Toyota Expert need - Hilux Workmate Ute 2010 Engine/Head

[AussieToyota]

Hello,

Purchased a Toyota 2010 ute (petrol), all seemed great until one day I missed the temperature going up and the sweet strange smell of the coolant and the first I knew I was in trouble was when the windscreen had a shower of water/coolant as the radiator top had blown apart.

I had a local mechanic suggest using the head/weld stuff, possibly not a great idea, it seemed ok for a while at least in terms of I could drive back and forth to work. I don’t use the ute much. We then found a metal pipe on the right side of the engine which was cracked and this seems to have been the what caused the problem all along. This was fixed and the vehicle seemed OK. I thought perhaps I had dodged a bullet and it was not the head gasket having blown or a cracked cylinder head etc. 

 

Recently noticed the tell tale vapour from the exhaust and also from the rear part of the engine (with the hood up). Now realise there is a major problem and I did not dodge any bullets at all.

I have another different mechanic who is due to come and collect the vehicle on Tuesday and is going to replace the head gasket and the cylinder head for a quality aftermarket head. Now I am trying to find out if this is the right move. He is a good mechanic, recommended by trustworthy people, he mainly works on diesel motors. I cannot afford to spend thousands fixing the vehicle to only find that the base part of the motor is screwed and the vehicle really needs a new engine (wreckers engine). Is there any way to tell? It was making some horrible knocking sounds the last few times I drove it, probably should not have drove it the last few times, just did not have much choice. Hoping that after all this a new gasket and head will sort it out. Hoping some people who know what they are talking about can provide some sound advice. Appreciate your feedback/assistance. Cheers.