Bugger arse and feck.
Discussion
After a nightshift, and being awake 30hours, bombing home M5 bound, pop :yikes: coolant, steam, engine temperature bouncing above 120 degrees. Joy oh deep joy.
2hours waiting for recovery, winched up on a truck, "Thats properrr fooked that is" says the nice man.
My guess after speaking to numbnuts is that the headgasket has gone, causing the radiator to pop in a couple of places as water was coming out of both sides.
Even worse was a comment from a chap in an MX5 who suggested I get a 'reliable sports car' :banghead:
Today, is a grim day, I'm off to bed.......:irked:
[small]I still like it though :D
2hours waiting for recovery, winched up on a truck, "Thats properrr fooked that is" says the nice man.
My guess after speaking to numbnuts is that the headgasket has gone, causing the radiator to pop in a couple of places as water was coming out of both sides.
Even worse was a comment from a chap in an MX5 who suggested I get a 'reliable sports car' :banghead:
Today, is a grim day, I'm off to bed.......:irked:
[small]I still like it though :D
Mike
The radiator isn't standard I'm afraid - it's basically a leyland sherpa van but with extra cores.
I got mine recored for about £130, dropped it off one day, collected it the next, and it came back as new - new cores, cleaned up headers, all nicely painted matt black for max heat transfer. That seems to be the going rate, I know that a few on here have had it done.
Hope it's not the cylinder heads, but even if it is, it's not the end of the world, you can change them both in a day. Or so.
Good luck.
The radiator isn't standard I'm afraid - it's basically a leyland sherpa van but with extra cores.
I got mine recored for about £130, dropped it off one day, collected it the next, and it came back as new - new cores, cleaned up headers, all nicely painted matt black for max heat transfer. That seems to be the going rate, I know that a few on here have had it done.
Hope it's not the cylinder heads, but even if it is, it's not the end of the world, you can change them both in a day. Or so.
Good luck.
Mike,
It's basically a Leyland Sherpa van radiator with the hoze nozzles 'twisted' and re-brazed to accept the top and bottom hose runs from the engine.
OOh yes - it's mounted upside down in the S too! Handy really, because the original drain down tap/valve now becomes an equally handy high point vapour vent.
As stated about £120 - 130 is the going rate for a re-core. I don't believe there is enough room to get extra cores in on the original headers.
As someone said, good opportunity to get a decoke done....maybe even a bit of porting and polishing!!
Nick
It's basically a Leyland Sherpa van radiator with the hoze nozzles 'twisted' and re-brazed to accept the top and bottom hose runs from the engine.
OOh yes - it's mounted upside down in the S too! Handy really, because the original drain down tap/valve now becomes an equally handy high point vapour vent.
As stated about £120 - 130 is the going rate for a re-core. I don't believe there is enough room to get extra cores in on the original headers.
As someone said, good opportunity to get a decoke done....maybe even a bit of porting and polishing!!
Nick
www.tvrcarparts.com do an aluminium radiator for the S but its £395 + VAT
silverback mike said:
Even worse was a comment from a chap in an MX5 who suggested I get a 'reliable sports car'
Hmmmm, I have an MX-5 and it's been immobile for the last 6 weeks with a mystery electronic fault. Never had any such problems with my V8S, so from personal experience I'd dispute that guys comment!
S3_Steve said:
www.tvrcarparts.com do an aluminium radiator for the S but its £395 + VAT
Yes and meanwhile in the real world...
My God, how much 
Guess I will be yanking it out for a recore.
Anyway, morning folks,
had some kip now so a bit more level headed. 
I have to drive the sodding volvo now.
Anyway, thanks for the comment folks, maybe I should listen to Dave (numbnuts) who has been whispering V8 V8 into my ear......can't be that expensive can it.
>> Edited by silverback mike on Thursday 1st September 16:25
Guess I will be yanking it out for a recore. Anyway, morning folks,
had some kip now so a bit more level headed. I have to drive the sodding volvo now. Anyway, thanks for the comment folks, maybe I should listen to Dave (numbnuts) who has been whispering V8 V8 into my ear......can't be that expensive can it.
>> Edited by silverback mike on Thursday 1st September 16:25
. 
silverback mike said:
My God, how much
Anyway, morning folks,
Anyway, thanks for the comment folks, maybe I should listen to Dave (numbnuts) who has been whispering V8 V8 into my ear......can't be that expensive can it.
>> Edited by silverback mike on Thursday 1st September 16:25
Oh well at least the rad is only a 10 min job to remove
Sorry to read about yer bad luck Mike. Just wondering, are the only visible symptoms the burst rad at the moment? Is there any water in the oil or vice versa? Water in the cylinders? If not I am wondering what makes you think the head gasket has gone? If there are no signs of oil and water mixing or water in cylinders maybe you should do a compression test on all cylinders before doing any major work.. Just a suggestion but without any other symptoms the burst rad could be just that, gotta be worth checking..
Good luck and my fingers are crossed for you mate,
Carl
Good luck and my fingers are crossed for you mate,
Carl
No oil in the water etc but an early sign of headgasket problems is build up of pressure which causes radiator to pop.
I am hopeful that is all it is, a holed radiator. I shall whip it off tomorrow and take it for a recore, there is a chap nearby in Bristol who does a very good job.
I'll keep you posted.
I am hopeful that is all it is, a holed radiator. I shall whip it off tomorrow and take it for a recore, there is a chap nearby in Bristol who does a very good job.
I'll keep you posted.
If you can, Think YOURSELF lucky. Mine blew a fuse, so no gauges. 10 minutes later, water pump burst dumping out all the water( I not know this, no temp gauge) Cooked the engine at 80mph good and proper to a standstill on a French motorway. 400miles into a 2000+ mile holiday. That was in June, all fixed now with new engine. (and 500 spare fuses)
TOPTON said:
If you can, Think YOURSELF lucky. Mine blew a fuse, so no gauges. 10 minutes later, water pump burst dumping out all the water( I not know this, no temp gauge) Cooked the engine at 80mph good and proper to a standstill on a French motorway. 400miles into a 2000+ mile holiday. That was in June, all fixed now with new engine. (and 500 spare fuses)
What an unlucky coincidence! For future reference, any time you're in doubt about the state of the cooling system (eg gauges start jumping about or stop completely) put the heater on hot and turn the fan on. As long as you get hot air out, you know there's some water circulating round the engine. If the heater goes cold all bets are off.
Mike,
Just had mine re-cored after a slight contretemps with a bl__dy large fox. Serck did the job in two days £135 and it looks like new, also it runs 10 degrees cooler and is no problem in a traffic jam.
I asked them to check if it was two or three core and uprate it accordingly, earlier rads were two core, however it was already three cored.
I would suggest you find a friendly garage with a coolant tester which can indicate the presence of CO in the water which is indicative of a blownhead gasket.
Good Luck
Just had mine re-cored after a slight contretemps with a bl__dy large fox. Serck did the job in two days £135 and it looks like new, also it runs 10 degrees cooler and is no problem in a traffic jam.
I asked them to check if it was two or three core and uprate it accordingly, earlier rads were two core, however it was already three cored.
I would suggest you find a friendly garage with a coolant tester which can indicate the presence of CO in the water which is indicative of a blownhead gasket.
Good Luck
A headgasket recently went on my diesel peugeot, now one of the symptoms was a build up of pressure in the coolant system, the expansion tank cap rated at 20 psi released the pressure and dumped coolant until the pressure dropped sufficiently to allow the cap to reseal. I am surprised your cap didnt release the pressure, I suspect you had a weak spot in your radiator, have a look at your pressure cap, I believe it will open at 15 psi also feel for excess pressure in the coolant hoses when the engine nears operating temperature. I hope your head gaskets are ok, keeping my fingers crossed and good luck.
steve jones
steve jones
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