Head Gasget???? I hope not.

[nickthe fish]

Hi All,

I had a problem with my radiator fan not kicking in so i changed the thermo switch and rewired it so that the high fan that was working came on in place of the low fan which wasn't. I thought I had solved the problem and got the fan to kick in when the engine got hot.

Bit worried that I have done the head gasket in as on a long trip down to the new forest I left the engine running whilst i booked in at a campsite and then drove very slowly for about half a mile so no air passing over the rad. The I noticed the temp gauge was v high and the fan hadn't kicked in + coolant coming out of the expansion tank.

Could I be lucky and have a fault fan/thermostat or does it sound like the dreaded HG???

There is no water coming out the exhaust or water in the oil? but ive been advised to turn it over and see if the plugs or wet or try and turn it over without the plugs in and see if water shoots out of the the spark plug socket.

If it is the HG any ideas of hours labour required for a garage?

Its a 2ltr watercooled Petrol 1984 btw!

[kevtherev]

you don't have head gaskets in a WBX engine like normal engines.
You have a steel ring and a couple of silicon O rings that separate water from the bores

Unless you cooked the engine for an extended period without any coolant I doubt any gaskets suffered

What you may have done is cracked the cylinder head which could pressurise the cooling system so much it forces coolant out of the bottle.

But before all that is considered I would change the header tank cap for a known good one (Brickwerks) and bleed the system properly following this http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/bleed ... 29710.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

good luck

[nickthe fish]

Sorry to bring an old post up, but after not seeming to find a sensible answer to the poor running issues my van has been experiencing.

I have a mark 1 caddy as well and had some work done at a retro customs and brought up the issues I had with the Wedge and was told it does sound like a heat gasket. I bit the bullet and took it a local garage with a VW specialist. I had a chat with the garage owner told him the issues it has been having and he asked to go to reception and leave my details. As i did I left he van running and was in the process of leaving my details when the VW specialist came running in and told me (in a friendly way and basically ruined my day) to take it away as it was the head gasket and i might as well replace the engine!!! Not a great Monday morning.

So I had asked them to diagnose the problem with the Rad fan not kicking in, after changing the thermo switch and checking it works by bridging the pins in the fan plug. If he couldn't get it going I had asked him to put a manual switch in so I can engage the fan if i get stuck in traffic. job number 1

it ran fine this morning on its first drive after it being in winter storage, however it did do this last year and the further its driven the worse the problem gets. If i drive on a motor way and stick to the same speed 55 mph then put my foot down then there is no power, no speed loss but it wont speed up. Its like its firing on 2 or 3 cylinders. Job number 2, give it back to me running sweet!!!!

Both of which i was told this morning are symptomatic of a head gasket, the fan not working because no hot water is getting to the rad to make the fan kick in....seems fesable but I cant understand the head gasket??? there is no loss of coolant, no water in my oil, I had checked the spark plugs which don't seem to be rusty but did discover that a previous owner has managed to cross thread a spark plug, I got it back in but it doesn't seem to tighten so i am wondering if this could be causing the power issues with low pressure??

There is an issue with a slight back fire after revving so i think there is an issue with mixture as well but I cant seem how that would cause the symptoms above.

I know that kev has said there isn't a head gasket, but I am very close to putting the thing up on ebay and getting rid of it as I have had enough and really don't think its worth changing the engine in it!!!!

Has anyone got any thoughts before i lose it and sell it for parts!!

[kevtherev]

Can we assume you changed the thermostat?

[nickthe fish]

You can but you would be wrong to do so, that would affect loss of power etc? just the rad fan?

[kevtherev]

the thermostat allows coolant to flow from the radiator.
with it shut the radiator remains cold... and therefore the fan thinks the engine is cold too

[kevtherev]

the power loss may be a number of things
but the backfire points initially to an air leak or timing issue