blown head gasket or water pump ?

[crazywest]

hey guys, been having some issues with the stag. the temp gauge is going right into the red and with bonnet open the engine looks very hot, now we suspected the head gasket had blown but now we are not sure. the car starts up and ticks over lovely really, radiator does get hot so is it a blockage in the rad maybe ( flushing rad sunday to make sure ) but now we feel maybe its the water pump. the reconditioned one was fitted in 2010 and blow with 2 years, the new one we had fitted was also a reconditioned water pump fitted back in january so maybe its gone wrong again, and maybe i should of just bought a nice new one from rimmer bros.

so what do you guys think ? thanks for any help

[V Mad]

Did the problem happen suddenly or gradually. Are you sure its really overheating or could it be a problem with the gauge? You can't really tell just by looking. Maybe the earth is not making contact on the voltage stabiliser (if that happens the fuel gauge usually overreads too).

Radiators do get hot anyway, but they need to be hot all over. But they only get clogged up over a long period of time.

Nothing necessarily wrong with fitting a recon water pump, you can't get new anyway. The only way the pump can cause overheating though is if the impeller has stopped turning. Is coolant being circulated around (look in the filler cap).

[stag-phil]

Hi

Hopefully it is something simple such as a stuck thermostat or air in the system.

How long does it take before the gauge hits red?

First check is to make sure that the thermostat opens by feeling the top hose.

Phil

[crazywest]

i'd say suddenly one day went to the post office and temp just kept going up and up to red. happened a few days before that too. checking if coolant is actually circulating checking filler cap now bare with me cheers


stag-phil hi, thermostat is removed and it hits red quite quickly within 10 minutes

[V Mad]

checking if coolant is actually circulating checking filler cap now bare with me cheers


stag-phil hi, thermostat is removed and it hits red quite quickly within 10 minutes

When you remove filler cap on rad, you need to rev the engine to see if coolant is flowing.

[crazywest]

where my car has been sitting for 2 weeks the battery is flat and needs a jump, i'll still sort this out sunday so i'll double check the coolant flow, may i ask in the event no coolant is flowing is that a sign the water pump is broken.

[GDPR]

If it is a mk2, removal of the thermostat will seriously affect coolant circulation - there is a foot on the thermostat that shuts off a bypass port in the manifold -; best to substitute with a new stat rather than remove.
Surprised the other experts didn't pick up on this...

Bought my first Dolomite 1850 dirt cheap for this reason - thermostat failed, the owner removed and the overheating got worse so he assumed the engine was scrap and sold me the car for a quarter of its value. He told me what he had done, so I just chucked a new stat in and it was as good as gold after.

Russ

[crazywest]

If it is a mk2, removal of the thermostat will seriously affect coolant circulation - there is a foot on the thermostat that shuts off a bypass port in the manifold -; best to substitute with a new stat rather than remove.
Surprised the other experts didn't pick up on this...

Bought my first Dolomite 1850 dirt cheap for this reason - thermostat failed, the owner removed and the overheating got worse so he assumed the engine was scrap and sold me the car for a quarter of its value. He told me what he had done, so I just chucked a new stat in and it was as good as gold after.

Russ

the stat was working before hand so its unlikely this was the problem was removed when a screw thread needed refitting and we took it off cause we believed a dodgy stat may of been causing the problems but like I've said in early post the problem continues but i'll do my checks sunday flush rad, check flowing coolant etc

[crazywest]

either way its a blown gasket or water pump will get it fixed just try to work out what it is my self

[jleyton]

Sorry to hear of your problems. Where do you live as there may be someone on here who lives nearby and could give you a second opinion. Just a couple of thoughts/questions:

Is the cooling system pressurizing ?

You can get a block tester to check if exhaust gases are getting in to the coolant.

Definitely fit a thermostat, as Russ has said.

Good luck.

Cheers

Julian