Oooo, my first thread :D

Found the site by accident and already it's proving helpful.

However, hoping someone can give a hint to the prob with my '91 TR SE Magna Auto. The problems may be related (well, they did start at the same time).

Shortly after getting the magna back from repair (had no power for the first 5mins of startup. 30km on the highway is embarrassing. However, the mechanic did fix the prob), further issues start arising. :rant:

I am loosing oil slowly (needs refilling after about 5 months) and a receive quite a bit of white smoke on startup (goes normal after a minute or 5 minutes on cold days). But most annoying is the coolant dissappearing. Needs refilling every 2-3 weeks. I put cardboard under the car but only about two drops of oil were evident the next morning. Can find no hint where me coolant is wandering off to. Are all the problems related or does it seem a Valve stem seals prob with the oil and demonic dehydration with my antifreeze. I've tried that stuff the attempts to fix radiator leaks but no diff.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance...

Sasquire

Possibly the head gasket. The nice white smoke is steam, which probably explains where the coolant's gone.

yea the white smoke at startup would be the valve seals, ive got the same problem and so do alot of people... Its not serious, just means you lose oil a little bit faster. But it'll probably get worse as time goes by.

as for the coolant, i had a similar problem, my coolant would dissapear but did not appear to be leaking.. After a few weeks i had a major cooling system problem and was losing the water after a 5 minute drive. The problem was worn hoses.

So yea, i recomend replacing all the radiator hoses, especially if the car is using the original ones.. Do this before you start to over heat the engine and damage something..

hope this helps.

I'd try the following. Take the radiator cap off with the engine cold first thing in the moring. Fill will coolant as you would and start her up. Is there coolant going everywhere ?

Cracked head.

Put cap back on.

Is the coolant only being lost when the heater is on

Heater hose or crack in inlet manifold.

Hold the engine at 1500RPM for 1 to 2 minutes. The very quickly stab the throttle to a much highter rev, say 4000RPM. Does it blow smoke ?

Worn rings if blowing smoke at quick idle. If blows smoke after stab of throttle valve guides.

Turn off engine.

Is the oil brownish milky in colour (WARNING check oil with engine off :redface: )

Shot head gasket.

Hope this helps you find the problem.

Thanks for all your help guys, appreciate it heaps. Will follow through with your ideas and post back the final results :)