6 replies to this topic

[Curley]

Hi guys, I recently got my project car on the road after what feels like 10 years in the garage. The car came with a reconditioned engine and gearbox. Having run the engine for 660 miles at less than 3K revs I started to stretch this a bit to 5K. This is when I discovered the rad had blown by and we had oil in the coolant

 

I've already stripped the engine and removed the head, there are no obvious signs of damage and I'm tempted to just clean it up, change the head gasket and bolt the head back on. Does anyone have any thoughts on why this might have happened and what I could do to avoid this happening again? It's been suggested that not having a heater matrix means the head can over heat and I should look to put some sort of plumping there to take away the heat??

 

 

The engine is an A series (number unknown) 1275 with +30 thou pistons, a 9 stud, 12G940 small valve (ie not metro), with bypass hose. It's fitted with a later style rad (the one with the temp sender in the bottom) and a 15lb cap. As I've suggested we do not have a heater matrix or associated plumping on the car - the tap on the head is blanked off as is the lower radiator hose. I have tested the thermostat and confirmed it is working (checked it in boiling water) and it has no holes drilled in it

 

NOTE: I plan to fit an electric fan for those summer days stuck in traffic but did not think I would need it all the time. The temp gauge in the car has remained stable to the right of center but within 'Normal' range.

 

 

 

 

[Gerbil367]

I fitted a heater into mine - wasnt just to aid in cooling, more to heat me in the freezing cold (and keep the screen clear)!  I think there are quite a few guys on here who run without heaters and no real issues?

[Matt Zane]

I'm planning on running my car without a heater too, it's not going to be a daily, and will be garaged during the grotty parts of the year.

I'll be interested on what the "minds" have to say about this.

 

Where in Berkshire are you?

[cian]

I have no heater in mine ran fine before my rebuild but since my rebuild im having overheating issues

[Cooperman]

I had exactly that issue with my Mk.1 'S' a while back.

The engine was completely re-built and I got oil in the coolant. I suspected the HG and stripped it and fitted another one. It was just the same. I then suspected a cracked head, stripped it and checked it. No problem with it. 

I took the engine out, stripped it and checked the block. I still could not find th4e problem.

In the end I had a bit of luck and someone had also had that problem.

When I had fitted a 4-bolt oil pump (original had 3-bolt) I had to have an extra hole drilled & tapped in the block. That had been fine, but I had switched to a 2-bolt oil pump. The hole I had added earlier had just broken through into the water way and the gasket land between the oil in the pump, at, say, 80+ psi, was then only about 1 mm from the water and the gasket had failed, allowing oil under pressure to get into the oil.

I plugged the now-redundant hole with a 1/4" UNF stud and the problem was gone.

 

That might be your problem and I have gone into detail in case it happens to anyone else. if I had not been told about it I might have stripped and rebuilt the engine many times before I found the problem.

[The Principal]

If its none of the above are you using a copper gasket? try a BK450 - http://www.minispare...|Back to search

[Curley]

Thank you Cooperman for that sage wisdom. I think I'm going to try a new HG and see what happens, if it does it again I'll look at the oil pump first. I'd hate to have to take the engine out and get to the oil pump :-(
 
Copper is one of the best conductors of heat and it makes perfect sence to use as a HG. They are better at keeping the block and head at similare temps while the paper ones tend to create a small thermal barrier between the two. Personaly I prefer the Payan's ability to seel over the copper ones. Paper gaskets can absorbe any inperfections or bits of dirt into the gasket while copper thends to bend.

Edited by Curley, 12 April 2014 - 02:25 AM.