Potential head gasket - Help!
Discussion
Recently bought Cerbera Speed 6 (2002) and have come across the first problem - I assume of many to come!The car has been using a bit more oil than I expected. After a short journey (5 miles) I noticed water running out of the engine and moments later steam coming out of the bonnet. The indicated water temperature only rose just before I turnd it off to 110 degrees so hope I haven't damaged too much. Another symptom was a bit of oil being spat out of the near side exhaust. I am thinking the head gasket has blown. Any other ideas or opinions on the above? Also can anyone recommend a decent TVR specialist near Lancaster for formal diagnosis and repair?
Water running out of the engine where?
Not often we hear about HGF on these engines though so hopefully just some non-catastrophic fault causing it to boil over. Perhaps a failed drive for the oil/water pumps, or an air lock (or just run out of water). Oil out of the exhaust would be a major worry, but soot carried out of the exhaust by condensed water would be quite normal.
Not often we hear about HGF on these engines though so hopefully just some non-catastrophic fault causing it to boil over. Perhaps a failed drive for the oil/water pumps, or an air lock (or just run out of water). Oil out of the exhaust would be a major worry, but soot carried out of the exhaust by condensed water would be quite normal.
Water blowing out the header tank is fairly normal when a Cerb overheats - but after 5 miles, this seems unlikely......
The AA/RAC (or any garage) should be able to do a pressure test on the cooling system to check the head gasket (although this doesn't always work)....
I don't know where the oil is topped up on a Speed 6, but a classic head gasket failure is the oil going to mayonnaise (because it's mixing with water), so take off the oil cap & check for white goo in the oil....
The AA/RAC (or any garage) should be able to do a pressure test on the cooling system to check the head gasket (although this doesn't always work)....
I don't know where the oil is topped up on a Speed 6, but a classic head gasket failure is the oil going to mayonnaise (because it's mixing with water), so take off the oil cap & check for white goo in the oil....
Assuming you do not have coolant leaking from the head gasket (done the checks already identified) it is quite common for the Mild Steel hose clips TVR used to rust (depends on how much the car has been driven during winter months) and leak to quite an serious extent. It also escalates quite quickly once the first leak appears
I would say that it is VERY possible for a 2000 car as the clips usually last between 3-4 years before popping off.
You can usually check this yourself by using a digital camera to take pictures under the covers by reaching under the car. (Use Flash) If you can see the clips are really rusty then they really should be changed.
An AA pressure test should also find this. If it is not the HG.
ACT can supply a Stainless Steel kit to swap out the clips and thus prevent future water leaks.
Hope you find that this is the problem as it's much cheaper to fix.
I would say that it is VERY possible for a 2000 car as the clips usually last between 3-4 years before popping off.
You can usually check this yourself by using a digital camera to take pictures under the covers by reaching under the car. (Use Flash) If you can see the clips are really rusty then they really should be changed.
An AA pressure test should also find this. If it is not the HG.
ACT can supply a Stainless Steel kit to swap out the clips and thus prevent future water leaks.
Hope you find that this is the problem as it's much cheaper to fix.
On the +ve side you'll get a rebuild to the latest evolution of the engine.... I think EVO3/4. And as far as I have seem this is considerably more reliable than the original Spd6 production engines.
Hope you don't have to wait too long to get back out on the road. Also could be a great opporunity for upgrades
Hope you don't have to wait too long to get back out on the road. Also could be a great opporunity for upgrades
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