Corolla 2004 missing at cold start and water level reducing in radiator

[pwuser159110741789]

Hi All. Hope you are all well. Can anyone please help me regarding the below mentioned issues:
Note: Car is corolla 2004 2.0d converted to 1nzfe with automatic transmission
1. The car was bought 4 months back. Since that time, every time the car is started with a cold engine its rpm drops to approx 400 and the car hesitates to move. This happens for about 10 to 15 seconds and then the car gets fine. Uptil now it used to start smoothly but for the last 3 to 4 weeks the car has also started to give trouble while starting. It starts and then again turns off. After 3 or 4 tries it eventually starts. Also it gives smell of uburnt fuel from the exhuast.

1. Water level keeps on decreasing from the radiator. After a drive of about 50 kms approx 2 cups of water need to be refilled. The water level in the expansion bottle remains stable. When I fill the radiator as soon as it gets full, big bubbles come out and the water level decreases. This happens for 3 to 4 times and then the water level stabilizes. I went to a mechanic and he applied pressure to the radiator and opened the plugs and checked the area where the plugs sit. He said that the gasket seems to be fine. Previously the radiator used to leak therefore I replaced it with a brand new radiator (chinese made) but the water level still decreases. Also during the time the previous radiator was installed the water from expansion bottle used to decrease but now the water in expansion bottle remains stable.

2. At cold start when I accelerate, sound of rushing water can be heard in the dashboard which disappears when the engine gets warm.

Are all these 3 problems inter related? Any help? Thanks in advance

[hash4u]

for leak
check heater core as well

engine check light functional and off?
fan auto? Thermostat valve installed?

[pwuser159110741789]

Thank you sir for your reply. What is heater core called in local language. In case I ask my local ustaad to check it? Check light seems to be non operational but I am not sure of it. Fans auto tstat installed. But the fans have been made auto through some jugar. It works on the same mechanism as Mehran's auto fan works. The auto fans are not connected to the ecu. Also it gives a lot of trouble at the time of starting even after 15 mins. It takes 4 5 tries to start. In the first 2 3 tries the car starts, the engine sputters and then it turns off. Thanks

[brownrose78]

Hearer Core is also called ANDAR WALA Freezer, andar wala core etc. in desi terms.

Why have you made Auto Fan by Jugaar?

Make your CEL (Check Engine Light) operational and 99% issues will be troubleshooted from that.

In the last, in which city do you Located?

[pwuser159110741789]

Sir thank you for your response. I had read on the PW forums that the fans should always be kept on auto. It enhances the engine life and results in better fuel economy. But when I bought the car the engine was already changed and I was told that the wiring is bad. I showed it to 3 mechanics but no one could make the fan work on auto. Then I took it to Iqbal Piyara and even he could not do that and he said that they dont deal with altered cars. So as a last resort my mechanic told me to get it done that way. I am from Lahore

[hash4u]

@tintin1

Sir jee guide him in lhr
his car is a electrical mess up from swap
someone who understands efi wiring

[Xulfiqar]

The gurgling sound is water filling into the heater core, you probably have a small leak somewhere and thats what causing the expansion tank to not work either. It can also be a wrong or bad radiator cap, the leak is causing a vacuum loss in system, thats why its not sucking liquid back from expansion tank.

The diesel edition corolla used a mini cap radiator with twin cooling fans which run on the old series/parallel type 2 spd system, its switch to kick the fans to high is in the thermostat housing on the engine, while the low speed it the ac unit

The petrol one uses a microcap radiator and single cooling fan that runs off two relays and a resistor behind the headlight to work it as 2 speed. Its ecu controlled.

To make the fan work as original you need to wire it like the petrol one with two relays outside and a resistor (forgot impedance and wattage)

Or you can place a spal, bosch, mishimoto fan ecu to control the fan via pwm in 6 speeds.

[pwuser159110741789]

Thank you sir for your response. When I bought it, it had a radiator installed which had a leak in it. The water could be seen falling off the radiator drop by drop. At that time the car used to suck water from the expansion tank and the level in the radiator used to drop slightly. But the expansion bottle used to get empty after 3 to 4 days. Then I changed the radiator and installed a locally made new one. Since that time the water level in the radiator drops to about half a litre after 3 or 4 days (approx 50 to 70kms)but expansion bottle level remains the same. Its worth mentioning that the sound of water in the dashboard was there even when the previous radiator was installed and the car used to suck water from the expansion bottle. I changed the raditor cap two times but no luck :(. Would you suggest that I turn the fan on direct till the wiring mess is sorted out?

[pwuser159110741789]

As regards the trouble starting the car, two mechanics are of the view that its the head gasket issue due to which the pressure is not being built properly. Once the pressure is made the car runs fine. Could it really be the gasket issue?

[aziz.rehan]

If coolant and engine oil are not mixing with each other then it's not the head gasket.

[aziz.rehan]

If u fill the expansion bottle above the full mark then water will obviously come out of it.Is the expansion bottle of diesel car or petrol car.If it's of diesel corolla then change it to petrol one and don't fill it above the full mark.

[uzeemujeeb]

i'd recommend compression test to be sure of no gaskit leaks.

[pwuser159110741789]

Thank you sir for the response. The water and oil and not mixing. How do I figure out if the bottle is of petrol corolla or diesel corolla? The bottle is filled to its maximum mark but it never overflows. It remains at same level

[pwuser159110741789]

Thank you sir for your response. I ll get that done on Monday.