dse overheating

hi guys
i got a dse thats been overheating and on inspection found the rad split olong the top, ive a horrible feeling this was caused by over pressurisation my gut feeling is head gasket trouble unless anyone knows different. im a fairly competent mechanic with access to workshop facilities is there anything i should by aware of when replacing head gasket ?? thanks

My rad went before christmas and upto now it been ok 'touching wood'.

Just replace the rad and see how it goes.

out of interest podge where did your rad go ? mine split along the plastic top wich seems an odd place for it to go i dont want to put in the new one (£165) for that to go aswell !!

Yea mine went in the same place, most of them do go in that area. I think its a weak point in the plastic when they are formed. It was more on the n/s of the rad tho. I thought that too but i didnt have the time to take the head off when it went.

as has been said before rangeys defy all logic ! you have made me a little more optimistic and i think ill fit the new rad and suck it and see incidentally was yours pressurising before it went west im wondering wether the rad was blocked as ive heard that can be a problem

best thing to do is fit another rad then get the water system pressurised. local mot garage will do so for you for a small a charge. you will then see if you have any leaks or the stat is stuffed. head gasket will come up if you get it compression tested. again the garage should be able to help you there as well.

wich leads me to another question.... its a piece of wee wee testing the compression on a petrol but how.....well u know wot im saying

This is why you have a pressure release cap on the overflow tank. Blew my head gasket a year ago - it would literally empty the entire cooling system within 2 mins - and no probs w/the rad.

thats what i assumed would happen but the system was without doubt pressurising having said that there could be a number of things not functioning as thy should so i shall replace the t stat at the same time as the rad and i think ill check the old rad for any sign of blockage

The other thought could be a hairline crack in the head opening up at high temps and pressurising the coolant and then blowing the rad?? This is what happened to me and I ended up with a new head, rad, water pump etc

Was difficult to spot as it only happened at high temps.

-Wills