Head gasket?...oh sh** !
Discussion
Sorry i didn't make the Kent meet, hope it went well, i had my first personal TVR disaster !...spent all morning polishing the car making
sure it would look good against you other guys S's, set out on my journey,
got about 8 miles down the A2 when i noticed the temperature gauge had
rocketed up to 100+ degrees, then got a clanking sound which got me very
concerned, so turned around at the next junction and proceeded to crawl home
slower and slower with the worrying noise getting to the point i had to
switch her off and coast along the hard shoulder till i found a shade at
which point large amounts of worrying steam came out from under the nicely
polished bonnet ! After a tow home and inspection, the RAC guy said my head gasket has blown !...shite !!! Sounds mucho expensive. Seems i am destined not to make
a meet at this rate !...and i was so bloody looking forwards to it !
gutted. Is this an expensive repair/easy to do ? and any ideas what would have caused such a rapid meltdown?..my initial thoughts are the pump must have failed to get that hot that quick? Anyone recommend a reliable honest place to get that sort of repair done in the Kent area and how much i am looking at roughly?
sure it would look good against you other guys S's, set out on my journey,
got about 8 miles down the A2 when i noticed the temperature gauge had
rocketed up to 100+ degrees, then got a clanking sound which got me very
concerned, so turned around at the next junction and proceeded to crawl home
slower and slower with the worrying noise getting to the point i had to
switch her off and coast along the hard shoulder till i found a shade at
which point large amounts of worrying steam came out from under the nicely
polished bonnet ! After a tow home and inspection, the RAC guy said my head gasket has blown !...shite !!! Sounds mucho expensive. Seems i am destined not to make
a meet at this rate !...and i was so bloody looking forwards to it !
gutted. Is this an expensive repair/easy to do ? and any ideas what would have caused such a rapid meltdown?..my initial thoughts are the pump must have failed to get that hot that quick? Anyone recommend a reliable honest place to get that sort of repair done in the Kent area and how much i am looking at roughly?
First thing to understand on this matter is that most other S people will have gone through this one at some time, so don't get in a state, you are not alone.
The only problem with this job is the time it takes and not the cost of parts. I presume you have the ford 2.8 / 2.9 engine which is ok to work on provided all the bits come off ok. The biggest problem will be the exhaust maifold nuts which will almost certainly brake when removing somewhere but as your heads will be coming off anyway it won't matter.
So my advice would be to find someone like LeeBee who is in oxford (not that far) who may do the job for you, but who also can give you an accurate price for the job. Email him from the site, he's a great chap who will give you invaluable information and help.
Don't dispair, consider it as an investment as this will improve the car no end. I have done this to mine but only as i had to because the bastard exhaust bolts break off. At least you are starting from having to take the heads off so your mind should be set to do so.
If you decide to tackle this yourself, you need to be smart with tools, its probably a 4 spanner job in the haynes manual, but there is plenty of help at the keyboard on your Puta!
Good Luck.
Gadgit.
The only problem with this job is the time it takes and not the cost of parts. I presume you have the ford 2.8 / 2.9 engine which is ok to work on provided all the bits come off ok. The biggest problem will be the exhaust maifold nuts which will almost certainly brake when removing somewhere but as your heads will be coming off anyway it won't matter.
So my advice would be to find someone like LeeBee who is in oxford (not that far) who may do the job for you, but who also can give you an accurate price for the job. Email him from the site, he's a great chap who will give you invaluable information and help.
Don't dispair, consider it as an investment as this will improve the car no end. I have done this to mine but only as i had to because the bastard exhaust bolts break off. At least you are starting from having to take the heads off so your mind should be set to do so.
If you decide to tackle this yourself, you need to be smart with tools, its probably a 4 spanner job in the haynes manual, but there is plenty of help at the keyboard on your Puta!
Good Luck.
Gadgit.
Head gasket is fairly easy - although you may break manifold bolts - I didn't. Soak them in release oil (not crappy WD40) and tap the head before trying to move them.
The biggest problem with the job is access to some of the bolts.
Replace them with SS ones, and put coppaslip on them before fitting.
Head gaskets are about 20 quid a pair for good ones - Motorcraft are OK.
If you have the heads off, may as well clean up the ports and the exhaust manifold - shocking welding job on mine when it was made!
Valley gasket for the inlet manifold must be fitted carefully as it can leak oil into the water.
Have fun - LeeBee should do you a good job if you use him.
The biggest problem with the job is access to some of the bolts.
Replace them with SS ones, and put coppaslip on them before fitting.
Head gaskets are about 20 quid a pair for good ones - Motorcraft are OK.
If you have the heads off, may as well clean up the ports and the exhaust manifold - shocking welding job on mine when it was made!
Valley gasket for the inlet manifold must be fitted carefully as it can leak oil into the water.
Have fun - LeeBee should do you a good job if you use him.
Thanks guys i feel better already ! Not being a mechanic in any shape or form i will be relying on some other informed person to do the job for me. Any ideas on what might have caused the rapid meltdown?..the pump failing? the fan seems to be working okay, so ??
ps...I'm still not convinced i have the right caps on my water headers, i have pressure caps on both inlet and expansion tanks..is this right? I haven't had to put any water in the car for months, as the water is always at the head of the inlet, even after hard driving in hot weather before..seems strange to me.
The car also had advanced formula coolant (upto 150 degrees protection)in it.
ps...I'm still not convinced i have the right caps on my water headers, i have pressure caps on both inlet and expansion tanks..is this right? I haven't had to put any water in the car for months, as the water is always at the head of the inlet, even after hard driving in hot weather before..seems strange to me.
The car also had advanced formula coolant (upto 150 degrees protection)in it.
mark....sorry to hear that mate. I can recommend Lee too, he services my car, top bloke. I was wondering where you got to yesterday. I remember the very first meet i went, or rather didnt, get too.... dead battery, gutted. Hopefully the bolts will come out ok, athough most people have a few snap. Still once its sorted we will have to meet up! keep us up to date on the car. mark
You should not have a pressure cap on the expansion tank. the pressure cap goes on the swirl tank. this has been a problem with mine after all the work as it overheated quickly after a small run. you need to find a long spring version of 12 / 15 lbs. if you can't find one remove the rubber ring on the bottom of the old cap, cut it through to the centre from the edge. pull back the metal disk on the new one and slip the ring under the new rubber, seal with some silicon and bobs your uncle. this extra rubber will make the seal far better and end your over heating (it did on mine)
good luck.
Gadgit.
good luck.
Gadgit.
Hmmm, after reading back through some old posts on head gaskets, how do i know if it definetely is the head gasket that has gone?
The RAC guy came to the conclusion by filling the swirl tank to the brim, leaving the cap off and getting me to turn it over, at which point water spewed out the tank, he then muttered something about 'compression' and stated it was the h.g.
There was a lot of steam earlier but i noticed water dripping slowly from under the fat top pipe that goes from the swirl tank to the block, right at the block position dripping onto the exhausts.
Being that i have hardly ever had to put water into the car, could it mean i had an airlock ?
The RAC guy came to the conclusion by filling the swirl tank to the brim, leaving the cap off and getting me to turn it over, at which point water spewed out the tank, he then muttered something about 'compression' and stated it was the h.g.
There was a lot of steam earlier but i noticed water dripping slowly from under the fat top pipe that goes from the swirl tank to the block, right at the block position dripping onto the exhausts.
Being that i have hardly ever had to put water into the car, could it mean i had an airlock ?
Your Garage should be able to tell you if your head gaskets gone.
They will use a "sniffer", (simple name for a fancy bit if gear), this would be positioned above the Swirl tank water and the amount of Carbon deposits measured, from the reading they can say if its only a slight leak and something not to worry about or something major needing a gasket replacement.
Lets hope its the former.
They will use a "sniffer", (simple name for a fancy bit if gear), this would be positioned above the Swirl tank water and the amount of Carbon deposits measured, from the reading they can say if its only a slight leak and something not to worry about or something major needing a gasket replacement.
Lets hope its the former.
Usually you get oil in the water if the HG goes in which case it turns to an emulsified sludge - but this only happens if the failure causes those to systems to mix. However this is not always the case. It's also possible for the water to get into the ignition chambers - which is what happened on my old beamer - and then the engine basically pumps the water out of the coolant system and onto the street and the temperature goes sky high which sounds like what you're seeing. If you put some water in and start the engine - if it feels like it's having trouble firing particularly if you drive it a 100 yards down the street (don't do this on a busy road) - then this is probably the case.
Also note that if you ran for some distance with the temperature very high - you may have warped the cylinder head in which case it will have to be sent off to be skimmed (flattened).
Total price for an HG and skim is usually between £400 and £600 if a garage does it.
Sorry.
WG
>> Edited by WonkyGibbon on Monday 4th August 17:21
Also note that if you ran for some distance with the temperature very high - you may have warped the cylinder head in which case it will have to be sent off to be skimmed (flattened).
Total price for an HG and skim is usually between £400 and £600 if a garage does it.
Sorry.
WG
>> Edited by WonkyGibbon on Monday 4th August 17:21
Two heads skimmed - £70 and done in 1 day.
HG's about £20 a pair as before.
Other service gaskets ?? (I bought a top end kit for £60 and had some bits left after a full rebuild!)
Labour, not more than £250 I would hope, depending on what else is done!!
I would do it for £25/hr and about 6 hours labour, but can't fit you in until November :-)
As for rad caps.
Dump the expansion tank, it's not worth the space it takes up.
Fit a 15lb cap on the swirl tank and feed the pipe of the waste space along the pot to dump onto the road.
Make sure it is WELL BLED when starting up, and after initial fill and a run (with heater on) bleed again.
Level will sit about 2-3" from top when cold normally.
Have fun.
HG's about £20 a pair as before.
Other service gaskets ?? (I bought a top end kit for £60 and had some bits left after a full rebuild!)
Labour, not more than £250 I would hope, depending on what else is done!!
I would do it for £25/hr and about 6 hours labour, but can't fit you in until November :-)
As for rad caps.
Dump the expansion tank, it's not worth the space it takes up.
Fit a 15lb cap on the swirl tank and feed the pipe of the waste space along the pot to dump onto the road.
Make sure it is WELL BLED when starting up, and after initial fill and a run (with heater on) bleed again.
Level will sit about 2-3" from top when cold normally.
Have fun.
Sounds like the head gasket has blown between the cylinder and the waterway, the heads aren’t particularly hard to take off the S, I did it on mine when I changed the exhaust manifolds. I sent to heads away to get the snapped bolts out, they also put 3 angle valve seats in the heads and gave them a skim to slightly raise the compression.
If you’d like me to pop over one evening I could take a look at it for you.
If you’d like me to pop over one evening I could take a look at it for you.
Check the breather filter !
It'll be nice and mayonaisse like if you've got a failed head gasket.
Check all the plugs for signs of water ingress.
If a hose had gone then there would be water all over the engine generally due to sudden loss of pressure .... if it is the water pump then it will leak out of the front cover of the water pump on that engine..
It'll be nice and mayonaisse like if you've got a failed head gasket.
Check all the plugs for signs of water ingress.
If a hose had gone then there would be water all over the engine generally due to sudden loss of pressure .... if it is the water pump then it will leak out of the front cover of the water pump on that engine..
Hi Johno, yeah checked the oil breather cap straight away but there was no sign of water ingress or gunk in the cap at all. The only leak i spotted was from underside of the fat pipe that goes from the swirl tank top to the block/pump? which meant it dripped straight onto exhaust pipes but also seemed to be steam around block itself, though that could have been the leaking water spraying onto it under pressure and hence creating the steam ?
The engine turns over but will not fire.
The engine turns over but will not fire.
A big thanks to Paul V, who took the time to come around and check out the engine with his compression tester 
Seems alas, that the head gasket on one side needs replacing.
I was going to handcuff Paul to the car until he did the full repair for me but his missus was watching my every move
cheers Paul !
Seems alas, that the head gasket on one side needs replacing.
I was going to handcuff Paul to the car until he did the full repair for me but his missus was watching my every move
cheers Paul !
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