Hi,

I have a 01 Sporting with 63K and it has a overheating problem. Now I know the head gasket thing has been discussed to death on here so I just need a bit of confirmation before i rip it all apart.

Since it started overheating I have:

Replaced water pump and thermostat together with new coolant and bled the system.

The heater works fine and the rad is getting hot.

I did a compression check and am getting 180 on all 4 cylinders.

I am not losing any water.

Am I just avoiding the obvious and should I just get the head off and change the HG. Or is it something really stupid I am missing. Please let it be that!!

Any help is appreciated I really want to get her back on the road.

Thanks

Baz

What are the symptoms of the overheating?

Cheers

SPD

It runs fine and drives fine but if left for a while idling the stop light will come on and it starts to boil. Initially the fan cuts in and out as per normal so I just cant fathom it. I need it to pass an MOT and it wont run for long enough to do the emissions test.

Baz

01 should be MPi, is yours MPi?

Cheers

SPD

I think MPi but I cant remember off the top off my head which it is, remind me how to tell the difference?

circular air box on mpi

spi has a square one

all after y reg were mpi i think

could it be temp sensor or fan switch problems?

Its a multi point fuel injection, but does not have a small round air fliter it has a large squareish one that is rounded off at the corners with a round air filter inside. Engine code is 187A1000 Body code is AXC1A 02B.

If it were a temp sensor or fan switch issue surely the fan would not come on at all but as i say it will come on once or twice when sitting idling on the drive it is just really when it has been driven for a while it overheats or if you rev it; as per the emissions test.

barryy said:

Its a multi point fuel injection, but does not have a small round air fliter it has a large squareish one that is rounded off at the corners with a round air filter inside. Engine code is 187A1000 Body code is AXC1A 02B.

If it were a temp sensor or fan switch issue surely the fan would not come on at all but as i say it will come on once or twice when sitting idling on the drive it is just really when it has been driven for a while it overheats or if you rev it; as per the emissions test.

Click to expand...

Not nesceseraly, the temp sensor could be picking up the wrong temp and turning the fan on too late.

If your pipes are getting rock hard when hot...

Try running stationary with heater at hot and the heater fan on max. Beed the heater bleed valve again before you try, as the engine warms up.

If it still overheats you may have a porous head. If it does not overheat then the rad or engine passages may be blocked or the new thermostat may be bad, try proprietary rad flush kit, saves a lot of effort.

You may have to take the rad out if there is a lot of crud, stand on end and run in water from hose, engine same but in situ.

If you have had the car from new and replaced the coolant regularly probably the head, otherwise crud in system, (e.g. rad weld) or leak reducing pressure.

Use soft water when you replace coolant.

Noel

Thank you to all for the advice.

I drained the system and flushed it through, quite alot of brownish black water coming out so I thought great, I have managed to flush out lots of crap, I'll put it all back together and see if I made any difference. Just using water I filled it up and was bleeding the system, there was no pressure in the pipes and no water coming out the bleeds, so I left it for a while and then slowly it started to come out the rad bleed and a dribble out the heater, something did not seem quite right as it had been running for about 5 mins now.

A quick look at the exhaust and the dreaded white smoke was billowing out!

Next job then is head gasket I fear. Is there a way of telling whether the head is porous or do I have to get it tested?

Baz

You are supposed to bleed it cold, the bleed as you warm it up is only to get the last few bubbles out of the heater. Remove bleed screws, to increase flow rate.

It is desirable to check both the head and the block for flatness, an engineering shop will pressure & crack test the head and skim it to restore flatness.

Removing radiator is a pain but if you got some crud out may be desirable to get the remainder.

The rad flush is probably desirable.

good luck.

Noel

Thanks Noel.

I'm not going to get a chance to get the head off for a while now as I am away at the weekend and there is just not enough light between finishing work and it going dark. Roll on the brighter evenings when you can get things done in daylight. Its usually about this time the TV starts to get better too! Never understood that.

Baz

I decided to crack on with it tonight and working under the lights from the garage and a spotlight the head is ready to be lifted. Surprisingly easy job once you get into it. Not sure what else I will find when it comes off. it's always the same you start one job and end up doing 5!

I'll lift the head off tomorrow night and see what it is like. I may have a mooch on flea bay for a second hand head. May be cheaper than getting the original skimmed and tested.

More later.

Baz

If it shows even compressions on all 4 cylinders and there's no mayo it's very, very unlikely to be the head (which is an expensive job indeed -- maybe £20 for the skim (but might as well get the valves recut and replace the guide seals and check the valve clearances while you're in there, plus a gasket set, and may as well do the belt, tensioner and water pump while you're in there). I'd try a proprietory flush (reverse flush is good, too) temp sender, rad and water pump first.

I've yet to see a porous FIRE head..............

If it shows even compressions on all 4 cylinders and there's no mayo it's very, very unlikely to be the head (which is an expensive job indeed -- maybe £20 for the skim (but might as well get the valves recut and replace the guide seals and check the valve clearances while you're in there, plus a gasket set, and may as well do the belt, tensioner and water pump while you're in there). I'd try a proprietory flush (reverse flush is good, too) temp sender, rad and water pump first.

I've yet to see a porous FIRE head..............

It sounds similar to mine before I did the head. There was no mayo symptoms and no real evidence of losing water, but it still boiled. Like you I had my doubts about the head and was reluctant to do it.

When I did lift the head you could see evidence that water had been getting into the cylinders. Had the head skimmed - I didn't bother with the block (as it's cast iron and you will have been really unlucky if that has warped) bolted it all back together and it works fine now.

You might want to change the oil as a precaution too, along with the timing belt if it hasn't been done recently.