supercharged V6 overheating??

[lilkel]

hi, a friend of mine has a supercharged VX calais and was driving home the other night and it started beeping and when she looked at the temp gauge it was up on high but it dropped straight back down again and was fine for a few days then did it again and dropped then was fine for a few hourd the skyrocketed and didn't drop she was only around the corner from home so kept going and when she got home realised there was a big hole in the radiator. the problem is now there is oil in the radiator is there any chance it could be something other than the head or headgasket??? i got a quote from the local mechanic on a headgasket just incase and they want a minimum of $1600 but he said more than likely more...also the car has about 280,000k's on it!

[deanos70]

the only other way i could think of oil getting in the radiator is the transmission cooler , other than the obvious head gasket

[lilkel]

i thought that to but apparently if it was the trans cooler the oil in the water would be a redish colour and it's a milky colour!!! it's probably not looking good for her????

[accentstencil]

i thought that to but apparently if it was the trans cooler the oil in the water would be a redish colour and it's a milky colour!!! it's probably not looking good for her????

It doesn't look good. The only advice I can offer is, don't go back to the guy who quoted $1600. You can get a second hand motor with less kilometers for less than half of that.
An expensive lesson learned, don't keep driving a car that is overheating.

[lilkel]

he reckons if it wasn't supercharged she's get out of it for under $500 but says that majority of the time they crack the head and that it costs a fortune for the supercharged heads???? does that sound right to anyone????

[Commydoor]

Sounds like a good excuse for a ground up rebuild lol. Isnt that how it all starts.

[accentstencil]

It doesn't look good. The only advice I can offer is, don't go back to the guy who quoted $1600. You can get a second hand motor with less kilometers for less than half of that.
An expensive lesson learned, don't keep driving a car that is overheating.

I forgot it is supercharged so it will be a bit more expensive, but I think $1600 is still too much if it is the heads.

[chargedvx6]

$1500 is about right for v6 head reco and gaskets. 2 heads= more labour than the straight ford motor and hyundai l4s which are the most common head gasket customers.

If the radiator is empty and the car was driven for a while it will most likely be the heads + sludgy oil throughout the engine oil galleries.

[lilkel]

$1500 is about right for v6 head reco and gaskets. 2 heads= more labour than the straight ford motor and hyundai l4s which are the most common head gasket customers.

If the radiator is empty and the car was driven for a while it will most likely be the heads + sludgy oil throughout the engine oil galleries.

when you say $1500 for the heads is that supercharged heads or normal???????

[chargedvx6]

Supercharged and Ecotec heads are identical except for one thing. The supercharged heads have injector holes cut into the head whereas the Ecotec heads don't. Everything else is the same. You can buy a set of Supercharged heads from a wreckers complete for $300. Labour is what costs for that job.

[brad_m_is]

i wouldnt be going straight for the head gasket its more likely just the inlet manifold gaskets. the v6 motors rarely blow head gaskets

[lilkel]

we don't want to drive it how it is and make it any worse whats the best way to check if it's the inlet gasket do i just see if theres water coming from anywhere around there???

[lilkel]

Supercharged and Ecotec heads are identical except for one thing. The supercharged heads have injector holes cut into the head whereas the Ecotec heads don't. Everything else is the same. You can buy a set of Supercharged heads from a wreckers complete for $300. Labour is what costs for that job.

i was told that the supercharged heads were shorter were they just bull****ting me???