I see this to often so....
Without question the number one cause of a majority of engine failures and break downs, the pictures below says it all.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to maintain a clean, healthy cooling system.
It's really simple:
Drain and flush cooling system every three years, more so in extreme dusty conditions (once a year).
Refill with quality Ani freeze, use a pre mix if doing a DIY job.
Use a light pressured pressure clean to remove debris from fins, in the pics below we remove radiators for this as we are able to clean the AC system too.
If you are capable then remove the radiator, it will be well worth it.
And I wonder if this was a partial blame for the below
Damaged flex plate
Damaged exciter ring on flywheel
Exciter ring damaged crank sensor
All back together after some major repair work, looks like new cos we use some really high quality chemicals.
The events:
Vehicle broke down on his way to his annual holiday treat far from home, engine was removed and all seals replaced to stop oil leaks, valley gasket included.
When you have a poor cooling system the engine starts to be starved of external cooling air blowing over it, sure the gauge says all is ok but then not all sender units or gauges can be trusted, the result is accelerated wear and mild above temp operation and causes all sorts of unwanted problems.
