Messy engine bay

[Demondad]

Topped up my water yesterday. Drove car 15 miles to work this morning to discover quite a messy top of engine, and under bonnet sprayed with blue antifreezed water and steam from it being on engine. Does this sound like head gaskets to anyone? I've suspected this for a while as I've been topping the water more frequently of late and noticed slight wetness in Vee. Engine running fine otherwise and no noticeable steam out of exhaust.

[Cerbieherts]

Try changing the cap first. They don't last very long. They are VW items.

[C3BER]

Pull the dip stick and check the colour etc of your oil. Do you just do short journeys as this will create condensation that's not burnt off.

[Demondad]

Thanks for your suggestions all. There's no leak at the cap, all the water is sprayed round engine Vee. The oil is fine on dipstick, no gunky stuff in the oil breather either. I think the water is accumulating in the Vee and being sprayed around by the alternator belt as it catches water. I'll get home tonight and take some pics.

Any ideas how much to take engine out and do the head gaskets? I'm near APM, or is it relatively straight forward, I've done a Triumph spitfire engine rebuild once or twice before.

[C3BER]

Look for a leaking pipe before worrying to much.

[Cerbieherts]

Have a look at the pipes near the header tank, there is a t-piece and associated pipework that could also be leaking...

[Demondad]

Good points I'll get under there with a torch, and take some pics

[C3BER]

If you have a laser pen use that to find any high pressure leaks.

[Cerbieherts]

Demondad said:

Any ideas how much to take engine out and do the head gaskets? I'm near APM, or is it relatively straight forward, I've done a Triumph spitfire engine rebuild once or twice before.

Not sure on APM's cost, but it's the "while your in there's" that mount up. When i did mine i ended up doing a clutch, flywheel, engine mounts, ally rad, stainless and silicon hoses, inlet pipes, chain and tensioner, bottom end bearings, oil pump keyway, Throttle pot adaptors, repairs to cracked manifolds, lots of work required on the heads etc, etc, etc...a few pics of mine....
Coming out (pretty disgusting in that engine bay!)


Failed head gasket evidence, all that steam sure cleaned the piston crown!

going back together...

Clean up the engine bay and a few shiny goodies..

Engine back together...

Going back in....

[andrewlloyd]

Who recommended the exhaust wrap ? Was told its a pig of a job and has a nasty habit of transferring heat to the cats and melting the internals

[Cerbieherts]

Dom At TVR power. We lived in Cyprus at the time, and it was one of the mods I tried along with water wetter, bigger rad, more heatshielding and other things to combat underbonnet temps in ambients of over 40 degrees. That was 3 years ago and I'm still on the same cats and it never goes over 95 according to laptop readings. I rigged k-type thermocouples to the engine bay for before/after analysis and it dropped ten degrees.

[gruffalo]

They often start going by leaking to one of the head bolts, mine has been doing this for the last 2 years I just put a about a pint of coolant in her every month or so. Will get the heads off after the summer.

[Demondad]

gruffalo said:

They often start going by leaking to one of the head bolts, mine has been doing this for the last 2 years I just put a about a pint of coolant in her every month or so. Will get the heads off after the summer.

I've got a feeling that's what's happened mine. Pipes are all in tact. But I'll try the laser pen trick. And if I do need engine out then I will have a big list to replace too. Clutch, heat shield, rads leaky so I might get thru this summer like you Gruff. What fun these beasts can be!