Joining the HGF club.

[jgbff7]

Last week I had to drive into Southampton. There are extensive roadworks at Redbridge (again; thank goodness I no longer have to commute that way) and the traffic was slow. But the car was running beautifully (s2 70000 miles). I noticed the temperature rising but was not too worried as I waited for the fans to cut in.

Then there was a bang and a lot of steam out of the nearside. I pulled over to find the yellow pressure cap had been blown off the header tank.

I managed to get home (long story; many stops for cooling down and kind help from a car wash place to get some water in a container for me. Yes, I was very cautious to avoid a thermal shock). I thought the timing could be better as the car was booked in for its MOT yesterday, but I cleaned it up and the car passed. (PMN rear calipers really helped.)

Today I did a pressure test on the cooling system and found a drip from a hose just under the thermostat. Strangely the jubilee would not tighten any further.

Then a compression test (I do not have the facilities for a leakdown test). And, yes, the figures confirmed my fears, 165 135 135 165. I immediately SORNd the car.

I have just finished reading Saltaire's long thread which is brimming with good advice. I do not have the facilities to remove the engine; I have to work in the garden.

So I am off on a voyage of discovery. It must be 40 years since I did the heads on my Daimler Dart, but here we go......If you are near Pennington, Lymington, do drop by. I shall need some moral support.

John

[Rusty Wishbone]

Sorry to hear that you have got HGF. Sending you my moral support from afar. Please do share your experiences, and if (when) things don't go to plan, we are always here to root for you and give well-meaning but wrong advice as to what you should do next.

[Rambo]

Ahhhhh, the yellow cap rears its ugly head again

viewtopic.php?f=134&t=29687

[Tuga2112]

i have done my HG many years ago. althought what today would probably be a 2-3 day job back then was more than a whole week.
i removed the intake plenum as part of my job. and looking back. i would do it again even tho i have been told you dont need to remove it. but certainly makes the head coming out a much easier job.
access to all the bits was the most challenging part. and obviously the allen key cut bit is really an essential part of the job

[jgbff7]

DSC01812_2_900x675.jpg

I have started work to replace the head gasket. The exhaust manifold is now free and I must turn to the bits behind the plenum. I must say how grateful I am to Chris Day who has visited me three times to point me in the right direction. Without him I could not have started such a daunting job.

It is clear that my car has a history of overheating of which I was unaware. The thermostat has been doctored and there is a bit of mastic/gasket trapped in it. There is evidence of red hermatite in bodged work. There is even red mastic round the exhaust manifold.

My concern is to know the reason for the original overheating. I may know more when the head is off but at the moment I am considering replacing the radiator with an aluminium one. After all, I am saving a fortune doing the job myself. Just as well I do not go to work any more.

I shall keep you posted.

John

[jgbff7]

This is the exhaust manifold.

[Saltire]

DSC01812_2_900x675.jpg

I have started work to replace the head gasket. The exhaust manifold is now free and I must turn to the bits behind the plenum. I must say how grateful I am to Chris Day who has visited me three times to point me in the right direction. Without him I could not have started such a daunting job.

It is clear that my car has a history of overheating of which I was unaware. The thermostat has been doctored and there is a bit of mastic/gasket trapped in it. There is evidence of red hermatite in bodged work. There is even red mastic round the exhaust manifold.

My concern is to know the reason for the original overheating. I may know more when the head is off but at the moment I am considering replacing the radiator with an aluminium one. After all, I am saving a fortune doing the job myself. Just as well I do not go to work any more.

I shall keep you posted.

John

My rebuild thread has a picture showing the state of my original radiator. I went down the Cool Experts route and haven’t had a problem since. I know some others have also used a thermostat with a slightly different operating temperature, but I’ve not found the need for that as yet

[Tuga2112]

be wary of coolex radiators.

i have received one from them which the top spigots did not line up with the car. after checking with a spare that came out of my blue car. is confirmed there was 2 radiators with the correct spigot distance. HOWEVER after contacting coolex explaining the issue and sendimg mutiple pictures with the radiators and the metric tape they still were adamant that BOTH MY CARS where not "standard" and their radiator was made to fit all elans.

unfortunately. there is no option. and they know that. (dont you love when a single supplier monopolises the market ?) meaning i had no choice but to file the holes in my chassis 2.5mm outwards in each side in order to install the coolex unit.

as far as HG replacement. what i found most challenging from the whole task was to remove the intake plenum. and in fact. i had to do that again just a few months ago. and even tho it was done in the past. its still the hardest job i ever done in the elan.. even when i did it the second time. all i can say is good luck.

[jgbff7]

This is a photo of the thermostat housing.

Coming out of the top of it is a small pipe (next to the sensor).

I took the rubber pipe off and the metal pipe is blocked. Inside the housing there is what looks like a tiny hole leading to the pipe but that too is blocked.

On the SJS website the housing is shown as obsolete.

Two questions. Am I right that there should be a passageway through the pipe to the housing? And secondly is there an alternative source for a new housing?

Many thanks.

John

[Simon_P]

That's looking pretty rough inside before you go too much further consider using a cooling system cleaner so that you can clean the waterways - you don't want to be doing that with a new radiator. The next aluminium housing comes off with a couple of bolts.

No the thermostat housing isn't available.

[Tuga2112]

not sure if its of help, but maybe you can freeze frame to check what mine looks like at some point.

sadly for the location it is. its very dificult to film and light up properly but its something that *may* be of help

[jgbff7]

DSC01827.jpg

Not straightforward.

No sign of HGF

J

[muley]

Hmmm. It might be worth looking for cracks in the combustion chambers. I've seen two Elan cylinder heads with cracks


Just a thought