Boiling my head
Discussion
Hi,
Apologies in advance if this is a daft question.
I was out in my 500 the other day when I saw the temp gauge had reached 110 degrees.
I immediately pulled over (into a pub car park - the only lucky thing that happened the whole day), popped the bonnet, turned off the engine (but kept the ignition on to keep the fans going).
The fans weren't running and soon steam and coolant started blowing through the expansion tank cap.
The car's in the workshop at the moment with the fault being traced. It runs fine (though I had it trailered there just to be on the safe side).
My question is - will I have done any damage to the head gasket, head and other pricey innards? It can't have been at that temperature for more than ten minutes (including the heat soak once parked up) but I tend to be a pessimist.
Thanks in advance!
Apologies in advance if this is a daft question.
I was out in my 500 the other day when I saw the temp gauge had reached 110 degrees.
I immediately pulled over (into a pub car park - the only lucky thing that happened the whole day), popped the bonnet, turned off the engine (but kept the ignition on to keep the fans going).
The fans weren't running and soon steam and coolant started blowing through the expansion tank cap.
The car's in the workshop at the moment with the fault being traced. It runs fine (though I had it trailered there just to be on the safe side).
My question is - will I have done any damage to the head gasket, head and other pricey innards? It can't have been at that temperature for more than ten minutes (including the heat soak once parked up) but I tend to be a pessimist.
Thanks in advance!
Hi,
I promised the group an update. Well, after an attempt by a local garage to fix the overheating (and another spectacular melt-down), I trailered it up to X-Works in Preston.
Heath from X-Works called today with the bad news. A leak-down test shows a 30% loss in cylinder five. The others are fine.
So it's looking like a head rebuild. Heath reckons the leaking head was the cause of the overheating, not a result: there are no leaks in the system and the thermostat and otter switch are performing fine.
I'm pretty sanguine about it. It's a relief to have the problem diagnosed, and I know X-Works will do a good job, giving me and any future owners peace of mind. The bank manager may not agree, but since when was TVR ownership a rational thing?
I promised the group an update. Well, after an attempt by a local garage to fix the overheating (and another spectacular melt-down), I trailered it up to X-Works in Preston.
Heath from X-Works called today with the bad news. A leak-down test shows a 30% loss in cylinder five. The others are fine.
So it's looking like a head rebuild. Heath reckons the leaking head was the cause of the overheating, not a result: there are no leaks in the system and the thermostat and otter switch are performing fine.
I'm pretty sanguine about it. It's a relief to have the problem diagnosed, and I know X-Works will do a good job, giving me and any future owners peace of mind. The bank manager may not agree, but since when was TVR ownership a rational thing?
An update:
The car is now back from X-Works better than ever.
Turns out that at some point in the past, the head bolts hadn't been torqued to the right setting. Also, according to Heath, the bolts looked like they'd been re-used.
While the heads were off, the dreaded premature camshaft wear was also spotted. It was replaced and everything returned to factory spec. I now have a used camshaft as a bookcase ornament.
And, a couple of Mr. Lucas's electrical gremlins aside, a very nice summer's motoring ahead. Touch wood...
The car is now back from X-Works better than ever.
Turns out that at some point in the past, the head bolts hadn't been torqued to the right setting. Also, according to Heath, the bolts looked like they'd been re-used.
While the heads were off, the dreaded premature camshaft wear was also spotted. It was replaced and everything returned to factory spec. I now have a used camshaft as a bookcase ornament.
And, a couple of Mr. Lucas's electrical gremlins aside, a very nice summer's motoring ahead. Touch wood...
I'm by no means an expert, but I did a lot of reading when I had my issue.
There's a quick check any garage can do. It's a chemical test for hydrocarbons in the water. If they're present, the gasket's likely shot. It's pretty cheap and easy. A leak-down test will then tell you for sure.
Needless to say, if the heads do need to come off, you're best having the work done by a respected TVR or Rover V8 specialist. There are many worse things that can happen and you'll have much more confidence in the car afterwards.
There's a quick check any garage can do. It's a chemical test for hydrocarbons in the water. If they're present, the gasket's likely shot. It's pretty cheap and easy. A leak-down test will then tell you for sure.
Needless to say, if the heads do need to come off, you're best having the work done by a respected TVR or Rover V8 specialist. There are many worse things that can happen and you'll have much more confidence in the car afterwards.
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