fuel pipe tool??
Discussion
brettster said:
Had a bit of trouble with my s lately, overheated and blew a head gasket as far as i know. 
Brett,
Check out your radiator cooling fan.
Does it spin freely by hand?
Has the fuse blown?
Is the otter switch working?
Has the wiring loom melted?
Is the fan relay working?
Did you notice any drive belt squeal before the temp went high?
Seizing fan causes heavy electrical load on the alternator.
First find & remedy the cause, then you can address the effects.
And always keep an eye on your gauges & warning lights.
( That's how I manage to drive 15 miles with my indicators on ) .
Just trying to help.
Oh, & make sure your cooling system is up to scratch.
Ask Barry

Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 21st February 02:07
What happened glen was one of the wires that connects to the pipe that goes into the top of the radiator had come off, so the water was not circulating, and being a numpty, i tried to drive it home which resulted in it overheating and head damage. It was only when it was to late that i noticed the wire and re-connected it, the water started to circulate, but the damage was done. My own stupid fault mate.

It was in a traffic jam in the summer so that sounds about right. Sorry when i said the water started to circulate, i meant it started warming up above the 'otter' switch. (by the way, sorry for being dumb, but what is an'otter' switch?)
Edited by brettster on Thursday 21st February 10:24
brettster said:
Very good. So i just basically boiled my engine as i did not realise the wire was not connected.
What an idiot!!!
Might not have done any damage though as its an all iron lump. Boiled mine last summer when a heater hose blew and dumped half the water. New hose and filled it up and its been fine since.
What an idiot!!!
Rob.
Thanks gadge, i have had a diagnosis done by a machanic friend and he said ive done a head gasket, so fingers crossed should not be to bad. All stripped down at the mo, and also while its apart, can do some cleaning. Just sent the rocker covers in to be shotblasted and powder coated. Well happy 

brettster said:
Had a bit of trouble with my s lately, overheated and blew a head gasket as far as i know. 
you did not say how you concluded the head gasket is blown?
There are two anyway, and replacing them is no small task.
You will need things like a Hayes manual and torque wrench.
My engine survived two boilovers without damage, radiator leak.
So test it first, fill up the cooling system.
Bleed the cooling system of air, as described, for example, in the bible.
A stubbornly remaining stream of bubbles out of the open radiator cap is probably cylinder (exhaust) gas passing into the coolingwater via a gasket. Usually these are small bubbles, not the big burps of entrapped air.
If bubbling is absent, you still may have a small leak that only leaks under more engine load.
So start using the car for short trips while keeping an eye on water disappearing from the system.
Do not decide too quickly it is a gasket leak, bleeding the cooling system is difficult and may need some cycles of heat-up, cool-down and top-up.
Also in this period watch your oil, for signs of cooling water getting in there. I think my S3C gets oil for valves and hydraulic adjusters via a pressure oil channel through these gaskets, so in theory the gasket can be blown that way too. Not likely though.
mvg Boudewijn
As far as i know, (this was my mechanic friend telling me) water on a spark plug was found and also when we turned the engine over without the cap on, the preasure of the water blasted out, which he told me means water in the piston chamber, another sign. Anyway, the engine is almost stripped now and i will find out. At the end of the day, he is a mechanic, and knows what hes doing, so with his tools and me making the cups of tea, we should have it back on the road in the not too distant future. But im not rushing as its not quite the right weather yet. Plus i have a lot of cleaning to do.
Thanks for all your input
very helpful
Thanks for all your input
very helpful
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the wires to the "otter" switch ? they control the fan which should only be needed in slow traffic or maybe very hot weather.




