possible head gasket failure

[jaylo264]

Nowt in wiki on this , and wonder if anyone can tell me , if the cooling system gets a bit pressurised by failure of head gasket/water seal, do the rubber coolant hoses swell up a bit like mine seem (?) to be doing -- i just can't recall how "solid" they felt when i last ran the engine about 10 months ago ! No bubbles in top up tank , no obvious gassy smell off coolant , no mayo in oilways or filler cap, no oily scum in coolant ; but had two possibly significant events , --saw coolant pouring out of top up tank, and later lost loads of fluid as lower temp sender mysteriously came out when en route to MOT. Have since replaced same as well as faulty expansion tank dalek cap.
jaylo

[jaylo264]

Sorry it's not a competition or a joke , but a serious request .
Has nobody got any ideas ?

jaylo

[Steve T]

could be simple as air locked. Are you 100% sure the system is bleed of all air, it is esential that this is done, then check if same loss of water to overflow / top up tank. If this does not solve problem then maybe you need to check the pressure of the water system max should be about 1.15 bar about 17 psi. This may give you an idea on how pressured the system should be. Hope that might help you
Steve

[jason k]

go get the coolant sniffed, its better than fannying around with other stuff, it will give you a definative answer

[Ian Hulley]

What engine are you on about ?

Ian

[jaylo264]

Ian , tis a 1986 1.9 dg , done 113 k total ,( 60k with us) , prob not more ; Steve , ta for that , i can relate to 17 psi, about what goes in the mtb tyres , and when i squeeze the pipes it feels thankfully a little less than this ; jason, would love to get it sniffed but i have no idea where in inverness, if anywhere ; will check.
I am totally paranoid now , having had a rac rescue when trying to get to mot , that it may happen again !
I am waiting to get a windscreen chip repaired , then will book it in again, then SLOWLY and cannily drive the 18 miles to the mot place , don't believe in praying but i will pray silently .

Looking for a replacement DIESEL engine , though .

[ghost123uk]

IMHO, if there are no bubbles then it is more likely an air lock that is causing a "hot spot" that will cause the water to boil when it does contact it.

Follow the bleeding instructions in wiki to the letter (these vans HAVE to be bled properly).

(I love that phrase "follow the bleeding instructions" )

Certainly finding a garage with a sniffer (shouldn't be too hard) is good advice as it takes the guess work away.

Fingers crossed for you

.

[Ian Hulley]

You can tell nowt till it's bled properly, do this BEFORE you try to drive 18 miles otherwise it'll end in tears before bedtime. They normally bleed really easily ... we live on a hill though so it seems to bleed itself mostly.

Ian.