ABZshire head gasket repair needed!

[tut]

Get it now, never mind the future. Only costs £65 and you can have up to 5 x £500 claims per year

You can not claim for the first 14 days, but it will probably be that long before you diagnose it as a definite HGF if that is the cause.

tut

[s29ttc]

I did mention this at the BBQ .........go for it

That reminds me I need to get myself signed up

[Gourlay83]

What kind of cost are we talking about for a head gasket repair? Going to flush the system (cheers Alan!) first to ensure there isn't just an airlock or something going on.....no doubt it will be head gasket though but worth a try before the cost begins

No he's not.

Bleed the system and fit a new cap, pay attention Andy.

Before you start any expensive repair work better cover all the other options first, It might have just been a simple air lock. I good bleed and a new cap (I have one) and see how it goes.

No cost/No Harm

Alan

[andyc]

AA cover bought for Elise. I will use my RAC cover for the other family cars. I am hoping it is not HGF but I'm sure the AA membership with parts and labour will come in handy sometime regardless.

[tut]

Well done, anybody else reading that does not have the cover, maybe a good reminder.

tut

[andyc]

Bleed the system, flush the systern, drain it, pee in it.....lets just cross our fingers it works.
Good job I know technical folks like you Alan

[Baggy]

another vote for Ricky Gauld

have you got a prrt fitted.... now might be a good time.
Elise parts now sell tailor made hose sets to fit the landrover grey stat.

Depending on what has been changed lately you might want to change your timing belt/tensioner and possibly your water pump while you have the belts off and coolant drained.

[andyc]

prrt?

[Mikie711]

It is a way of relocating the thermostat to help alleviate the K series problem with thermal shock.

In the photo it's the gray housing with the three hoses coming of it. Mine is the PTP one but elise parts do the same thing, think the PTP ones a bit cheaper.

The idea behind it that by controlling the engine temp this way you get a more even coolant temperature across the engine. Because of where the thermostat is normally the engine experiences quite wide temperature variations which can lead to HGF. Robin will be able to explain it better but if you look around the forums you'll find that 90% fit one after HGF repairs to try and help prevent any re-occurrence.

[andyc]

Car now booked in with Ricky Gauld. PRRT kit getting added also. Reckons water pump etc should be ok due to mileage of car. Will know whether to skim head once he sees it. Should get car back the following Saturday....Happy Days

[andyc]

Got the car back from Ricky Gauld yesterday in Huntly. Drove to Forres to do some visiting. The temp seemed to go between 88 and 94 degrees. went up to 97 when stopped at a junction. When I stopped in Tesco car park in Elgin I left the car running and the temp went up to 102...then 104 fan had kicked in and the temp started going back down. Drove back to Inverurie today via Grantown and the Lecht. Temp was fine mainly sitting around the normal 91.
I ended up not getting the prrt fitted as it would have been another £240 plus fitting cost on top of the £575 it cost me! head didn't beed skimmed but belt and belt tensioner were replaced.
Will cross my fingers car will be fine now. Going to drive it as much as I can this week and keep an eye on the temp!

[alicrozier]

The temp seemed to go between 88 and 94 degrees. went up to 97 when stopped at a junction. When I stopped in Tesco car park in Elgin I left the car running and the temp went up to 102...then 104 fan had kicked in and the temp started going back down. Drove back to Inverurie today via Grantown and the Lecht. Temp was fine mainly sitting around the normal 91.

Those temps are all normal.
It should stay pretty steady if you are moving at 50-70mph - 88 deg?
Expect temp to go up if you slow down in town/traffic/junctions as there is no airflow past the radiator to give you cooling. Sitting stationary as you described it should go up until the fan kicks in (giving you airflow past the rad again, hence cooling).

To reiterate, temps you describe are all perfectly normal, you don't need to worry unless it goes up while you're moving. As I mentioned before, if you want to test it you'll need to be on full load/throttle. Long uphill drag is ideal...

[andyc]

Cheers for the advice/confirmation all is ok