HELP!! Head gasket gone??

[brrrm]

Hello all,

A very upset Elise owner here... I'm living in Switzerland, and have owned my '97 Elise for about 9 months now. I was driving it home the other night, and following a loud screeching noise that sounded a bit like the fanbelt going, clouds of steam poured out of th engine. I obviously stopped the car immediately, and the only thing the AA-equivalent mechanic could find out was that the cooling fluid was trickling out steadily when the engine was running. He suspected a burst hose, but the garage have now told me that it was the head gasket that went. I don't want to be suspicious, but are those typical symptoms of a blown head gasket? It's going to set me back enough... The engineer also happened to notice that my rear tyres are too bald to be legal, so it looks as though a set of new Yoko's is on the books (currently got Pirelli's) - from what I've heard they sound very good, has anyone else had experience (good or bad) with them?

Many thanks!!

[adrianr]

The "usual" indication of impending Elise head gasket failure is the temperature display on the dash fluctuating wildy and rapidly as airlocks develop in the system.

After the event, apart from clouds of steam and a hot sweet smell from the engine, you may also find creamy mayonnaise inside the oil filler cap where water has got into the oil. I don't recall anyone ever mentioning a screeching noise before.

Bad luck!
AdrianR

[brrrm]

thanks for the reply Adrian. Unfortunately I didn't pay any attention to a possibly fluctuating temperature display at the time, but have since been reassured by other owners that the symptoms could indeed mean a blown head gasket. something good has come out of this - as all the work they're doing is virtually identical to the work needed to fit the Lotus 135 kit I've decided to go ahead with it, making the blown head gasket not actually cost me anything...and they've given me a price reduction of 1k on the kit! Fate has treated me well...

[greg kuenzler]

Hy
Yes it`s me, the engineer working on your elise.Headgasket problems are known on 18K engins specialy forcing the engine cold. The fully aluminium engine needs to warm up stedy.More infos when i see you.

[sallad]

Oh bugger. Having just read this thread I don't hold out much hope for my Elise. I have owned it for three months and the noise I hear when I downshift or decelerate and, more noisily, when I'm cruising in 4th or 5th and open the throttle to accelerate without changing gear (at about 3-4K revs), sounds EXACTLY like the one described above - fan belt squealing. Shit...

[brrrm]

hey greg - good to see you up on this forum! I'm going to have to watch what I say...
Unfortunately years of being ripped off by UK garages have skewed my view on the world of car service - I must say you're proving my view to be wrong, at least in the way of lotus - or yourself of course!! IOU a
Sallad - how long's this problem been going on for? I know it sounds silly but are you sure it isn't actually the fan belt? I don't know how long the engine would last with a blown head gasket, but if it is broken then I'm sure driving it will make it far worse very quickly as cooling fluid could get into the oil and vice-versa....

[sallad]

Yeah, it's been getting steadilly worse since I bought it, but I don't drive it that often, due to living in London (tube into work etc) and the fact that it's winter.

Not too sure whether or not it could be the fanbelt. My previous experiences with fanbelts lead me to believe that it's when the car is first started, or idling that the noise is apparent. Willing to take advice on this though.

No prizes for anyone who can guess where I'll be driving it first thing tomorrow...

Thanks for the advice chaps. Merry Christmas!