipping took five days and blackstone labs tested my oil the very next day and e-mailed me the report.
This process took me 11 days total, but if you submit the form online and
ship them your own bottle priority mail you'll have your test results in three to four days.
Since most people don't really know what all the numbers mean, the comments section explains it.
I have a serious coolant leak and the oil is ruined.
Also I have a lot of engine wear. This makes sense because the oil can't protect my engine parts when it's mixed with coolant.
Here are the numbers: I have 278 times more potassium than i should.
And 4 times as much sodium than average.
This is a serious problem indeed... but I already knew that before i sent my oil to the lab.
What i didn't know is how much aluminum, copper and iron was in the oil.
Those were my engine parts! They shouldn't be in the oil!
At the bottom of the page there are some more numbers also proving my engine is bad.
With the oil test from Blackstone Labs, I know for sure my head gasket is blown.
It's also possible the head is cracked or warped.
While working on the exhaust, I saw evidence of leaking valve seals too.
A remanufactured cylinder head will take care of all those problems.
I'll need the head gasket of course, new head bolts, and a timing belt and water pump.
It's about $1000 worth of parts if you add in coolant, silicone, and other stuff I might need.
A professional mechanic may be able to change the head out in 15 hours or less
but i'm also making a video and that just makes everything take much longer.
I'm concerned about the iron, aluminum, and copper that was in the oil.
If I fix the cylinder head, the bottom end of the engine is worn and it might just blow up soon.
Then i'll have wasted $1000.
Also, knowing my luck the 5th gear in my transmission will go out the day after I fix my engine.
Even if nothing breaks for a while, I'll still have the boring and super slow 3s-fe engine.
I'll have to pull over for minivans to pass me.
The other option is the 3s-gte swap. I'll need a new engine, transmission, wiring, and a fuel pump
plus about 20 other things i don't know about yet.
I'm estimating this project would cost around $4000 in parts and take forever to finish.
I would have an awesome engine, and I wouldn't have a transmission that is doomed to fail soon.
Other side effects include tinkering with turbo stuff forever to get it to run right,
and not being able to pass emissions because it won't have an American OBD2 system that shops can connect to.
There are ways around that though.
I originally paid $3,500 for this RAV4 and since then I've put a ton of work and $8,000 into fixing this car...
and i can't even drive! It's getting very difficult to justify spending more money on this car.
Now don't worry guys, I'll continue fixing it because i love you guys and making these videos is my hobby, but
I have two questions for you:
Should I replace the cylinder head on this engine or should I do the 3s-gte swap?
My second question is: should i set up a patreon or a gofundme for this project?
Because if you guys help me pay for an engine I'll do the 3s-gte swap!
Let me know what you guys think in the comments section below.
and as always, thank you so much for watching these videos and I'll see you guys next time.