Can I prevent the supposedly inevitable?
Regarding my thread the other day about the coolant leak that did end up being the water pump....
The mechanic has given me the car back with instructions to keep an eye on the coolant levels and to watch the temp for overheating and also keep an eye on the hoses as one might blow out. The reason is that there is a lot of pressure in my hoses when the car is running. He thinks it is a sign the headgasket is about to blow. I checked my hoses when I got the car home and they were very very firm,and I still have the coolant seeping at the end of the heater hose, but I dont seem to have lost coolant and the temp gauge didnt even move til I got off the highway and nearly home. (He put a new thermostat in as well). The temp gauge moved quicker today though but not over half as always.
Is there any way around the headgasket going? Is there something can be fixed to reverse the high pressure thats going on at the moment? Or is it just a matter of waiting for the inevitable to happen? I always go along with prevention is better than cure, but Ive had everything fixed so far thats come up.
Auto Elec
Boost around with no radiator cap on
Then the coolant will be pushing up out of there??
on boost
he was joking mate. have your tried taking the car to another mechanic? and have them check it over.Originally Posted by RK5TAR
Rick =]
Coolant seeping out of the end of a hose = ####ed clamp or the clamp has dug into the rubber so much that its cut it...... change it...
I'd say replace every hose and clamp for insurance...
To me leaking hoses shouldn't be a sign of a head gasket issue, more likely to be a worn hose issue. Id replace all hoses, its cheap and easy and make sure the coolant is properly bled with the heater on.
Tells it like it is.
Should be easy to check if the head gaskit is weeping a bit. If your coolant pressure is too high due to head gaskit about to fail - it already has - gas is being pumped into the cooling system. Put a probe in the coolant and check for carbon monoxide (zorst gas). If the levels are high then the damage is done. If they are normal then perhaps look for something else. Your mechanic should know how to do this.
Reaper
Thanks heaps for all the advice guys. The pressure build up in the hoses is why he suspects a gasket.
I will definitely look at replacing the heater hose clamp. Most of my hoses were replaced along with the radiator,thermostat and heater tap only three months ago when I blew the radiator. The radiator specialist did a compression test? etc to check in case the radiator was just the symptom of a bigger problem. Thats how he found random leaks in hoses and replaced them and some clamps etc. I checked the temp after a drive on the hwy and being stuck in traffic and it was 98 degrees and the temp gauge was between quarter and half. Im just worn out with it. Ive repplaced pretty much everything between my tyre rubber and the shell to get it up to roadworthy. All I had left I wanted to do was a sports exhaust and the air con. This is putting those things further away grrr. Sorry for the whinge, I just want to enjoy my damn car.
on boost
well mate your car is getting close to being 12-13 years old now, be prepared for wear and tear.
hmm have you replaced your temp sensor during all of this?
Jarryd
Replace the head gasket now before it warps the head!!! You are probably going to be a very lucky person because the gasket has most likely gone without warping the head, of course to be sure you will most likely have to take it to the engineers (or your mechanic will) to make sure it is dead flat.
Pretty much: act now before the cost blows out... or sell the car and it will be someone else's problem, I'd go with the first one
Im going to keep the car regardless. Ive put too much into it to get rid of it and buy another car with another set of problems.
Dan I want to replace the temp sensor. I havent checked my book yet on how to do it, but how easy is it to do and where is it located? Bearing in mind I have a pile of lpg hoses and what not in my way and have avoided changing my rocker gaskets so far due to this.
Turbo L98 FTW
Have you replaced the radiator cap?
on boost
temp sensor is like just under/to the side of your thermostat housing.
The radiator cap is a new one. But I might replace that seeing as its had 2 thermostats in 3 months anyway.
This temp sensor, is it just something that unplugs and plug a new one in or is wiring involved?
on boost
have you tested to see if the thermostats aren't faulty with the hot water test?
nah mate you need to drop you coolant etc.
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