Head Skimming...

[bernmc]

Stepson appears to have cooked his little pug 106 - "making a funny smell and the temp light keeps coming on" :thinking:. I bled the cooling sytem the other day, but it continues to gobble up water.

Took the tappet cover off today, but couldn't find any white sludge... so not too sure what's going on.

Will do a compression test as soon as I can get a hold of a tester.

Anything else I can do to check? Worth trying replacing the head gasket etc and hoping for the best, or should I just get the head skimmed while I have it off anyway?

Anyone know what a skim is likely to cost in Rip Off Brittain...?

Children :|

[stevec205gti]

I got my 205 head skimmed for about 35 quid at a local machine shop recommended to me by my MOT place.

I did all the hard work of stripping the head down first which made things cheap

[tig202]

Bern, look at getting the head pressure tested whilst its off. It might be only the head gasket that has blown but its allways wise to err on the side of caution:thinking:

[psbarham]

bern , i have a compression tester and a valve spring compressor if you need it

[bernmc]

bern , i have a compression tester and a valve spring compressor if you need it

I do, but you're a long way away! Must bring the VR4 and a sack full of lash adjusters to visit soon though....

Should be able to get them cheep from in-laws toolshop though.

I'll have to try phoning around 2morrow to see who can skim/test heads locally.

[stuartturbo]

At work when we did the machining i lapped mine cannot get better than that.
Local engineering firms are the best bet to try and as said speak to a couple of proper old skool garages not the new diagnostics and service type place

[psbarham]

I do, but you're a long way away! Must bring the VR4 and a sack full of lash adjusters to visit soon though....

Should be able to get them cheep from in-laws toolshop though.

I'll have to try phoning around 2morrow to see who can skim/test heads locally.
well theres just no pleasing some people is there ???:bigcry:

[Wodjno]

well theres just no pleasing some people is there ???:bigcry:

You could always Box it Up and Post it ?? And Bern covers the cost :thinking:

[Nick Mann]

I also have a compression tester and valve spring compressor. Not going to be much help apart from that, though.

I assume there is no other way that the water is getting out? It's not a cooling problem leading to water boil off, or a small leak from a hose somewhere?

[Wodjno]

I have my Head Skimmed Twice a week :D

[bernmc]

Funny guys... NOT! I'm going to go through the cooling system this w/end to check, but I suspect that at the very least the gasket has gone...

[Wodjno]

You could always Box it Up and Post it ?? And Bern covers the cost :thinking:

I was being serious :inquisiti

[bernmc]

I was being serious :inquisiti

I was talking about the 2nd post :inquisiti:inquisiti:inquisiti!

The price I get tools for, It'll be little more than the postage. Just have to endure asking the ****ing sister-in-law to get them for me :|:|:|

[amsoil]

Bern you can get a test kit (no not from me but its a thought) which goes on where the filler cap is. You then put in a special fluid and run the car; if the fluid changes colour from the effect of exhaust going through it you have your answer.
Think Sykes Pickavant do one.
If not another thought is that some cars now have plastic water pump impellers which break or drop off. Seen it a feww times on BMW's and the like.

[psbarham]

If not another thought is that some cars now have plastic water pump impellers which break or drop off. Seen it a feww times on BMW's and the like.
all the pug lumps i have worked on (quite a few:thinking: ) have had a metal water pump . unfortunatly with these its a common problem and even once the heads been skimmed 75% of them will do it again within a year /Grrr . theres something about these engines that doesn't like being disturbed . once they've been apart they rairly work 100% again /pan

[bernmc]

Seem to remember some bloke using one of those test kits on my XJR when I sold it. Will look into it.

Stepson hasn;t been around this w/end, so the thing is either behaving, or he's cooking the **** out of it!

[Eurospec]

A few good tips to tell if the CHG is gone:-

Make sure cooling system is topped up to normal (not over full) levels then:-

Drive about till car reaches normal temperature. Stop open bonnet. Check if top hose is rock hard.

Check if whilst cooling fans are on and temp guage in normal position, water is being ejected from expansion bottle overflow.

Grab a tester kit as Don suggested or change coolant to 4 life disclosing coolant from demon tweeks. Either will turn colour if combustion gasses are present in the coolant.

Rare to see in modern engines, but check for mayonaise in the rocker cover.

We dont realy work ever on pugs or anything european really, but as i recall from years ago, the pugs seemed to warp the head. You could skim it, but as the warp is already in there it just continued going after the skim.

A skim and pressure test is not a bank breaker at all, and your local engineering shop should be able to help you with it.

Cheers,

Ben.

[bernmc]

Ta Ben.

Car has behaved this last week, so we'ree keeping an eye on things for now...

If it starts again, I'll run through the list.