Cooling system testing

[Deleted]

I was concerned about loss of coolant and suspected the engine. I borrowed a pressure tester and took the system up to 15lbs. There was a hiss of water under the car, a gentle push caused the leaking pipe to part company with the downpipe.
The moral is to check things now rather than leaving it to the AA and tow trucks on the M6. If you only use the car in the summer then it might be better to blank off the rear heater hoses.

[Deleted]

Mine is defo the head gasket. Water rises in rad as revs increase then lots of small bubbles appear in a milky broth. Water is expelled then from the overflow pipe. I intend to do it myself with help and as long as it is ready by my mate's wedding in August I will be happy as I am not giving any more money to mechanics etc.

[johnwp5bcoupe]

You have to give all these old girls a bit of time and well spotted humphrey I think the only thing I would shy away from would be the auto box all the rest is just time and patients

[Deleted]

Actually, the auto box (BW35) is not too bad. I fixed a no change to 3rd situation by changing the servo seal from underneath the car.

[Phil Nottingham]

Before you pull the heads check manifold vent pie is not partially blocked as this gives all the symtoms of head gasket failure. Many a perfectly good pair of geskets have been lost because of failure to check this overlooked and unknown item!

[harvey]

I'd be interested to know which servo cured a top gear fault, because if memory serves me correctly, the servos only operate the bands, and the bands are only in use in reverse, first and second gear. In fact top gear is the only gear not to use either of the bands,but does use both of the clutches.
If the rear band servo is faulty you will lose reverse, and the front band not working usually show itself when you lose second gear.

[Deleted]

It was a long time ago. Anyway, it was the larger one of the two and it fixed it. I dont know how many gears there are anyway.

[Deleted]

philnottingham said:

Before you pull the heads check manifold vent pie is not partially blocked as this gives all the symtoms of head gasket failure. Many a perfectly good pair of geskets have been lost because of failure to check this overlooked and unknown item!

Dont know where the manifold vent pipe is. There is a pipe without attachment emerging from near where the oil dipstick sits. But a vent pipe wouldnt make the coolant fizz with white bubbles when the engine is revved. It is the gasket Im sure

[Phil Nottingham]

On the contrary it could well do this - USE SEARCH but the vent pipe is a small bore rubber tube running from the middle of the manifold bridge to the top of the rad. The metal take off in teh manifols corrodes and blocks it fully or partially or the rubber tube collapses