engine rebuild time?

Hi all

I was on the way to cinema then arrived into the big city where lots of stopping and starting was involed. the oil temp was going up and stopped just under 100 and my temp gauge was in the middle as always. When i arrived at the cinema car park i let tickover about 1 -2 mins before turning off then the horror came i could here bubble noises then me girlfriend asked wat is was so i popped the bonnet up and the coolant had rose to almost the top of bottle and making loads of bubbles???


went and watched the film tyen walked around went back to the car phoned my dad and explained he couldnt come and collect the car so i drove it home but on start up had a bit of hesitation didnt want to go


Does this mean im in for a rebuild/headgasket?

thanks

sam
 

j0ff

Member
sounds ominous, although I did have an occasion like this when I had the water bubbling / boiling after a run and then turned the engine off. It wasn't the HG though, it was the radiator cap. The cap spring had basically disintegrated so it couldn't hold any pressure and so was letting the water boil in the engine (normally, the water in an engine is under a certain pressure when hot and so raises the boiling point of the water)

If it was HG, then you'd expect it to pressurise the water system under normal conditions (not just when it got really hot). Run the engine til hot, turn off and let it go cold, then take off the rad-cap - is there pressure when cold?
 

Fast Guy

Moderators
Staff member
Check you don't have a water leak and hence low coolant. Some leaks can be tricky to spot on the back of the engine.
 
ill have to check but ive had temp gauge problems for a while well i say temp gauge problem but it may be normal so i put new sensor on and boiled the kettle and put it in there and it only went to halfway does that sound normal i was expecting it to hit the red mark on the gauge? i have previously posted this on one off the other forums but im still paniking over it
 

j0ff

Member
In addition to my previous post...

Are you loosing water? Is there any oil in water? Any white goo on the underside of the oil filler cap? Any oil in the water?
 

j0ff

Member
ill have to check but ive had temp gauge problems for a while well i say temp gauge problem but it may be normal so i put new sensor on and boiled the kettle and put it in there and it only went to halfway does that sound normal i was expecting it to hit the red mark on the gauge? i have previously posted this on one off the other forums but im still paniking over it

Halfway, as a general rule for most cars, is around 90C.

Coolant in an engine can get above 100C without boiling because the pressure it's under raises the boiling point, so water from a kettle shouldnt necessarily mean the top of the gauge (but it should be higher than halfway)
 
i know but cant figure it out unless it was lightly over filled from the start and the fact that the engine was turned over oil would be around the engine so over night it all goes to sump and raises it slightly?
 

Mr B

Member
Check for leaks if loosing coolant & that includes looking at spark plugs for colour & checking oil cap for signs of white foam. Check electric cooling fans are working correctly (take vehicle for a run & once warmed up return & leave running stationary & see if fans cut in & out to control temp, you can also bridge temp trigger switch to evaluate further), check Rad cap, check thermostat ...
 
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