VE Cracked Head?

[VE_TAS]

Hi guys,

New to your forum, looks good. Thought I might be able to get some advice on a vehicle of mine.

Took it into a mechanic just before christmas last year to see about a heating issue. It would go up (not too far over normal), then back down. The fans were working overtime and would still be running for a minute when I turned the car off. I noticed it was going through a bit of coolant once I saw the heating issue so topped it up. Took it into mechanic who put it up on the hoist and showed me the pink radiator coolant all over the bottom of the engine etc. You can also see the coolant dried up and crusty around the hose that connects engine to radiator, and at a few other hose ends up top. Can show a photo if it's possible to upload one. There's a lot of dry coolant down the front of the engine - it's very visible.

Mechanic said it was the heads. Both sides. I took it home as he said as long as you top up the coolant it will be ok until it just dies eventually. Since then, I've driven it plenty - almost daily. Strange thing is it's now only sometimes that the coolant is leaking. I top up the coolant and it stays full for weeks - whereas before it would go through it in less then a week. It's always at operating temperature, I take it around town and out on the highway for up to an hour at a time.

I've noticed that after several weeks the coolant is still full, then all of a sudden in a day it's empty again. It's lasting a lot longer but what I want to know is how I tell if the heads really are cracked? My understanding was that the car should not have lasted since end of last year like this (atleast 6 months ago), it would have majorly overheated or there would be other incredibly obvious symptoms if that was the case?

As far as I'm aware, the mechanics did nothing but hoist it up and visually verify the coolant was leaking everywhere leaving a pink mess all over the engine and everything else. Could it be something else? Is there another issue like a hose/seal that could be causing the issue?

I do notice that the coolant seems to leak down the front of the engine, and runs underneath (perhaps giving the mechanic the impression it comes from somewhere else), from right up the top where the engine cover clips on.

Sorry for the long post and thanks in advance for any help you're able to offer.

 

[commodore665]

Is the oil a strawberry milkshake colour ,, ?? if yes then your heads are the problem , might be a water pump issue as well , if the oil is a normal colour .

 

[profat]

ok try this ...start car ..remove radiator cap and see if you get any bubbles...it sounds silly but It can be a good indicator that you require deeper investigation........if no bubbles... take the car to a radiator specialist ..natrad or the like and have them check the coolant for co2 levels.....degrease the motor check all hose clamps are tight check the heater tap ...they love to leak.... get a compression test and refill coolant and keep an eye out for any leaks that may appear

 

[commodore665]

ok try this ...start car ..remove radiator cap and see if you get any bubbles...it sounds silly but It can be a good indicator that you require deeper investigation........if no bubbles... take the car to a radiator specialist ..natrad or the like and have them check the coolant for co2 levels.....degrease the motor check all hose clamps are tight check the heater tap ...they love to leak.... get a compression test and refill coolant and keep an eye out for any leaks that may appear

Good point on the heater tap , I had one go on my VZ last year , I forgot about the bubbles in the radiator test , compression test is a good tip as well , I doubt that the issue is heads , unless the car has been completely thrashed or mis-treated .

 

[VE_TAS]

Thanks for the replies. He did say that he's never come across a VE with cracked heads, so I dunno. Said it's a rarity for this engine.

So will I start the car from cold, take off the radiator cap (not the overflow/filler cap), then look for bubbles?

Oil is fine by the way, clear as it should be. coolant on the engine looks the same pink/red colour as when I put it in.

 

[426Cuda]

More likely something simple like a hose, loose or broken clamp, or a welsh plug perhaps (assuming these engines have welsh plugs?). Add to the good suggestions above a radiator pressure test. If it's none of those and your heater core is not leaking (doubtful given the coolant at the front), then I'd suspect a blown head gasket rather than a cracked head. Compression test may or may not expose that, depending on where it's blown. If it's leaking from a water jacket to atmosphere, then the comp test may be normal Similar cost to repair, minus the cost of replacement heads.

Good luck!

 

[VYFORI]

07 VE SS L98
Could be a faulty radiator core mine was putting cooliant into the overflow bottle but not back into radiator ...
At first thought it was the cap no pressure but the core it self was faulty internally faulty.
Thought it could be a crack in the head gasket but The coolant was getting vapourated in the overflow bottle......
I could not find where the coolant was going
No leaks on ground to show me
Got a natrad and never had problem again ...
Jim tweed radiators natrad specialist ..
Rik

 

[Len.53]

VYFORI. I am having the same problem with my 07 SSV L98. Did they just replace your radiator?

 

[Smashfist]

Maybe I missed it, but 6 or 8? The V6 likes to leak from the front cover and run along the valley - it usually appears as a leak at the back (so some muppets might mistake it for a head/head gasket issue) but it has a habit of coming up in some wierd places.

 

[Al dirte]

07ve ssv
Just took it to the mec after really bad over heating issues.
Car will over heat in about 3,4 minutes of driving pop the radiator hose off.
It's leaking coolant from under the air intake, top front of engine.
The bloke recons I've done the head, I was already suspecting this but am not a mechanic so left it up to him. He only ran water through saw bubbles, I've seen no oil in water or water in oil, cars been looked after only got 120k on it. Just looking to see if you guys have got any other ideas on what it could be?