P38 v8 head gasket - coleraine

Ok, am considering doing the head gaskets in my 2000 4.6 v8 and was wondering if you guys reckon it's best left to a mechanic? From looking at peoples guides etc it looks reasonable, but I wouldn't say I'm a good mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, tho I know how to use a spanner ;p

Also does anyone know of somewhere in the coleraine area (N.Ireland) to recommend to get the heads skimmed?

How do you know the heads need skimming ????
They need to be checked for flatness first and only skimmed if they are out of tolerance. Seems to be a concensus that the heads need skimming regardless, bit like saying "Fit a new tyre because the wheel has been removed"
Common sense, copy of RAVE to hand and a decent set of spanners etc. are essential.

Yea am
Not just assuming they need done, just getting a few ideas of local places, rather than start searching after I've it all stripped down

If you are doing the gaskets as piece of pro-active maintenance then it is a fairly straightforward job and well described in RAVE. In my mind you run into difficulties when you find yourself having to troubleshoot a problem but dont have the experience to think it all through. That said if you do get in difficulties there are some fantantic guys on this forum who are always willing to help.

Thanks jt, I am havin problems with overheating, and have fixed any leaks I can find and am sure it's the gaskets now, and can't afford the £700 odd it's gonna cost to get it done. any help from people on here is much appreciated

are you shure its the head gaskets? have you checked the rad is hot all over and the water pump is working before you go diving in, is there any bubling in the expansion tank get a sniff test done.

As Clarkie says, i would test everything before stripping down.
If your losing coolant, get the coolant system pressure tested, to check for any external leaks.
If the expansion tank is bubbling then Combustion Test it.
Compression test it to see if there is a drop between cylinders.

Head Gaskets are a pretty straight forward job, fairly cheap too for a full upper gasket set and a set of bolts, I would probably allow 2-3 hours for a strip down, exhaust manifold bolts can be a pain, i would get engine warm before taking them out.

clarkie said:

are you shure its the head gaskets? have you checked the rad is hot all over and the water pump is working before you go diving in, is there any bubling in the expansion tank get a sniff test done.

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Thanks for the replies. Haven't checked the rad to be honest, and the water pump did fail and was replaced a couple of months ago. When it overheats, the top rad pipe is absolutely solid, and you can't open the expansion tank cos the water boils and bubbles that much and flies out the top.

im in the middle of doing mine. Iv found it all very simple to do considering iv stripped it all down with nothing to work from (haynes book, pdf file ect) just take your time.

id allow two days to stip it down. with plenty of tea brakes and time to lable things.

All the tools you need is a decent socket set , spanner set ,allen keys and a hammer.

fix it said:

im in the middle of doing mine. Iv found it all very simple to do considering iv stripped it all down with nothing to work from (haynes book, pdf file ect) just take your time.

id allow two days to stip it down. with plenty of tea brakes and time to lable things.

All the tools you need is a decent socket set , spanner set ,allen keys and a hammer.

Click to expand...

Sounds promising. Let me know how you get on, gonna order the gaskets etc tomorrow.

Sorry to revive an old post but I wondered if anyone has found a good source of how to fault find the root cause of overheating in the 4.6 V8?
I have a copy of Rave - but as far as I can tell there is no fault finding part to work out the cause of the overheating?
Thanks

There are any multitude of reasons...a fault finding chart would be huge...

You have to start at the basics and work onwards...knowing the circumstance of the overheating is the first step - only on hills, only when towing, when in traffic, when at high speeds etc...

Are there any signs of water in the oil, or oil in the water
Any external signs of leaks i.e. dried coolant, damp patches under the car etc
Are the hoses rock solid or limp and flexable
Is the Rad hot all over
Does the Viscous Fan unit work properly
Is the water pump circulating the coolant
Is there an air lock
Has a hose split
Has the Rad silted up
Is the stat stuck closed
Is the Head Gasket gone
What are the cylinder compressions
Has an internal water gallery split
Has it slipped a liner
Can you hear the liner knocking
Is the Expansion Cap letting by and not holding pressure
Is the tank split
Is the Heater Matrix split

etc etc

Thanks for the feedback - I actually havn't seen it overheat myself, so will make that happen first and see what happens.
I guess what I am after is a list/tips of the most logical way to approach it.
Guessing taking the heads off first would be a bad move.
I have bought a compression tester so going to test that first once I have made it overheat - That would make sense?
It is running a bit rough, but car has sat for two months. Also I have no idea how the LPG system works, so that could be affecting the running if not serviced etc?
I had a look in the oil cap and there is a bit of milkiness - nothing too much to be honest and not too dissimilar to my brand new car.

I have just run it for 20 minutes and it did not overheat. It sat just left of the middle on the temp gauge.
I worked out the gas thing (switched gas off) and it seemed to run slightly better on petrol.
It is not insured until its fixed so I cant take it for a drive, but might have to put it under load?
It did seem POSSIBLY to be smoking a bit too much, but its a cold damp day so hard to tell for certain. At one stage I felt it was too steamy, but I just dont know.
The coolant level did not go down and the radiator is hot at both ends.
The pic below is inside the oil filler - would this be enough 'mayonaise' to condem as a head gasket failure?
What would you guys do next? Thanks!

WatchcamP38 said:

I have just run it for 20 minutes and it did not overheat. It sat just left of the middle on the temp gauge.
I worked out the gas thing (switched gas off) and it seemed to run slightly better on petrol.
It is not insured until its fixed so I cant take it for a drive, but might have to put it under load?
It did seem POSSIBLY to be smoking a bit too much, but its a cold damp day so hard to tell for certain. At one stage I felt it was too steamy, but I just dont know.
The coolant level did not go down and the radiator is hot at both ends.
The pic below is inside the oil filler - would this be enough 'mayonaise' to condem as a head gasket failure?
What would you guys do next? Thanks!

Click to expand...

I would say that is just condensation causing that, if it was a Head Gasket Failure (HGF) I would expect more 'mayonnaise' then that.

On short journeys the engine rarely gets hot enough to burn of the condensation that can form in the rocker covers and this mixes with the oil and forms similar to you have!

HGF would really cover the cap in mayonnaise IMO due to the amount of water that can get in....

To be sure, you'll need to take it for a good drive and see if the Mayonnaise gets worse!

Also just to add - I might have detected an unusual smell (possibly) when running on gas and petrol.
Problem is as I bought the car broken I dont know what it should smell like normally.

WatchcamP38 said:

Also just to add - I might have detected an unusual smell (possibly) when running on gas and petrol.
Problem is as I bought the car broken I dont know what it should smell like normally.

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Try and describe the smell!!

Saint.V8 said:

I would say that is just condensation causing that, if it was a Head Gasket Failure (HGF) I would expect more 'mayonnaise' then that.

On short journeys the engine rarely gets hot enough to burn of the condensation that can form in the rocker covers and this mixes with the oil and forms similar to you have!

HGF would really cover the cap in mayonnaise IMO due to the amount of water that can get in....

To be sure, you'll need to take it for a good drive and see if the Mayonnaise gets worse!

Click to expand...

I must admit I excepted it to be worse. It does seem to be pretty minimal. (the mayo)
I will take it for a drive - will sort out some insurance first I suppose. Just my luck to be nicked taking it for a 10 minute thrash round the lanes!

Thanks very much for your thoughts

Saint.V8 said:

Try and describe the smell!!

Click to expand...

Gassy maybe, A bit chemical like I suppose. Its quite noticeable I suppose, but I am concerned I am being over sensative.
My VW smells sometimes too so not sure.

Also to add - the oil on the dipstick looks normal.

More info to add - the top hose was solid when running. (could just squeeze it a bit)