Club 80-90 Forums

I have a 1991 T25 with a 1.6JX TD engine. We had water loss problems that were finally tracked down to a cracked head, we had the head replaced and all ran well afterwards. A few months later I noticed the water temperature gauge indicator had gone from just above 12 o'clock on the dial to around 11 o'clock where it stayed afterwards, I couldn't find any reason for this and the coolant level was stable although when I removed the expansion top it was often pressurized when cold.
During the summer we went on holiday in the van and the temperature gauge was still in the same place at around 11 o'clock but occasionally the water level/ temperature light would come on, the coolant level was always where it should be with no sign of any loss or overheating. The light would always go off when the engine was restarted. On one trip everything was running as it had been when suddenly the temperature shot up on the gauge, I pulled over as quickly as I could only to find the head gasket had blown, less than a year after having the head replaced. I've now had the head gasket replaced again, the whole cooling system has been fully flushed out, all hoses removed and checked and a new radiator fitted. The van runs fine now but the temperature gauge is still sitting at around 11 o'clock! Is it possible for the water to circulate around the engine without getting to the radiator while giving a low temperature reading because this is what I believe happened last year, the gauge was reading cool but I think we cooked the engine causing the gasket failure. I'm concerned now that we area doing the same again even after all the work that has been done checking and cleaning the cooling system.
It has had a new water pump and thermostat as part of the the head replacement.
Any thoughts, advice or pointers would be appreciated. I've had a look through previous posts and can't find anything relevant.

It's sounds like you may have cooked the temperature sensor and damaged it causing a false reading or it could be that it was running hot before due to the cracked head.
As for the replacement was it a new head if not was it checked for warpage before it was fitted also it is a bit of a pain to torque the head on a JX as once the initial torque is done in 3 stages you have to run it up to 50 degrees c and allow to cool and retorque and then do 600 miles and retorque again oh and there are 2 torque settings dependant on the bolts used.

Another thought is your radiator the original? If so it will be well past its best by now if it has been replaced was it replaced with the correct 44mm core or the cheaper 34mm core version. I'm just thinking that when the new head gasket blew maybe it was just overheating first which then pushed the water out causing the head gasket to go?

Maybe replace your thermostat?

Also worth checking the 'dalek' cap on the expansion tank if you're seeing any pressurisation. The expansion tank should be brimmed when you fill it and you should find it that way again when you check it again.

Don't rule out a cracked block if you keep having issues