Maestro Turbo Head Gasket (gone?)

[John S]

Hi,

Another query about my wretched cars:- :)

On my Maestro Turbo steam escapes from the expansion tank and it gradually loses coolant. Is this the head gasket that has gone or could the breathers be severely blocked? I also find that the coolant is a rust colour.

John

[Roperman]

as long as it doesnt overheat, it looks like a knackered expansion tank cap. about £2 from halfrauds etc. or if your really cheap get one from a scrapyard, most rover ones are the same.

change the coolant! rust is from inside your engine/radiator, and will block it if your not careful.

[B18 GPC]

Hi,

Another query about my wretched cars:- :)

On my Maestro Turbo steam escapes from the expansion tank and it gradually loses coolant. Is this the head gasket that has gone or could the breathers be severely blocked? I also find that the coolant is a rust colour.

John


the rust is most likely oily geting in somewhere , although not always the case.

a carbon monoxide test could be dont cheeply , at a local garage i would think..

{Open expansion bottle , but squeezy watsis on , fill it which ble chemical , start up , idle , squeeze the squeezy watsis.. watch it go green if the h/gaskets gone}

[Austin-Rover]

the rust is most likely oily geting in somewhere , although not always the case.

a carbon monoxide test could be dont cheeply , at a local garage i would think..

{Open expansion bottle , but squeezy watsis on , fill it which ble chemical , start up , idle , squeeze the squeezy watsis.. watch it go green if the h/gaskets gone}


What? Squeezy watsits?

Stop trying to type how you would talk, it usually doesn't work! People would understand you better if you wrote properly.

[Roperman]

i dont see much to indicate the head gasket, unless the rust stuff just sits on top of your coolant, and looks like oil.

when i got my metro it was as brown as a cup of tea, but a flush and refill sorted that. my expansion cap also went, and steam slowly came out when it was warm till i got a new one. didnt look to be anything wrong with it, but its hard to tell with the valve as you cant really see it.

changing the cap will probably be the cheapest thing out of the lot, and if it stops you know why.

[MaestroTurbo]

Hi,

Another query about my wretched cars:- :)

On my Maestro Turbo steam escapes from the expansion tank and it gradually loses coolant. Is this the head gasket that has gone or could the breathers be severely blocked? I also find that the coolant is a rust colour.

John


Rust coloured coolant indicates corrosion, which could also mean the head and the head gasket may have suffered affecting the water galleries and allowing combustion pressure past, pressurising the hoses and blowing water out. However losing water could quite easily be a leaking core plug or water pump. Without driving it you cannot condem the head gasket yet.

[e692wtt]

Graham means some sort of chemical test, I suspect - but a cheaper alternative would be to take the car to a friendly MoT station and ask them to put their exhaust emissions 'probe' in the expansion tank (but not in the water), where any hydrocarbon emissions from the cylinders to the waterways will show up - and if there are HC Emissions from the expansion tank then the head gasket has departed this world :( .

Anyway, you've not reported that the coolant hoses are 'rock hard' before the engine has warmed up (they go hard pretty quickly if the head gasket has failed, usually in less than a minute), so all is not yet lost :) .

[B18 GPC]

Graham means some sort of chemical test, I suspect . = Correct..


but a cheaper alternative would be to take the car to a friendly MoT station and ask them to put their exhaust emissions 'probe' in the expansion tank (but not in the water) .

i know what im doing on monday if were quiet.. could be fun explaining to the ministry what ive done..