think ive blown a head gasket

[PaRaDoX]

hey guys, engine went bang about a week ago, turned out to be a rocker was very loose, think i blew the head gasket, somethings cooking the coolant, compression is fine, tested it after i bolted the rocker back in

not blowing smoke, just cooking radiator coolant, and theres a bit of oil in the overflow tank....the overflow tank is pressurised after more than 20 mins of driving, starts to overhead after 45 mins... watchya think???

need to check thermo fan...

[fazz1977]

I'd say you have a partially blocked radiator or jammed thermostat myself. Head gasket issues are usually pretty apparent straight away.

[Tree cutter]

I would check your thermostat first. If you have blown a head gasket you would have low compression on the cylinders that it has blown on.

[PaRaDoX]

radiator seems to flow alright
gave it a hose out when i changed last coolant, water was able to leave as fast as i could put it in

somethings cooking the coolant, like no joke its bubbling when its not even 1/3 its getting DIRECT heat somewhere then pressuring and turning to steam, just gotta keep a close eye, dont wanna warp my heads

loosing coolant somewhere aswell like 1-2L per week, have to keep her topped up... but i cant find where im loosing the water, no drips of oil/water so im confused...

did a compression test didnt retest the cyclinder that i fixed after, probbly should have, all i know is it was working after i bolted the rocker back into place, engine could probbly do with some new plugs aswell,

[maginoodle]

how long since the thermostat was changed? If its not opening it will cause it to get hot because the coolant wont be circulating correctly and also cause back pressure in the radiater due to the hot water coming out the wrong way.
The water will probably be going out the overflow and onto the ground. When it starts getting hot pull up and check if you can see any water under the car. Last time i did a thermostat, thats how i found out. I went to the shop came out and saw coolant in the gutter.

[PaRaDoX]

cheers man, had the car for over a year, havnt changed it, whats the pricing on a thermostat?? isnt it located at the back of the engine or something in the s1's

[defa]

if there is oil in the water fair chance you have done a head gasket. ya don't have to have low compression to have done a head gasket. if the gasket is gone between and oil hole and a water hole that could be where ya water is going.. BUT then again. maybe it is your thermostat. i would think there would be a fair bit of water in your oil if you have done a head gasket..
one thing with series 1 vn's. when ya fill the bottle let it sit for a while. sometimes it take a while for all the air to get out. i fell inot that trap once.. couldn't work out why the car kept overheating and that was the reason..

[stockvp]

yeah check the thermostat and did you bleed the air out properly, as for the oil it may even be oil from the transmission is it auto as the trans oil cools through your radiator if thats the case just get a trans cooler mount it on the front and get heater hose and loop where the old cooler was in the radiator

[PaRaDoX]

is there anyway to check if the thermostat is dead before replacing it???

[sixshooter]

If you've got boiling water...and oil in the coolant then then I'd stop driving it untill it's all fixed...Boiling water can make the plastic tanks on the radiator fatigue and split...especially if its loosing water and creating steam in there... (I pressume your car has plastic radiator ends)... rip the heads off and get them tested forcracks and warping for starters...then replace gaskets as necessary...keep driving it and you'll surely do more damage to the engine.

[PaRaDoX]

If you've got boiling water...and oil in the coolant then then I'd stop driving it untill it's all fixed...Boiling water can make the plastic tanks on the radiator fatigue and split...especially if its loosing water and creating steam in there... (I pressume your car has plastic radiator ends)... rip the heads off and get them tested forcracks and warping for starters...then replace gaskets as necessary...keep driving it and you'll surely do more damage to the engine.

its very odd, it dosnt do it alot, i have a spare set of heads here (200,000km) that are in GOOD condition, im gonna be slapping them on as soon as they're ported, the coolant is leaking from somewhere, gotta find out where yet

oil in the coolant isnt %100, i havnt had a decant look yet, havnt had the time to be honost someone said if it had oil in there it'd have heaps and i dont think it has...

maybe my thermo stat is dead or ive got a leak somewhere maybe in my radiator, ill have to find out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!