head gasket change help?

[kirils]

well after couple of months problems after 2 overheating first time when the car was at the MOT it was rnning in place and the thermostat blocked, and the other time was the belt that drives the water pump broke and my car overheated in 5 seconds, and after that, while i drive it the hoses become like ballons and it's always leaking somewhere it's not mixing oil and water, so i finaly bought a head gasket and i will change it in friday... are there any things i should look out? i have experience with other kind of cars... but my first on this one it's a early 320i l-jetronik.

Thank you in advance Kiril

[kirils]

so i finished with te head gasket change the old one was burned on the 4 and 5 cyl. so after i finished the car works perfect, i drive really nice but the hoses are still a bit hard, so i was thinking this is closed system there must be some pressure but how much?

thank you

[Templ8e30]

The pressure relief valve in the expansion tank cap is rated to 1.4 bar (roughly 20.5 psi), this should release the excess if the pressure is too much. Unless it's buggered

The hoses will naturally become a bit harder with pressure in them, how hard are we talking here ?

Did you have the pressure tested and skimmed before you fitted the new gasket ?. Was there any damage or marks on the alloy between the cylinders where the gasket had blown ?.

If there's too much pressure I'd suspect a cracked head or head surface damage pressurising the system.

If you think there's too much pressure take it to a reputable garage and get them to test the coolant for exhaust gasses, this'll tell you if the head needs to come off for a thorough checking.

Cheers,

Iain T

[kirils]

i had the head checked and it had no cracks it was in perfect condition before refiting it? i have no signs of burning water now... i have no idea how much is the pressure i'm speaking only by hand touching...
could my expansion cap be clugged or something? cause the car has been running only on water and the car was not drived for 4 years ?

[Martinaston]

If you don't use antifreeze you should at least put in a rust inhibitor, especialy on one thats that old (jetronic).
How are the radiators ?
Take the rad out and give it a run through with a hose and do the same to the heater matrix in both directions.

[kirils]

i changed the radiator, with the biggest one not new but it was fine, the heater matrih i have no idea about it in what kind of condtition is i need to remove the dash to reach that or?

[Ant]

you can fluch out the heater matrix by removing the hoes @ the bulkhead ( brake servo area) and flushing with a hose dude, make sure ign is ON, and the heater valve is set to full heat.

HTH