bigwill
Active Member
RR P38. 2.5 diesel 2001.
So.... two weeks after buying the car (two years ago) the head gasket went.
The series of events were as follows;
Running fine for 2 weeks (long/short journeys)
Overheat into red, instantly stop at side of road and switch off, wait to cool down and then limp to pub carefully downhill about 1 mile downhill. Without going into the red.
Get into pub, have a few. Call recovery to take the vehicle home with me as well.
Bloke comes out fills with water. Loads it. Takes me home. I start her up the next day. Get it running, all fine, check levels, all fine. "That was odd, 'maybe an air lock" although no idea where the water went!
Drive to London (from Gloucestershire) with lots of spare water. Car overheats on M4, dangerously release top hose and pressure. Re fill with water in header till its coming from top hose, put top hose back. Continue into London, make it another 40 mins with no overheating and then it overheats, I do the same again. Get to my destination, get it towed home. Head gasket gone, further inspection and testing the head has cracked.
Now having read a little, it seems like these heads just crack if they heat into the red for any amount of time?? Is this true, I guess it depends on lots of things. In this instance I'm sure I buggered the head by running it as far as I could.
Anyway bought a replacement bare engine £350 fleabay job. Fitted. Running fine on and off for the last 18 months. (Mainly off as it has been sat doing nothing or being repaired for other reasons.)
Got it back on the road last week for the first time in three months.
Drove to London - all fine. Park somewhere have dinner at a mates, driving to another mate. It overheated. Up to red light on and restricted power. Cold air coming from heater that was supposed to be hot.
Instant thought - fuc**ng head gasket again.
Anyway wanted to push on. Limped to a garage bought some water, filled her up. Opened top hose to bleed (don't know why I do this - it worked last time I guess) started and ran for another half hour with no issues, hot air coming from hot heater.
Call bloke the next day to come and recover..
Told bloke I thought it was head gasket starting to go, he thought it was an air lock. I don't see how a car that has been running fine could develop an air lock? Can this just happen?
Anyway, also discovered once the car had been running, waiting to go onto the recovery truck with bonnet open and cap off expansion tank, the water started to get very hot (as it should) and there seemed to be circulation as the plain water I had put in the night before slowly started to mix with the antifreeze and turn from pale green to deep green. All seemed fine, hot air from heater, engine running at normal temp (half way between hot and cold on the dial) then felt the radiator and it was hot at the top and cold most of the rest of the way down. So potentially this is just a radiator blockage problem??? This would make sense as the old owner had put rad weld in to be able to sell it to me, and I completely forgot to get a new radiator or even flush this one when I put the new engine in!!!??? Idiot.
Anyway, thoughts go back to running hot and cracking the head.
So my questions are...
Do we think it's another buggered head gasket and head (no residue on oil cap, no white smoke, no oil in water)
Do you think I may have cracked the head anyway by running it hot for ten mins?
Or is it just a blocked rad?
As it stands I have bought a rad and water pump to fit this week. To see what happens.
If you have been bothered enough to read this far I appreciate the help, but potentially you might have worse problems then I.
So.... two weeks after buying the car (two years ago) the head gasket went.
The series of events were as follows;
Running fine for 2 weeks (long/short journeys)
Overheat into red, instantly stop at side of road and switch off, wait to cool down and then limp to pub carefully downhill about 1 mile downhill. Without going into the red.
Get into pub, have a few. Call recovery to take the vehicle home with me as well.
Bloke comes out fills with water. Loads it. Takes me home. I start her up the next day. Get it running, all fine, check levels, all fine. "That was odd, 'maybe an air lock" although no idea where the water went!
Drive to London (from Gloucestershire) with lots of spare water. Car overheats on M4, dangerously release top hose and pressure. Re fill with water in header till its coming from top hose, put top hose back. Continue into London, make it another 40 mins with no overheating and then it overheats, I do the same again. Get to my destination, get it towed home. Head gasket gone, further inspection and testing the head has cracked.
Now having read a little, it seems like these heads just crack if they heat into the red for any amount of time?? Is this true, I guess it depends on lots of things. In this instance I'm sure I buggered the head by running it as far as I could.
Anyway bought a replacement bare engine £350 fleabay job. Fitted. Running fine on and off for the last 18 months. (Mainly off as it has been sat doing nothing or being repaired for other reasons.)
Got it back on the road last week for the first time in three months.
Drove to London - all fine. Park somewhere have dinner at a mates, driving to another mate. It overheated. Up to red light on and restricted power. Cold air coming from heater that was supposed to be hot.
Instant thought - fuc**ng head gasket again.
Anyway wanted to push on. Limped to a garage bought some water, filled her up. Opened top hose to bleed (don't know why I do this - it worked last time I guess) started and ran for another half hour with no issues, hot air coming from hot heater.
Call bloke the next day to come and recover..
Told bloke I thought it was head gasket starting to go, he thought it was an air lock. I don't see how a car that has been running fine could develop an air lock? Can this just happen?
Anyway, also discovered once the car had been running, waiting to go onto the recovery truck with bonnet open and cap off expansion tank, the water started to get very hot (as it should) and there seemed to be circulation as the plain water I had put in the night before slowly started to mix with the antifreeze and turn from pale green to deep green. All seemed fine, hot air from heater, engine running at normal temp (half way between hot and cold on the dial) then felt the radiator and it was hot at the top and cold most of the rest of the way down. So potentially this is just a radiator blockage problem??? This would make sense as the old owner had put rad weld in to be able to sell it to me, and I completely forgot to get a new radiator or even flush this one when I put the new engine in!!!??? Idiot.
Anyway, thoughts go back to running hot and cracking the head.
So my questions are...
Do we think it's another buggered head gasket and head (no residue on oil cap, no white smoke, no oil in water)
Do you think I may have cracked the head anyway by running it hot for ten mins?
Or is it just a blocked rad?
As it stands I have bought a rad and water pump to fit this week. To see what happens.
If you have been bothered enough to read this far I appreciate the help, but potentially you might have worse problems then I.