4.6 problems? using water

Ive got a 4.6 hse which is using water. Ive pressurised the system and nothing is visible. Ive done a sniffer test and all seems to be good with that. Its using a header tank full in approx 300 miles but it never ever shows any sign of over heating. It runs half way all the time once upto temp.
If i have it running on petrol it does smoke quite badly (white smoke) but if i switch it to gas then very minimal?
It has a slight misfire on one cylinder but it not really noticable when driving only at idle.
Now another thing it has developed is a ticking noise from under the intake manifold. Im thinking tappet but im not sure. From the small amount that i can see of it, the inlet manifold gasket looks to be in bad condition, is this a common fault for bad running on these?
Ive seen a product on ebay called 'irontite' which they say coats the cooling system with a ceramic layer which seals a pouruos block or any small cracks. Anyone used this? and if so any good? im just wondering if i should try it as the water must be going somewhere.
Sorry for going on but i would like to get her sorted as its a lovely motor and ive always wanted one. I also dont like giving up on cars but i really dont have loads of time.
Cheers in advance

is there any sign of water in oil?

look around water pipes and rad for any water or white 'scale', this could indicate a water leak.

are the foot wells dry?

if you suspect the cab heater just bypass it at the bulkhead with a bit of 22mm copper pipe and two jubilee clips , register/mark the coolant level on the header and take it for a run.

i get white smoke from mine but its condensation as the outside temp is very low. it doesn't 'smoke' when revving/underload/driving but does when stood at lights/in traffic.

the tappets are hydraulic and self adjusting, mine also 'ticks' a little and i'm told its noting to worry about. was advised to put some injector cleaner in and it should help it.

No signs of water in the oil at all, the heater has already been bypassed to rule that out. Ive been round every hose etc and can see nothing. Its got to be going somewhere tho. Its had a 'free lifter adertive' in the oil but not made much difference if any at all really. Its the use of water and the misfire that concern me most tho. Ill do another comp test in the week but 2 months ago they were all around 155 to 170 so no probs there. The white smoke to me is more than just the cold weather, it really is bad but only on petrol as i say switch to gas and id agree its just cold weather.

it 'should' be exactly the same on both petrol and gas! i doubt the white smoke is oil or water as it would also be present on gas. is there any way the smoke could be something in the petrol, i.e old petrol or even a contaminent in there.

ive put some 'injector cleaner' in mine and it's a bit stall'y on petrol at the moment. gonna add more petrol to dilute the mix!!

have you got the rave cd? on there it gives you a discription of the coolant system. it also tells you that the coolant goes throught the plenum/mixer. now if its on petrol it could be getting in the engine that way?????

wonder if there's a trace of moisture in the air intake??? could be leaking through that???

Thats a good point mate ill look into it. I dont have the rave cd but ive got a workshop manual so ill have a read up. I do have concerns over the inlet manifold gasket tho as it does look to be in very bad condition ( breaking up badly)

it's higly possibly that the water is goung through in this area, question is where is it going, is the oil level going up? i should imagine it is going into the oils somewhere along the lines!! unless its going down the air intake!!

lets face it there are only 3 ways for it to go, exhaust(likely with smoke) air box, oilways!!!


rave cd is duscussed and linked here http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/rave-cd-29864-2.html download cd 2 i think here
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