Thread: Is my head gasket blown or am I going mad!

70% chances that it is the head gasket

Originally Posted by British Bulldog

Hey all
Yet another problem with my Rangie. The symptoms are as follows:
1) When start car temp gauge goes straight to halfway even if its cold.
2) Temp gauge stays around halfway goes up slightly but not much but always comes back to half after a few minutes.
3) Dumps coolant out the overflow tank every time I turn it off it seems to be getting less each time.
4)Cooling system is still appears full.
5)When filling I get no bubbles coming up at all.
6)It appears that there is air getting trapped in the system even after its all bled out.
7)Holds pressure for over six hours but only in the overflow tank the hoses are soft but lots of pressure in the system.
I am pretty sure that either the head/s are cracked or its just a gasket leak after reading through all the searched posts. I have put some chem weld in it and it has made no difference to it at all. What do you guys think just wanting to make sure I am right before I start buying all the bits to rip the heads off.
Thanks
Kris

I think there are multiple problems there
1 - The temperature gauge - when it's first started from cold - it's not possible for the temp to go straight to warm. I think your temp sender is broken or something else electrical is wrong. Once you fix that then you might be able to see what the temp in the engine is actually doing.

2 - Dumping Coolant out the cap after you switch it off in my experience has been due to a marginal or stuffed radiator cap. Is it ejecting the coolant violently after you switch off, ie like a garden hose, or is it jsut dripping? I'd change the radiator cap first. If it only leaks after you switch off then head gasket is very unlikely to be the cause - there's no combustion pressure when it's off!

3 - As water heats up it expands - so there should be some pressure in the system whilst the coolant is hot. 6 hours seems a little excessive for the engine to remain hot - but if it's not ejecting lots of coolant whilst under load then this might be normal. Youv'e got 12 liters of water in there so that will expand a reasonable amount - I think I calculated around 400ml expansion at 70C. Or something like that - so pressurising when hot is normal.

Have you pressure tested the cooing system?
How long since the radiator was replaced or cleaned?
Do you get the viscous fan locking up and making lots of noise when the engine get's hot? You should be able to hear the fan get louder when you accelerate from the traffic lights on a hot day. The noise will die down as you reach cruising speed. If the fan is not making noise in this situation then you might have a broken viscous coupling.
Might be worth using a exhaust gas sniffer on the coolant.

Id change radiator cap , thermostat , then rod the radiator , all else fails get a radiator place to swab your coolant for fuel in the coolant

Originally Posted by British Bulldog

Hey all
Yet another problem with my Rangie.

Question ..... Did this happen at all ... BEFORE you installed the Quadjet carby???

Also .... Bleeding and filling a Rover motor can be a challenge if not done right .. TRUST me .... I know .... AS all the symptoms you describe are or can be the result of not "Filling up with coolant" the correct way ... (other than the temp gauge which sounds like a electrical fault)

Mike

Go to a mechanic and get them to pressure check the cooling system, this should tell you whether the head gasket has let go - unless of course you have the equipment to do it yourself

Had to do this with mine, as soon as the engine started the pressure kept increasing beyond where it was supposed to be.

Good luck

Mike 90 whats the best way to fill the system.
radiator cap is brand new and have tested thermostat that seems fine. The fan I am not sure about doesn't really seem to get louder at any time. The temp sender in the manifold is the second one and they both read the same. Is the temp sender a standard fitment or a range rover specific one. Also could the voltage regulator be playing up as my tacho and speedo ocassianly bounce around a bit then don't other times.
The dumping of coolant now seems to have stopped and its still full.
This was a problem before the quadrajet install. The gas converter is the highest point in the system could this be a problem.

And a side note a 87 RRC seats will fit and bolt up to a 85 model correct? As I have just bought a whole front and back setup for $250.

Remove the coolant lines from the converter, and loop them back together, bypassing the converter. Whack some baloons on the lines that the coolant hoses were attached to and run it on gas for a few mis (before it ices up) if the baloons inflate your problem is a leaky converter. Happened to me about a month ago. Phoned an lpg fitter and he rekons converters only lasts about 6 yrs before the rubber inside them perishes.

See my post for a pic:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-...tml#post891661

Cheap and easy check.

Cheers

Originally Posted by British Bulldog

Mike 90 whats the best way to fill the system.


And a side note a 87 RRC seats will fit and bolt up to a 85 model correct? As I have just bought a whole front and back setup for $250.

Park the car on something that makes the front end high ... IE car ramps / Hill
Turn the cabin heater on full
Take the expansion cap off
Take the bung off the top of the radiator
Fill via brass bung on top of the rocker cover as in the photo

Originally Posted by mike 90 RR

Check when warming motor
Check when at running temp
Go for a drive
Check when cooled
Check the next day
Check for the next week


Answer to seats is .... You have bought them already .... So you will find out

Mike