driving a car with failed head gasket

[polsta]

whats the deal with driving a car where the head gasket has gone ?

ie pacs`s 318is , hes got a nice is with failed gasket, no interior

im breaking one, have a good engine and interior and all other spares, but- its 170 miles away , would it make it that sort of distance ? whats the likley senario if it was attempted to be driven that far ?

im not sure its a viable go`er, just pondering it really, as i could complete/save it, thoughts ?

[eko]

AA/RAC is your friend here

[Jim320i]

Yeah, make sure you got cover pal, it should be alright I would have thought, I drove my touring for a while before switching the engine. If you take regular stops too just to not over do it, you'll get it home in small pieces!

[eko]

I meant just call the AA/RAC from the cars current location and get it transpoted home,simples

[eko]

Or K seal

[Zetecvan]

I drove my old 320 round for months with a blown head gasket. I drove the 400 or so miles to Norwich and back one weekend. It didn't drive like a car with a blown gasket.

My van also blew a head gasket too. I kept having to top that up as it was always spitting it out. I replaced it after a few hundred miles because it got very bad very quickly.

[polsta]

I meant just call the AA/RAC from the cars current location and get it transpoted home,simples

im not a member, i just have my breakdown cover for my black is, how about sending him some number plates, saying i need to get home, when he turns up say its just been painted

[eko]

Borrow a mates membership card then.....worked for mea few times

[polsta]

how does it work ? would it work that distance ?

also bearing in mind thew car has no interior/seats , or just a drivers seat

[Zetecvan]

At the weekend it was the Classic Ford show at Santa Pod. My mates Transit ate its wheel bearing. They had their friends AA account details so rang em. While on the phone they were asked the security question, which was 'What is your wife's name'.

He had to answer 'I don't know'.

[polsta]

At the weekend it was the Classic Ford show at Santa Pod. My mates Transit ate its wheel bearing. They had their friends AA account details so rang em. While on the phone they were asked the security question, which was 'What is your wife's name'.

He had to answer 'I don't know'.

what happend ??

[eko]

how does it work ? would it work that distance ?

also bearing in mind thew car has no interior/seats , or just a drivers seat

I had my RS16i fetched back from Swindon this way and also a 318is I bought carried about 30 miles.
Obviously youll need the answer to the security Q.

[Zetecvan]

They wouldn't help him. Then he remembered that he had his own AA cover so rang back. This time they did send someone out.

[cecotto479]

No wonder my AA cover is so bloody dear.

[eko]

No wonder my AA cover is so bloody dear.

Guilty as charged Boyd

[snakebrain]

My mum's Alfa 166 has been chugging round with (at the very least) a cracked head gasket for months now. It's had 3 cylinder heads and a bunch of gaskets previously as the Alfa dealership refuse to admit that the block is cracked. It's usable but feels very lumpy when it's cold. Unfortunately that engine is now being used-to-destruction. I'm hoping she'll fob it off on me sonner or later and I can find a decent 3 litre engine for it...

[e30-EVN]

Tbh it also depends how the head gasket has gone..... If its gone like an old 325 of mine did which is exhaust gasses into coolant system then don't bother trying to drive it!! It will pressurise the water system and blow hoses ect in minutes!.....

If however its water in oil or oil in water you have more of a chance, likewise between cylinders, where it would lack compression and power but still likely to make the journey

[E30BeemerLad]

just K-Seal the mo fo and have the cap a bit loose on the rad

[polsta]

ok cheers lads, might be ok then

although no interior or seat- means getting there with a seat, to drive it home but, i dont think id be insured, and dont want to risk it that far, or pac possibly driving it down and getting train home with a seat , which he may not want to do, plus it depends on the price of the car , not much interest in it and would be a shame to see that broken when i have the parts it needs to keep on rolling for years to come

[gooner1]

ok cheers lads, might be ok then

although no interior or seat- means getting there with a seat, to drive it home but, i dont think id be insured, and dont want to risk it that far, or pac possibly driving it down and getting train home with a seat , which he may not want to do, plus it depends on the price of the car , not much interest in it and would be a shame to see that broken when i have the parts it needs to keep on rolling for years to come

On the +side, it would guarantee Pac a seat on the train.

[spook]

Borrow a van and deliver it,

[kieran325]

Get it picked up on a trialer/low loader and save the hassle.

[Speedtouch]

I've had to nurse a couple of cars with blown headgaskets, one a Morris Minor the other a Vauxhall Cavalier (Ecotec crap).

They run a bit lumpy but as long as you take it easy and stop every so often to refill the header tank it will get you there...

[mattycoops43]

Drove a TD cavalier with an isuzu engine that had a cracked head for months, as long as you left the filler cap off, it would just bubble away to itself, we did many a motorway trip in the old tub!

[Morat]

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewit ... 0794453911

Buy something like that and run e30s round the country for cash

[Kieran_n22]

Drove a TD cavalier with an isuzu engine that had a cracked head for months, as long as you left the filler cap off, it would just bubble away to itself, we did many a motorway trip in the old tub!

Them engines are SOO strong! Not like that EcoTec crap in Vauxhalls now. Vauxhall went from having the strongest engines to the weakest!

[mattycoops43]

Well, while I see your point, when the head cracked, all the garages we took it to all said "yes, they do that" which would suggest a flaw? I think the astras ran a lower boost which made them bullet proof, but the cav's were prone to going boom!

[Kieran_n22]

Never heard of that myself.

[e30-EVN]

Vauxhaul went from the redtop to eco crap..... Imo a massive mistake!
The redtop engines were legendry, 150bhp from a 2.0.... My old cavy was a bloody beast!
But then they came up with the ecotec engine which had weak headgaskets, and cam + crank sensors failed for fun and the worst part only produced 139bhp from 2.0!!!

[Speedtouch]

The Ecotec was indeed abysmal, not helped by bum Siemens engine management. The one in my 1995 M-reg Cavalier 2.0CDX would abruptly cut out intermittently, usually in the most dangerous of places, e.g. mid-way around a fast bend, or on railway level crossings!

I cleaned out all the breather system and idle control valve, but never managed to cure it. In the end, I was driving it one hot summer's day along the coast and the thing overheated and lost all the coolant. I just drove it several miles back to my brother's yard at which point it was running so hot it was sounding like it was going to seize, with the accompanying death rattle!

The car was then sold to some pikeys to weigh in - good riddance to bad rubbish. Shame, as the car itself, being German-built (by Opel, presumably) was quite nice and well-equipped.

I immediately purchased another BMW E30 after that, with the nice, solid, smooth, reliable M20B20 boat-anchor!

[Andyboy]

It won't be a blown head gasket, but a cracked head.

I drove a 318iS Coupe about 50 miles with such an ailment. All I did was remove the thermostat, fill it up and refit the rad cap without tightening it - that was so the pressure wouldn't blow a hose. I dod the trip in 10 mile sections with the heater on, and when the heater went cold you knew it needed water. Stip, leave it 5 mins, add water (you'll need a LOT of 5 litre bottles for 170 miles) and it will fire up with a big cloud of steam from the exhaust.
I used 10 litres of water in 50 miles.

170 miles is too far imo, but I found that constant 60 mph cruising was a lot better that stop start where it would really struggle - once the revs drop, a big air pocket will build up around the water pump and the thing will cook up.

[rancido64]

Depends how fucked it is tbh, i had my omega with a blown HG for 4-5 months. Just had to make sure i always had about 10 litres of water in the car and top it up 2 litres for every half hour's driving lol