12 replies to this topic

[leefleming]

Went out for a blast round in my Mini last night after work.
Was out maybe 30-45mins.
Had the music pretty loud so didn't hear anything until it shuddered and didn't feel right. Turned the music down, looked down and it was running hot.
I was on my way back at this point and wasn't far away at all. Came off a roundabout and went for third gear, nothing, no drive at all. Put it in second and got some, then up into third again and it was fine.
So slowly coasted it home, all the way with a ticking/clicking sound whilst accelerating.
Pulled onto the drive and a load of smoke/steam billowed from the bonnet. Opened it up expecting it to be the water bottle again (it did that the day I bought the Mini) however this time it was the rocker cover steaming away.
Checked the oil, and according to the dipstick, there is plenty in there.
Any ideas?

[Leics1275]

Errr, you've boiled it !

[Spud_133]

Sounds like a head gasket to me. Get a compression tester and check that first though.

[Captain Mainwaring]

Went out for a blast round in my Mini last night after work.
Was out maybe 30-45mins.
Had the music pretty loud so didn't hear anything until it shuddered and didn't feel right. Turned the music down, looked down and it was running hot.
I was on my way back at this point and wasn't far away at all. Came off a roundabout and went for third gear, nothing, no drive at all. Put it in second and got some, then up into third again and it was fine.
So slowly coasted it home, all the way with a ticking/clicking sound whilst accelerating.
Pulled onto the drive and a load of smoke/steam billowed from the bonnet. Opened it up expecting it to be the water bottle again (it did that the day I bought the Mini) however this time it was the rocker cover steaming away.
Checked the oil, and according to the dipstick, there is plenty in there.
Any ideas?

 

To be honest, if I see a temp gauge (or oil pressure for that matter) doing something in the least bit unusual then I always pull over as quickly as possible. The one time I didn't cost me £1600 for a rebuilt engine on an Isuzu diesel....I comforted myself that I was on a motorway and there was no quick stop option.

 

Cooking can do all sorts of things - the cause could be a head gasket failure, if it got hot enough you can have pistons pick up in the bores and break piston rings. Have to take it a step at a time, but smoking rocker covers aren't a good sign.

Edited by Captain Mainwaring, 28 July 2013 - 10:02 AM.

[leefleming]

Quick update.
Tried starting him this morning. Started no problem. Checked the oil whilst cool, and it was still at a good level.
Got my uncle coming over this afternoon to have a check over it.
I got given a head gasket set off a local car parts shop not long ago. One stroke of luck I suppose..... If that is the problem of course :-p

[bmcecosse]

Fan belt broken??   Or very slack?  Check the simple things first...  Was the heater still throwing out heat? 

Edited by bmcecosse, 27 July 2013 - 09:51 AM.

[Spud_133]

You kept mentioning that you've checked the oil, but considering its overheated, wouldn't it be an idea to check the water level as that is what does the cooling?

[leefleming]

Yep, water was very low.
Topped it up, set it running, and after a while the electric fan kicked in, water was boiling, thermostat housing was boiling, but water out was cold.
Going to take the thermostat out and run like that, to see if water goes ok.
Only changed the thermostat about a year ago.
Let's see what happens now. (Not doing that till Monday though)

[sonikk4]

It does sound like the HG has gone, i really would not run this again until further tests have been done. If the water level was low and there are no outward signs of leaks then something internally has gone.

 

Also there may now be water in the oil if the HG has gone which in turn will cause further damage to the engine internals and gearbox. Very expensive.

[krusher74]

"So slowly coasted it home, all the way with a ticking/clicking sound whilst accelerating."

 

That was pinging/pre-ignition as the engine was overheated.

[Captain Mainwaring]

"So slowly coasted it home, all the way with a ticking/clicking sound whilst accelerating."

 

That was pinging/pre-ignition as the engine was overheated.

 

I'd got it down for being broken rings.... I bet he prefers your guess though.....

[daenesh]

im gonna go with captain's suggestion of broken rings too but if it started fine next morning with no noise, i would assume it was pre-ignition due to the overheating and i would say burnt head gasket.. do a compression test to confirm..

[Captain Mainwaring]

im gonna go with captain's suggestion of broken rings too but if it started fine next morning with no noise, i would assume it was pre-ignition due to the overheating and i would say burnt head gasket.. do a compression test to confirm..

 

I did it to a Lotus Cortina Mk1, and it did the same. Sounded all clicky while it was hot, started fine while it was cold and got gradually worse.

 

It could be everything or nothing - on an older engine with lots of lovely glaze on the bores, it may be OK....