Water loss wifes car - HGF? Part 2

[Simon.h]

Hi all,

Following part 1 http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=92791

Ive notice today that theres a like foam residue left on the inside the expansion bottle and also some whites bits floating inthe coolant.
I did remove the bottle and give it a good clean about 4 weeks ago!

Theres the residue inside bottle-
http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx85/simonhouse06/MGZT190027.jpg

http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx85/simonhouse06/MGZT190025.jpg

And items floating in coolant-
http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx85/simonhouse06/MGZT190023.jpg


What do you think?

[kaiser]

Well, somebody put something in it, in it?


There is no photo of the oil filler cap, the inside of the oil filler cap!

[Simon.h]

Well, somebody put something in it, in it?


No! removed bottle and cleaned it out 4 weeks ago, then topped back up with coolant and been topping up every weekend!

[psicobra]

that doesn't look good but the V6's aren't as prone to HGF as the 1.8's i believe but i dont know what else it could be

[chrissyboy]

thats rad seal floating about in the bottle ....

[Simon.h]

that doesn't look good but the V6's aren't as prone to HGF as the 1.8's i believe but i dont know what else it could be


Its not my ZT! Its the wifes Rover Streetwise which is is the same engine as the 1.8s.

[Simon.h]

So it looks like the last owner put Steel Seal or rad seal in it.

Well it looks like its had/got the start of HGF!

[chrissyboy]

set engine to tdc remove a plug and blow air in, look at the header tank to see if any bubbles appear .....also you could do a compression test to see how much compression the engine has ,,i myself would drain and flush the system and bleed it well and see what happens from there ... it may be just the remains from a previous owner that had work done on car and the system was never flushed ... failing that take it to a garage that can do a smoke test to determine the state of the head gasket ...

[Simon.h]

Im waiting for the wife to get home, then im going to do a compression test and will try your 'blow air in, look at the header tank to see if any bubbles appear' test.

I drained all the coolant out and flushed it in Dec last year.

How do you do a smoke test?

It useing about half a litre of water per week/300 miles and has been from Nov last year. It still runs fine!

[chrissyboy]

smoke test ..... remove plugs and place the hose from the smoke machine in place of the plug ,turn on smoke machine and if the gaskethas gone smoke will appear around where the gasket is suppose to be sealed atthe head ,or the smoke may come from a cylinder provin g the gasket has lifted between cylinders ,.........if you are having to top up that amount and you cant see any leaks ,then if the gasket had gone you should be seeing steam from the exhaust ,as you disturbed the system by flushing it and changing the coolant i would be of the opinion that by doing so you have disturbed what i beleive to be rad weld in the system so bits are now moving around the system ....

[Simon.h]

Cheers chrissyboy,

Just done a compression test-
No 1 - 12 bar,172 psi
no 2 - 12.2 bar,178 psi
no 3 - 11.9 bar, 170 psi
no 4 - 12 bar, 172 psi

I dont think these reading are bad for a 90k engine!

Also just been over engine again to check for leaks-all fine

The cars done 52 miles today and the coolant has dropped about 15mm below the max mark!

The thing is with no leaks, compression test ok, no stream from exhaust (maybe because it runs on lpg) it just does not look like HGF!

[Simon.h]

Ive just looked at the dipstick and the oil just looks black!

Also the coolant has lost it pink/red colour and starting to look brown/rustly.

[chrissyboy]

Ive just looked at the dipstick and the oil just looks black!

Also the coolant has lost it pink/red colour and starting to look brown/rustly.

you got a dirty coolng system by the sounds of it ,flush it through but do it in a awy that the ad is seprate from the engine... let water run through engine with hoses disconnected from the rad ,then flush the rad ,your see why i say this ;) have a good look at the header tank it could have a split so thats where your losing the coolant ,had this on my step daughters ka the garage her boyfriend took it too told her it was hgf :mad: ,i took the car round there and showed hem the split in the header tank and told them to go toa place to learn about cars lol..... £10 sorted that ..... your compression readings look ok and the lower readings are within 10% of the highest so i would be happy there.. oh and also dont forget about the header tank cap

[Simon.h]

I will do all at the week end!

May also drain the oil just to check it.

Thanks alot chrissyboy.

[Simon.h]

One thing i noticed, then i undid the cap on the header tank (10mins after a hour drive) there was next to no pressure!

[Simon.h]

Hi all,

Well its been 3hrs from then the wife got home, so checked water, its needed half a litre and found some mayo on oil filer cap, looked inside engine more mayo and check dipstick- a bit of mayo around the top!

So it looks like the water loss of half a litre per week for the last 6mths must of just going into the cylinders and thats why the rear exhuast box was rotted from inside out and in the last day water loss is now half a litre per day and now showing in the oil!

So HGF it must be!"