Hello,

I apologize for the length of post, but please bare with me.

Couple of weeks ago, I had the oil pressure gauge hose split on the back of the block and dump the oil all over. I was driving in town at the time. I noticed the temp rise before i noticed the oil pressure. I pulled over and there was a torrent of oil running down the road.
I got the car recovered home, and on starting it to drive it into the garage, the oil pressure was zero, and the temp was at the N on the gauge.

I took sump off and took a look at the shells, and all was well ( nice upgraded jobbies ). I put a new hose on, refreshed the oil, but now when the car warms up, the temp touches the red, oil pressure is fine.

I put a new stat in, and a new temp sender, and new coolant, but temp still touches N.
This morning I took the stat out and ran it up to temp, and it stills goes up.
Interestlingly, the temp stays just above half with the heaters on full.

Ive a nasty feeling its the head gasket, put is there anything else I could check, change before this?.

There is no mayonaise in oil or water, and the heaters are blowing hot. There is a little bit of water coming out the exhaust, and grey/white smoke even when warm.

Im really starting to tire of the constant problems, Ive done less than 50 mile since the restoration/power upgrades and the head gasket is the last standard (as far as I know ), item on the car.
I dont mind doing the gasket, but just keep thinking whats next?

Any advice on parts, obvious things Ive missed, or words of encouragement for a rapidly tiring MK4 owner will be greatly received.

Thanks for reading.

Wayne

 

So is the temp gauge going into the red?

 

Its touched red once, but its hovers mainly around the 'N' on the gauge.

 

Do you have access to a compression tester? It sounds like it could be the early signs of head gasket failure.

 

Well N is still in the normal operating temps.

What was the situation when it touched the red?

 

I dont have a compression tester, but can get a lend of one easily.
When it touched red, I had put the new stat in, bled the system, and then went for a drive. I had had come off boost, and was sitting in traffic when it happened.
I know N is still acceptable, but would rather had it just below half for my own peace of mind.
Ive only had the issues since the oil gauge problem.

Its been suggested that maybe my alloy expansion tank and Airtec readiator maybe to blame. Which I think is absurd.

 

how full is your expansion tank when the engine/coolant is cold ?

 

Its just below the full mark. And only touches top when fully warm.
Ive ran it with cap off to help bleed, and cap on, same results.

 

It should be between 1/4 and 1/2 full on an alloy expansion tank. If its already full then it can't expand and can boil which creates air and high water temps.

 

Think its worth draining some coolant off, re bleeding and seeing whats what?
Hard to judge with a alloy tank and no sight glass.

 

You say it happened in traffic, is the cooling fan cutting in?

 

I have twin Spal fans, and they are kicking in, hard to say if they coming in as normal though.
Even at idle in the garage the temp is rising, seems to take forever for the fans to kick though.

 

Also try blanking the water off from your turbo if it's that then Airtec do a "pre rad" for the turbo I've put a computer fan on mine too

 

Thank you for all the replies guys.

This mornings task is as follows;;

Im going to buy a compression tester when Halfrauds opens
Put the standard header tank back on.

If compression is down, or if car still overheats, gonna start stripping the head.
But in the meantime, Mcdonalds breakfast

Any recommendations for head gaskets?. Standard Ford. Payen or uprated jobbie? Car is running 17psi, 190bhp & 222lbft. No plans to increase power further.

CheeRS

 

Compression test results - (From timing side first), 145, 145, 145, 148. Thats a warm dry test. Ive low compression pistons ARP's etc. I know its not conclusive proof, but gotta be quite a good indication the Head Gasket is ok?

 

Standard motorcraft head gasket maybe also try waterless coolent?

 

Standard ford head gasket all the way!

Where did the temp needle sit before this incident?

Any bubbling in the header tank?

 

Temp was always below half.
Coolant never bubbled or boiled over.
Im going to order a standard Ford set on Tuesday and go from there.

 

I would be keen to know what happens here as I have the same problem with mine and cannot work it out either

 

The compression is pretty much spot on, so Ive ruled out the head gasket. Ive put the standard header tank back on, re bled the system, and its still the same. Ive recently read that the stat housing is self bleeding, and may take several days to sort itself?
Ive also learned that the different coloured temp senders have different resistance, are were matched to the clocks back in the day.
If thats the case, I need a beige/creamy coloured one instead of the new red one ive just put in.

 

Ive got the same problem with mine..wondering if its water pump related..

 

What colour, Purple is the correct one for the S2. Be careful of other colours such as blue they read a lot higher up, Near the red zone.

 

I put a red one in, the one that came out was a Beige/Cream coloured one.

Anyway of testing if the water pump is grafting?

 

you want this one:

http://shop.motorsport-developments....ender-42-p.asp

pumps aren't expensive, so change it and the belt at the same time.

 

I had this problem on my s1 and turned out to be the header tank cap

 

Car had new belt and pump about 1k ago,
Ive put a aftermarket gauge in with its own sender, and its still reading hot.

So I started mucking on, and realized the fans werent coming on, so I bridged the plug, and they fired up.

Could a knackered thermo time switch on the stat housing cause the car to run hot?

Will not having the wire for the original gauge hooked up cause any other problems?

 

Mine used to do this and it was the header tank cap as above. The pressure release valve in the cap was nackered. Only a few quid on eBay.

Lee

 

Why doesnt the S2 have a pressure release cap?

 

Have you tried to flush the cooling system at all dude
Also does it circulate well like a little swirl effect in the header tank
Could be the outlet on the thermostat housing slightly blocked

 

As I said above, It does.

Lee

 

I had this problem also got fed up with it so wired a switch from fans into car i controlled the fans any little traffic turned on straight away etc

Problem solved lol

 

Cooling system was flushed.
Cant see any swirl effect, but the top of the stat housing is spitting water out with the hose off.

Ive just put a new fan switch in to the stat housing, as I thought this could be problem, but its not made any difference.

I have two header tanks (original 90 spec, and alloy ), and two header caps ( waxstat & motorcraft ), but still very hot.

New gauge is touching 120deg at idle, with the fans still not kicking in.

Ive got the car off, ignition on fans bridged & heaters on to try to cool it down.

Im at the end now, Out of money till pay day, and patience are gone with it.

 

Are you sure the new pump is working properly? With the engine running is the top pipe into the radiator nice and hot? Sounds to me like the water is not circulating properly. Running just the fans without the engine running isn't going to achieve much as the water pump is not circulating the cool water through the engine.

I'd personally be looking at taking the pump out and seeing if it is ok.

 

Yeah all hoses are nice and hot, squeezing the hoses doesnt cause any bubbling in the header, so dont think its are lock.

Water pump is only thing left I guess.

Would any of the sensors on the back of the manifold cause over heating if not working properly.?

 

Still using the original radiator?

 

No, Ive got a Airtec alloy one that has just been put in as my top outlet snapped on the way to the dyno couple of month back. Id have thought that would of helped it run cooler.
What else controls the fan operations, as new switch is doing bugger all.
Im ready to sell it now, as it has me demented.

 

I run an airtec rad and Airtec FMIC with the fans on the FMIC.

My standard gauge sits just above "M" when cruising and the fans come on somewhere near the top of the "O".

Does sound like a water pump/circulation issue.

Lee

 

I have Airtec rad & Pro Alloy front mount, with twin Spal fans on the front of the cooler.
Ive done every suggestion on this thread bar the pump, Ive spoken to the previous owner who confirms water pump and belt was done about 700 miles ago. I have a receipt from Andrew Page to confirm this.

This is the coolant level when cold. Does it matter that the front end is up on axle stands and the back on the ground?



And this is temp, with still no fans.



Hoses & rad getting hot, water spitting from top outlet, but cant tell if there is a swirl in the header, there is movement, but not a swirl exactly.

 

Silly question ,
Are fans blowing the right way through the rad

 

They are yes. They only fit/wire one way round ( yes I have checked ).

Fans arent coming on with new switch, so something is not right with fans as well as the overheating issue.