Bongo Fury

50/50 of the pink stuff, changed about 3 weeks back.

After all I've read about bleeding and airlocks I don't think I would change the coolant unless I'd had to replace/fix another part of the cooling system to start with. Not more than a header tank full at a time.

When I do have to drain it I will give serious consideration to bypassing the rear heating completely.

I assume that clear plastic hose is unsuitable for water at high temperature and pressure otherwise there would be an application here for a short section (the bottom hose,say, where the temperature should be lowest) so that the flow can be observed.


Frank

Me laughs at Harry's comments

I hope it not too serious Chris

Jo

Sorry to hear that Chris... Hope everything turns out ok mate!

My fingers are crossed for you Mr M.

Initial diagnosis - Head Gasket.

mister munkey wrote:Initial diagnosis - Head Gasket.

Bugger!!

Sorry to hear the probs Chris!!

Dabs

Spannerman has released some air whist bleeding but there's oil in the system apparently & its temp when running is fairly erratic at the mo. He's whipping the head off tomorrow to have a proper look.

As far as I understand it, air has somehow got into the system (the only thing my little brain can come up with is there's another lightly weeping hose somewhere round by the rear heater that has possibly been sucking air in when not letting liquid out?) Airlock has settled at the top of the engine giving similar symptoms to waterpump failure.

He was trying to explain this to me on the phone this evening while I was heading home on the M62 but after the words Head Gasket Failure, I went into a kind of shock induced trance & can't quite remember what he said.



Does this sound remotely likely?

Oh bum, so sorry to hear that.

Can't think of anything else to say except hope it gets sorted properly

Banging my head against a wall on this one after sifting through similar posts trying to make sense of whats happening in mine.

IF head gasket has given up - How come no white exhaust smoke/steam?

Sorry to hear that Chris, fingers crossed it's not as bad as first diagnosis

mister munkey wrote:Banging my head against a wall on this one after sifting through similar posts trying to make sense of whats happening in mine.

IF head gasket has given up - How come no white exhaust smoke/steam?

I'm no expert on this but is it possible the gasket fault is one that is allowing an oil gallery to connect with a water gallery, whilst the compression seal itself is still intact? This might cause crankcase pressure to push air (+oil, and you have traces of that) into the coolant system, whilst none enters the pots. If this is what has happened, it suggests maybe that the top of the block was not flatted off (as Simon Jones stresses the importance of) sufficiently, leaving the gasket insufficiently compressed/bound in a local area.

This is all conjecture by a non-techie person though so it would be interesting to see what Dandywarhol, Simon Jones et al had to say.

It is possible - if the above is true - that (a little bit of good news) the head may be OK and what is required is new gasket (and head bolts) plus a though flatting of both block and (now) head, and whatever else might help to ensure that the gasket is well gripped (and evenly) between head and block, once bolts have been torqued down.

The consequences of oil contaminating the coolant system might need evaluating too, though I can't immediately think of what those might be except for some emulsification (look for signs of it), which might impair circulation in e.g. the radiator matrix (but which should be removable by flushing with a strong hot detergent mix).

Bl**dy nuisance it all is though

Cheers.

Have printed that off to slip under Dr. Spanermonkeys nose tomorrow.

mister munkey wrote:Cheers.

Have printed that off to slip under Dr. Spanermonkeys nose tomorrow.

You could use a view from Dandywarhol, Simon Jones or someone else with 'street cred' (Allan maybe?) in case spannermonkey starts ranting about all these self-elected experts (me ) who think they know about cars when they don't - mechanics pride and all that, if he did the earlier job but isn't a Bongo guru.

mikeonb4c wrote: You could use a view from Dandywarhol, Simon Jones or someone else with 'street cred' (Allan maybe?) in case spannermonkey starts ranting about all these self-elected experts (me ) who think they know about cars when they don't - mechanics pride and all that, if he did the earlier job but isn't a Bongo guru.

Honestly - He's not like that. He's good at his craft & a Bongo Guru too - He covers the overspill work for Elams, has a good 5 years experience with the twin blowered beast

He's a man that takes pride in a job well done but at the same time is always keen to find the Right cure to a fault & is open to intelligent suggestions.

No-one knows everything about everything, he'd admit that & every little helps.

Further input also appreciated.

A check for combustion gas is the only real test - a gas analyser or dye test for carbon dioxide
White smoke really means the gasket has ruptured but it doesn't always show at first signs