156 V6 overheating....waterpump failure....head gasket???
Discussion
Hi everyone, i'm really stuck at the moment with my car and i'd really appreciate a bit of advice if anyone would be kind enough to give it.
Basically my 156 v6 started to overheat a few weeks ago on the motorway and eventually went over 3/4 on the temp gauge. I pulled over on the hard shoulder and the car cut out. I called the AA and they recovered it to my house where it sat for about a week. I noticed that the bottom rad hose had burst and it had lost all coolant. I replaced the bottom hose and refilled the system with coolant. At the same time i checked the oil as my dad had advised me to do, just to see if there was any water in it...(there was no water in dipstick or the filler cap). The engine fired up and sounded ok but when it got up to temperature it leaked all the coolant out again, this time from around the water pump area.
I had to use the car once earlier this week only for a short distance, and again it leaked water from the left hand side of the engine, underneath the cambelt area. I checked the oil again yesterday and the dipstick looked fine but the filler cap had loads of creamy gunk on it.
I don't know what to do now......do i pay £500 to get new cambelt kit and waterpump done, then find that i need to get cylinder head done too at a cost of ££££££'s??
PLEASE HELP ME I AM GUTTED ABOUT MY BELOVED CAR AND WANT TO FIX HIM SOON
Thanks in advance for any comments :-)
Basically my 156 v6 started to overheat a few weeks ago on the motorway and eventually went over 3/4 on the temp gauge. I pulled over on the hard shoulder and the car cut out. I called the AA and they recovered it to my house where it sat for about a week. I noticed that the bottom rad hose had burst and it had lost all coolant. I replaced the bottom hose and refilled the system with coolant. At the same time i checked the oil as my dad had advised me to do, just to see if there was any water in it...(there was no water in dipstick or the filler cap). The engine fired up and sounded ok but when it got up to temperature it leaked all the coolant out again, this time from around the water pump area.
I had to use the car once earlier this week only for a short distance, and again it leaked water from the left hand side of the engine, underneath the cambelt area. I checked the oil again yesterday and the dipstick looked fine but the filler cap had loads of creamy gunk on it.
I don't know what to do now......do i pay £500 to get new cambelt kit and waterpump done, then find that i need to get cylinder head done too at a cost of ££££££'s??
PLEASE HELP ME I AM GUTTED ABOUT MY BELOVED CAR AND WANT TO FIX HIM SOON
Thanks in advance for any comments :-)
Did the red light come on? Head gaskets on the V6 are normally very resilient.
3/4 isn't as far as you think if its anything like the TS, the end marker is probably around 130 degrees? and you might think it goes up from cold at a constant increase of say 10-20 degrees...it doesn't.
for about 7/8ths of the dial it is as expected, then a big jump up to 130.
3/4 isn't as far as you think if its anything like the TS, the end marker is probably around 130 degrees? and you might think it goes up from cold at a constant increase of say 10-20 degrees...it doesn't.
for about 7/8ths of the dial it is as expected, then a big jump up to 130.
Hi thanks for the reply.....i do remember a light coming on when the engine cut out but i think it was the battery light to say the car had cut out?? Could this be the light you're talking about? I have started the car about 10 times since the breakdown and it runs fine but i turn it off after a few minutes because when it warms up it starts to leak water from under the waterpump/cambelt area.
There are no warning lights when i start it up and there are no load knocks or anything of that description.
I'm not sure whether to go ahead and get the waterpump and cambelt done as it's £500, and how will i know i wont need to shell out another small fortune if the head gasket has gone???
Thanks for your help i appreciate it. Lee.
There are no warning lights when i start it up and there are no load knocks or anything of that description.
I'm not sure whether to go ahead and get the waterpump and cambelt done as it's £500, and how will i know i wont need to shell out another small fortune if the head gasket has gone???
Thanks for your help i appreciate it. Lee.
You obviously have a water leak, and you need to fix that. A pressure tester would make it easy to find the leak without running the engine. If coolant is getting into the oil then it could be that you have blown the head gasket, it's also possible that the leak is in a gasket in the front cover which is allowing coolant to leak into the sump. So, you need to find and fix the leak before you can tell what else is wrong, and hopefully the leak will be the only problem.
Is it possible that the creamy stuff on the oil filler cap is just down to the engine overheating and not a warped head?
It just seems odd that there is water under the filler cap but no water evident in the sump.....
I've read a few stories on different forums and they vary so much. I just don't want to be in the position where i spend a fortune on a waterpump etc, and then have to spend another load on head gasket work. I know Autolusso do a recon engine fully fitted for £1400 with 12 month warranty....would that be a cost effective solution?? I'm just panicking as i need to get the car sorted asap and it's far too good to scrap.
It just seems odd that there is water under the filler cap but no water evident in the sump.....
I've read a few stories on different forums and they vary so much. I just don't want to be in the position where i spend a fortune on a waterpump etc, and then have to spend another load on head gasket work. I know Autolusso do a recon engine fully fitted for £1400 with 12 month warranty....would that be a cost effective solution?? I'm just panicking as i need to get the car sorted asap and it's far too good to scrap.
LeeAlfaV6 said:
Hi thanks for the reply.....i do remember a light coming on when the engine cut out but i think it was the battery light to say the car had cut out?? Could this be the light you're talking about? I have started the car about 10 times since the breakdown and it runs fine but i turn it off after a few minutes because when it warms up it starts to leak water from under the waterpump/cambelt area.
There are no warning lights when i start it up and there are no load knocks or anything of that description.
I'm not sure whether to go ahead and get the waterpump and cambelt done as it's £500, and how will i know i wont need to shell out another small fortune if the head gasket has gone???
Thanks for your help i appreciate it. Lee.
The light would be on the temperature gauge itself, if you look closely there is a light integrated into the unit that comes on which it reaches around 130 degrees (I think)There are no warning lights when i start it up and there are no load knocks or anything of that description.
I'm not sure whether to go ahead and get the waterpump and cambelt done as it's £500, and how will i know i wont need to shell out another small fortune if the head gasket has gone???
Thanks for your help i appreciate it. Lee.
Sounds like a knackered water pump, to me: the originals had plastic impellers, which shear leaving the drive shaft spinning, but the impeller windmilling. Yours sounds as if that's also leaking. The upgrade uses a alloy impellor. On it's own, I don't think it's a huge job, but whilst you're in there it's worth doing the belts, which does rack it up a notch.
I've been quoted £498 +VAT to do waterpump and cambelt, which i can just about handle paying for....but i'm really concerned that when i have that done i will have some kind if head gasket problem (due to the emulsified oil in filler cap)
What would you suggest? One more thing i forgot to mention is that the fans were only cutting in at very hich temperature before the car overheated and broker down. What could be the reason for this??
What would you suggest? One more thing i forgot to mention is that the fans were only cutting in at very hich temperature before the car overheated and broker down. What could be the reason for this??
Without knowing how far it's gone or how old yours is, it's diffuclt to quantify. The gunk might be a result of it sitting around in the cold, for example. My mums old shed used to "mayonaise" all the time, as it only did short runs. The gaskets were fine (the rest was shot though 
)
For what its worth, I've done the pump & the rad on ours, following a similar experience, & the car's running fine. It's a 2000 with 80k when that lot was done. We got hot enough, although my wife ran it at speed to cool it off before she shut down, when it finally gave up. It was running for 10+ days with the pump failing before I could get it sorted, & it's still fine 12 months + later. With yours, I'd suggest getting the pump etc done, but get him to check the rad & then see how it goes. They are pretty tough, well built engines.
)For what its worth, I've done the pump & the rad on ours, following a similar experience, & the car's running fine. It's a 2000 with 80k when that lot was done. We got hot enough, although my wife ran it at speed to cool it off before she shut down, when it finally gave up. It was running for 10+ days with the pump failing before I could get it sorted, & it's still fine 12 months + later. With yours, I'd suggest getting the pump etc done, but get him to check the rad & then see how it goes. They are pretty tough, well built engines.
Thanks a lot that has really made me feel better about it. My car is a 2000 with 84k so they're pretty similar! How long have you had yours for?
I've been really worried because i've spent a lot of time on this car getting bodywork and interior done etc. The engine was always strong, i only had to replace the MAF. It's got full history with it and i'd like to keep it because i know there are no other problems with it.
I've contemplated buying another engine and paying somebody to fit it into mine but not sure how much that would cost or how difficult it would be. They look like very complicated engines but i'm not a mechanic so i don't honestly know!!
I've been really worried because i've spent a lot of time on this car getting bodywork and interior done etc. The engine was always strong, i only had to replace the MAF. It's got full history with it and i'd like to keep it because i know there are no other problems with it.
I've contemplated buying another engine and paying somebody to fit it into mine but not sure how much that would cost or how difficult it would be. They look like very complicated engines but i'm not a mechanic so i don't honestly know!!
I'd personally spend the £600 to get the cambelt/water pump done. And see how it behaves once fixed.
I had a V6 that burst the water hose behind the battery area, It dumped all the water and the temp gauge went up to 3/4, got recovered by the AA and fitted a new hose the following weekend. The engine was fine until i wrote the car off 15k miles later. It had done a total of around 130k and was thrashed mercillesly and was not maintained by the previous owner.
It's a tough engine i'd gamble to get what you think is broke, fixed.
I had a V6 that burst the water hose behind the battery area, It dumped all the water and the temp gauge went up to 3/4, got recovered by the AA and fitted a new hose the following weekend. The engine was fine until i wrote the car off 15k miles later. It had done a total of around 130k and was thrashed mercillesly and was not maintained by the previous owner.
It's a tough engine i'd gamble to get what you think is broke, fixed.
Thanks to everybody who responded to my thread i appreciate your help.
Just to let you know i've just bought another complete 156 v6 as it has got a very good engine and had loads of work done on it recently. How easy is it to swap engines over? And what sort of money would i be looking at to do it?
Once i have the engine in my car i will be breaking the new one to get some of my money back.
Just to let you know i've just bought another complete 156 v6 as it has got a very good engine and had loads of work done on it recently. How easy is it to swap engines over? And what sort of money would i be looking at to do it?
Once i have the engine in my car i will be breaking the new one to get some of my money back.
shouldbworking said:
Why dont you just do a compression test to get the truth of if the head gaskets gone or not? thatll give you a much better idea of what to do.
+1 for compression test.The head gaskets are not a big known problem. My 166 (2.5V6 24v) has however been though two water pumps during my ownership!
Had my kit car whistling like a kettle once when the fans failed to kick in. Engine has been fine since.
The gunge on the filler cap is not something that would scare me too much either. Had a 33 that was always like that. I believe it is just a little atmospheric water. If the dipstick was creamy I would worry.
BTW, changing engines can have insurance implications, requiring engineers certificates of road-worthyness etc.
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