The Car Care Nut talks UR V8 blown head gaskets (5 Viewers)

[2021 LC200]

This is my personal opinion car care nut is a overhyped clown and knows what he is talking about maybe 30% of the time. He just pulls stuff out of his a$$ and people regurgitate it as truth or gospel.

Well, find that a bit harsh. I like watching him however some things need to be taken with a grain of salt and nobody can be all knowlegable.

Maintenance negligence together with second or multi hand ownership and the fact he gets clients who have encountered serious problems add to the picture he has in his mind.

Happy to better understand though the value of coolant changes as it was not on my radar screen as much as it should be.

 

[mceagle555]

This is my personal opinion car care nut is a overhyped clown and knows what he is talking about maybe 30% of the time. He just pulls stuff out of his a$$ and people regurgitate it as truth or gospel.

Definitely your personal opinion.

The Car Care Nut is probably one of the most informational mechanics out there on YouTube. He's a master Toyota mechanic and while we each need to make our own decisions on what to do/not do on our own vehicles, I'm more likely to take the advice of a guy who is a master Toyota mechanic than some random person on the internet.

Is he monetizing his knowledge for an extra revenue stream via YouTube - of course!
Does that make him a bad person - not at all!

 

[manofthewoods]

Definitely your personal opinion.

The Car Care Nut is probably one of the most informational mechanics out there on YouTube. He's a master Toyota mechanic and while we each need to make our own decisions on what to do/not do on our own vehicles, I'm more likely to take the advice of a guy who is a master Toyota mechanic than some random person on the internet.

Is he monetizing his knowledge for an extra revenue stream via YouTube - of course! Does that make him a bad person - not at all.

I'll second the above, I may slightly disagree on a few minor points with TCCN...
I find him to be quite sincere, moreover, he's not selling stuff, which I appreciate.

 

[liv2bike]

I'll second the above, I may slightly disagree on a few minor points with TCCN...
I find him to be quite sincere, moreover, he's not selling stuff, which I appreciate.

He is sincere. I had a very recent conversation with Ahmed (The Car Care Nut) about my situation (blown engine). We discussed various options. During our conversation, he mentioned this and said to stay tuned for the YouTube video we're all discussing. I found him to be very sincere and kind during our chat. I could sense he felt really bad for me and the situation we're in with our beloved 200. I was shocked he actually called me but he did. And he made sure I understood what my options were and he took the time really explain things. Outside of YouTube, he's the same guy we watch on YouTube. Such a nice and genuine person.

Guy

 

[doru]

I found the guy a little full of himself, the videos are bit too long due to his rambling, and sometimes/rarely he is wrong, but there is value on his videos, and he looks like he really believes what he's saying, not trying to please some sponsors or Toyota or sell some stuff.
As always, it is up to each of us to use our brains to decide what we want to take out of it.
Overall, he brings a great contribution to the DIY community. Even the fact that we have this thread after he posted that video is something positive and important.
No one is perfect.

 

[Fisher23]

To make any $$ on youtube you need people to watch so many hours of your videos .... hence the rambling of youtubers.


HIs opinion was the antifreeze acidity ate the head gasket.

Then his advice was the 100k interval for anti freeze change was too long and 50k would be better.

Just like his prior opinion of changing oil every 10k was too long from the other engines that broke down and he recommended every 5k.

Nothing with real evidence, seems to just cut the maintenance interval in 1/2.

As someone posted earlier be nice to know the acidity levels at various mileages after coolant changes 25k, 50k, 75k and 100k... and how the vehicle was used.
This would provide data for a more accurate assessment of the maintenance interval needed.

I think I have one of the old school testers looks like a turkey baster with a meter, ..what does that read?

 

[WreckDiver1321]

To make any $$ on youtube you need people to watch so many hours of your videos .... hence the rambling of youtubers.


HIs opinion was the antifreeze acidity ate the head gasket.

Then his advice was the 100k interval for anti freeze change was too long and 50k would be better.

Just like his prior opinion of changing oil every 10k was too long from the other engines that broke down and he recommended every 5k.

Nothing with real evidence, seems to just cut the maintenance interval in 1/2.

As someone posted earlier be nice to know the acidity levels at various mileages after coolant changes 25k, 50k, 75k and 100k... and how the vehicle was used.
This would provide data for a more accurate assessment of the maintenance interval needed.

I think I have one of the old school testers looks like a turkey baster with a meter, ..what does that read?

I believe that measures the specific water content of the coolant, which in turn provides you with a relative freeze point. Pointless in our prediluted coolant if you're buying it from Toyota.

 

[32cls6speedmt]

I am currently at 170k miles. My radiator and water pump was replaced at 90k miles. Two gallons of Toyota Sllc was used. I have flushed scheduled for this week.

The car care nut did my last brake pads, rotors, power steering fluid, and brake fluid flush about 18 months ago. He is NOT a clown. He is a professional master Toyota technician. He is one of the few in the country that shuts down his shop a couple of times a month to do tear down engines. He enjoys the tear downs. His billing rate per hour is very fair.

I was visiting family in the area. He squeezed me in last minute Told me rear brakes were fine and don’t replace them. He said front have are at 4 mm. I told to replace front. He wiped down my engine and replaced all the engine cover clips. He didn’t charge for it or even mentioned.

 

[hbar]

I found it odd that he took a dump on Fel-pro gaskets. I haven't been around here long enough to know what flavors of koolaid every body drinks, but that video was the first I've ever heard of somebody advising to stay away from Fel-pro.

 

[05ls430518]

He spewed a bunch of untrue nonsense in his LS430 videos, so he was either incredibly misinformed or has no idea what he is talking about.

I have owned 5 ls430's over a 20 year period I do all work myself to my vehicles except welding I know way to much about those cars and know for a fact he gave a ton of incorrect information when he did his videos.

Why would He shut down his shop to tear down engines? Doesn't really seem to make sense financially. He could also just do what everyone else does and get a clean room to build engines in.

Master technician/master mechanic doesn't mean anything to me. Anyone can read a book and earn a title, physically be able to do something is much more important than a title.

 

[rexington14]

I am currently at 170k miles. My radiator and water pump was replaced at 90k miles. Two gallons of Toyota Sllc was used. I have flushed scheduled for this week.

The car care nut did my last brake pads, rotors, power steering fluid, and brake fluid flush about 18 months ago. He is NOT a clown. He is a professional master Toyota technician. He is one of the few in the country that shuts down his shop a couple of times a month to do tear down engines. He enjoys the tear downs. His billing rate per hour is very fair.

I was visiting family in the area. He squeezed me in last minute Told me rear brakes were fine and don’t replace them. He said front have are at 4 mm. I told to replace front. He wiped down my engine and replaced all the engine cover clips. He didn’t charge for it or even mentioned.

View attachment 3722531

I believe even the Toyota scheduled maintenance guide specifies that the coolant should be replaced every 5yr/50k, after the initial change occurs at 10yr/100k.

So really TCCN's recommendation only differs from Toyota's by cutting the initial coolant change interval in half.

 

[DanielW]

I enjoy his videos but like with anything you have to take it with a grain of salt. For example in his video about the 200 series land cruiser issues, he mentioned the never saw one with a cracked radiator.

 

[manofthewoods]

I enjoy his videos but like with anything you have to take it with a grain of salt. For example in his video about the 200 series land cruiser issues, he mentioned the never saw one with a cracked radiator.

it could be true that he's never seen one w/a cracked radiator. a) there aren't that many LX's/LC's around, and b) of those that are around he may just have been lucky enough to not see one, yet. I'd be concerned if he said something like it "never" happens, so if he said that, yes, I'd question his credibility. Absent that type of statement, for me his credibility remains intact.

 

[JDMaffinity93]

I enjoy his videos but like with anything you have to take it with a grain of salt. For example in his video about the 200 series land cruiser issues, he mentioned the never saw one with a cracked radiator.

The guy doesn't have much experience with Land Cruisers. That said, the more accurate statement is that he didn't acknowledge the radiator as a weak point in the 200 series in that video.

He also just released a video on the 100 series LC and overlooked common issues on those as well, such as the secondary air pump on the VVTi models. The 2UZ isn't the unicorn engine that he would lead you to believe. Sure, you don't have to worry about coolant leaks like the UR, but the UR also doesn't require you to change a timing belt every 90K either. If you are responsible with the UR, it's a cheaper engine to maintain long-term and has over 30% more power with the same or better gas mileage. Why people crap on the UR is beyond me; its a darn good powertrain for what it is.. just change your coolant every 50K and do those 5K oil changes and its proven to be a 500K+ motor just like the UZ.

 

[dudemancool1904]

It’s obvious that the 100 cabal is conspiring to manipulate the market first with daddy Doug professing his love the for the late 100 over his rusty Nantucket 200 and now TCCN striking fear in the heart of every 2008-2015 200 owner with over 100k miles

/sarcasm

 

[JDMaffinity93]

It’s obvious that the 100 cabal is conspiring to manipulate the market first with daddy Doug professing his love the for the late 100 over his rusty Nantucket 200 and now TCCN striking fear in the heart of every 2008-2015 200 owner with over 100k miles

/sarcasm

Wonder how Doug is going to talk about the V35A in his Sequoia if its starts showing some growing pains aside from dumping it on Cars & Bids for an inflated price to his fanbase.

The guy bought a Countach and a GT40 and then slandered his 200 series because he spent 13K in service at a dealership that didn't even address the Coolant Valley or Cam Tower leak proactively like the other stuff. That service advisor who got 13K out of him probably is next in line for the manager spot and booked his next four vacations from him.

 

[silver tuna]

but the UR also doesn't require you to change a timing belt every 90K either.

That is the beauty of it. The 90K timing belt also meant you always did the tensioner, the coolant, and the water pump in one shot as it was all behind the same cover. All the major engine stuff in one place and even the belts comes as a kit. At 180K with UZ you have brand new belt. At 180K with UR you have chain with 180K and growing.

I’m partial to the 4.7 because I owned a tundra (that I would still be driving if it weren’t for some moron his phone) but I always thought it was a completely gutless V8, even at the time. The 5.7 is no ball of fire either but it’s much much better, while still getting very decent gas mileage. A good trade-off in my opinion.

 

[weaponoffreedom]

I would argue it rarely happens on a 2UZ because timing belt jobs force regular coolant changes.

This is a GOOD point. Also, the 3UR is in the same era, whereas "cost of ownership" maintenance intervals were increased magically. In the past, engine oil=3000, ATF 30000, coolant 30000, gears, 30000, not this "lifetime BS" or 10000 miles on 0w20 oil, towing BS. Maintenance is important

I’m curious if a coolant filter would help this issue keeping the coolant from getting acidic. 50k/5yr changes are a must but maybe adding a filter for extra insurance.

No.....a little bit of baking soda would though, but I would say coolant changes in the radiator only would suffice easily. Replenishing only the radiator every 30000k would be more than enough to protect the system like new.

Maybe just a rad drain and refill every say 20k would be easier and good enough?

More than enough, cheap insurance

 

[pvchaitanya]

Do we know whether standard pH strips will be accurate with the other chemicals in coolant?

yes, PH, it should not matter what type of chemical you are testing (water, oil, juice etc).
Unless you are using test kits specifically made for certain liquids such as salt water Ph testing or similar.

 

[linuxgod]

An excuse to upgrade to an XAT 5.7?

XAT 3UR FULLY BUILT Engine! Heads and Short block ASSEMBLED 800+ HP Long Block

Why isn't everyone running a 3UR?! After tearing one down and analyzing the engine top to bottom, we've really come to appreciate the level of engineering that has gone into these engines. It's no wonder they were made for over 15 years! We feel they're extremely underrated, and they also...

xatracing.com

Based on the video, does this pricing not seem all that bad, and not near as risky as buying a junkyard engine?

Because it’s expensive. You have to send them yours. If your block is shot, they’ll source you a new one for an extra $6700.