My sister's in Calgary. Her Toyota Sprinter Carib (4WD Corolla wagon) has a
coolant leak into a combustion chamber.

Can anyone recommend a GOOD honest mechanic there?

Symptoms:
>We have to take our car in soon to get the engine checked out.  For a while
>now whenever you start it up white smoke with a burning smell (not blue oil
>smoke) has been given off, only when cold, I think but I'm not sure.  It
>starts up fine, no rough sound or stalls, despite the cloud.  We're told
>they can put a tracer in our anti-freeze to see if it's getting into the
>engine head? through shot gaskets? or a cracked something, and the min. cost
>will be at least $400 to take it apart and change gaskets.  If it's a crack,
>of course it will be more to buy the replacement part.  One guy says he can
>get us a used one if necessary for $100 - are they reliable if used?  He
>says they are tested out at a machine shop and are reliable, but I trust
>mechanics like I do dentists - not at all!  Our car will also be out of
>commission for 4 days, and we only have the one!  .Sounds like it would be
>almost as cheap to get you over here to do it!  What do you think it sounds
>like and suggest?

Andrew Grebneff
165 Evans St, Dunedin, New Zealand
<andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz>
ph   64 (3) 473-8863
fax 64 (3) 479-7527
84 VW Caravelle GL (to be fitted with SVX engine & G50 trans)
87 Corolla 1.8DX CE80 diesel sedan
89 Corolla 1.8DX CE96 diesel van/wagon
89 Corona 2.0D Select CT170 diesel sedan
93 Toyota Estima Lucida 2.2 turbodiesel (possible addition soon)