K series overheating

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melhath

New Member
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Hi all

Just wanted to sound you all out and see what you think. I have the dreaded K series 1.8 petrol. It had a new mls head gasket f about 1500 miles ago and has been great since then, until today.

It starts, runs and stops fine. It even drives ok, but the temp is consistently rising to near red and im have to turn on the heater in the car to help cool it down. With the heater running the temp stays around the middle mark. I've had to keep putting water in today, lots of water infact, but there is no leak, no water in the oil, no white smoke from the exhaust and like I said still seems to be running fine. Its had new water pump and head gasket but I did not change the thermostat. Do you think this could be the problem or do you think its the dam head gasket gone in only 1500 miles? would this then suggest a cracked head? God so many possibilities I am beginning to hate this car lol. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
 
it'll be the inlet manifold gasket, they are notoriously crap at keeping coolant from escaping.

buy the remote thermostat kit and fit it.

don't forget to remove the old one from the rear of the engine and fit the blanking ring.
i ripped the gubbins out of my old stat to do this.
 
Thanks Freelaner

If its the inlet manifold gasket will I need to replace that again as I'm sure it was replaced when we done the head gasket. If I'm thinking of the right one that is, a rubber seal thing that fitted into a groove on the manifold?

and would that cause the header tank to bubble?
 
if it's had the jiggle valve knocked out on the img it will flow back constantly to the expansion tank, this is normal.

i have replaced my img gasket 3 times now as it just won't seal :(
i'm going to refit with copious amounts of rtv next time.


if the tank is pressurising it can only mean the head has gone again
 
Basically what's noticeably happening when driving is the temp rise. If I turn on the heater fan then the temp drops to normal and pretty well stays there. If I'm stationary then I can hear the water bubbling in the header tank and when I switch then engine off this continues for a while, then slowly subsides. I thought this may be due to the water getting hotter than it should? I'm really hoping its not the head gasket again :-( do you think this remote thermostat will fix that or are you saying its the HG gone again? and why would it go so quick if it is the HG?
 
I can't diagnose what I can't see
the coolant is going somewhere either down the back of the engine from the img or down a bore.

did you check the liner heights before fitting the headgasket?
 
Could be a number of things...

1 the head could have warped and and may need remachined, IIRC you only get 2 shots at doing that

2 the neoprene on the head gasket was damaged during install

3 pitting or imperfection left on head of block causing damage to the gasket, especially I some vulnerable places as the distances between water jackets and combustion chambers are close and are very vulnerable to breaching...

I used to work for Rover as a mechanic and have a soft spot for the k - series, but it's such a problematic engine especially with head gaskets and the amount I have taken off in the past is incredible. British engineering at its finest....lol
 
I suspect the HG has failed at a fire ring. I've seen this many times after a MLS gasket has been used. I won't fit them to a K series unless all the liners are bang on spec. If there is even a doubt on the liner hights, I use the elastopolimer gasket as it's much more tolerant.
 
Also when the head was removed contaminant falling down the head bolt thread not being blown out by airline. Or even head not being torqued up in the correct sequence...all can cause issue of early failure. ..
 
Also you should always change the thermostat if a HG has failed. It's much easier to do once the head is off anyway.
 
So is it worth trying this remote thermostat or not even worth bothering with and just getting the head gasket done again?
 
Coolant bubbling in header tank is not a good sign. Check that the cap is secure and not leaking. I've read on here that those bottles can crack to, check that carefully as well. You can have the coolant tested for exhaust gas content. It's a straight forward test most well equipped workshops can do. If gases are present then yes suspect the HG or a cracked head. If no gases then HG & head may be sound. At the same time have the cooling system pressure tested.

External thermostat won't fix a problem like a HG or leaky IG, but it may help avoid a good motor overheating due to the OE thermostat issues.

Inlet gasket: yes that fitting is pathetic. I've had to replace three now! When I replaced the HG on my R25 over the New Year break I carefully cleaned out the fitting groove and placed the Red gasket sealant at either end where the two smaller loops are. Looking from the front mine seemed to leak on the right hand end on each occasion.

I keep a close eye on coolant level and get dismayed when I see that it's dropped. It may only be 50 to 100ml but it has to be going somewhere! I can't see for the life of me where! That was my first 'top up' since that a new HG in Jan' this year.

There is some orange fuzz on the heater valve [ I use the Red OAT coolant] but it's not dripping or anything like that. Sometimes when the heater's on I imagine I can smell hot coolant. I've had a good look around the heater matrix but there is no drips, discolouration or any thing. Radiator looks fine and all hose / pipe connections are clean and sealed.

The Freelander has loads more room around the motor - have a good look around, especially beneath the inlet manifold.

Good Luck!:)
 
Last edited:
Don't panic!

From the sounds of it your stat is closed shut, just replace with an OEM stat £6.25 on ebay!

The FL1 1.8 is over cooled and over complicated (thanks LR:rolleyes:) replace the coolant cap first £5, if that doesn't work, crawl underneath and check the IRD cooler, these can pish coolant when hot
 
So is it worth doing the external thermostat pressure thing first or do you think im wasting money?
 
i would put a new stat in it, but check the thermostat housing, they are very easy to crack.

I had a similar issue with my 1.8 fl and it was a combination of water pump and stat.
Once I changed these (all of £30!) it was spot on and used no water.

If its overheating and boiling it will lose coolant as it chucks it out the overflow.

people are always far to keen to start crying about the headgasket on the k series. Its actually a very reliable engine and very clever (for its time).
 
Ok so just to update. Ive spent the day driving around with the heater on full, boy its been hot, but have got home let it cool and been to check the coolant and no water loss. Also absolutely no bubbling up in the header tank at all. This is a good thing i think �� so going to change the stat as soon as poss. Now the only other problem is where ive had the heater on all day the switches have got hot and now the hazards are stuck on so im guessing the switch has gone. Anyone know how to bypass the hazzards to get the indicators to work? Ive tried pulling the fuse, that just stops the flashing and you still cant use the indicators and ive tried taking the switch off ��
 
I had a similar problem. Coolant kept leaking out, if I did not drive with the heater on full, the water would boil back into the tank.

It was due to a series of things (I think).
Changed the thermostat, but when I testet the old one, it did seem to work perfect. Changed the inletm. gasket, which was leaking badly, new cap which now is able to hold the pressure. And last but not least refill with coolant and not just water wich I have used (due to the leak).
Coolant boils at higher temps, pressure also rais the boiling point, all these things resulted in the car "boiling" at 100 degrees, well before the thermostat opened. Also checked the fans by pulling the water temp sensor, they worked like a charm.
 
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