13 replies to this topic

[davexdavexdave]

right i have just gone and got my mate as he has broken down. basically it over heated and he carried on driving till it seized up. by the time i got there it had cooled a little and it ran again so we have driven to another friends to assess the damage. the water just has mayonaise i pooring out of it. its just thick white gunk and if you put more water in it you can hear it boil immediately. anyone have any ideas whats happened??? cracked head?? head gasket?? any help much appreciated.

[alicetheauto]

Any/all of the above. Mayonnaise is emulsified oil in the cooling system, so there is a leak somewhere between the oil and water systems. If its just a head gasket then its an easy job, if its warped or cracked something then its NOT.

[davexdavexdave]

anyone??? the funny thing is he only got this like a week ago.

cool thanks so we are thinking head gasket and/ or cracked head. there is alot of this mayonaise i mean more than i have ever seen in any car. and ive over heated quite a few.

[alicetheauto]

Join the club...... Take off the head, put a steel rule on the surfaces and see if they are DEAD straight.

[davexdavexdave]

roughly how much to get a garage to replace a head gasket??

[davexdavexdave]

anyone??

[miniboo]

looking at about 150 quid i reckon with labour.

is it an A series metro? can be done in an afternoon with a haynes manual and bit of swearing and a gasket kit which costs less than 20 quid.

if it is a K series engine then i am not sure but i bet it can't be that hard

Edited by miniboo, 09 October 2006 - 08:34 PM.

[davexdavexdave]

its a k series and he really ainy into hard work. it'll be a garage for sure. thanks mini boo

[TOMMO0302]

The big difference is what they are made of, much more tendency for things to melt when their not cast iron!

[Jammy]

Well he was a complete idiot to carry on driving when it overheated. The K series engine is an alloy engine, so expect it to be warped when the head comes off.

Head gasket change, head skim, parts and labour is likely to be £200+.

[fikus01]

GRRRR MY HATRED OF K-SERIES NEVER ENDS!! i replaced head gasket on mine only to find it went again 3000 miles later!! bugger is i used top notch parts, got head skimmed!! changed the dowels on the block to steel items from the failable nylon ones, changed the water pump, thermostat, cam belt and tensioner and rad!! i even unblocked the water ways that were clogged with ******* and the bugger stil didnt last!!

as hard as i tried i couldnt sieze the ting tho!! i hurt it bad with no water and it just kept going!!

EDIT : try here for some helpfull advice - http://www.metropower.co.uk

Edited by fikus01, 09 October 2006 - 11:41 PM.

[edjohnson]

My K-series blew a head gasket, changed it on my own in an eveing with with a battery powered strip light.

Check it was straight, and used it til MOT time, and then said farewell to my beloved 'tro

Its so easy really. Especially seeing as the K-series has nice dowels in the block or head to line up, unlike most modern engines. Obviously not a problem on the mini.

HINT: Use old head bolts with the heads cut off as dowels on cars with out. Thread them in a few turns. The hey presto, easy lining up. Just remember to file a slot it the top of the bolts, so you can screw them out with a screw driver.

Oh and dont bother removing manifolds or anything,

ed x x

[MiniKid..]

Whip the head of and if u have any clue about engines im sure ull be able to figgure it out from there.. also after u fink uve fixed the problem get a compression check

[mini93]

did your friend get the engine new a while ago or the whole car? because if it was engine only could have been filled with oil for storage, obviously spost to remove oil when refitting the engine, this could cause somthing to blow because the fluid lock it sometimes causes, happened on my friends car doh!