Ke55 Over-Heating Problems

[jara]

I have a nice little ke55 and a few months ago the water pump went on it and i had a new one put in. That went well for a few months then it started getting hot again. I've flushed the radiator out, filled completely with new fluid, put on a new radiator cap and put in a new thermostat and gasket. but it looks like fluid is going into the overflow bottle and not going back in because when my car is dead cold my radiator is low on fluid and the bottle is full. driving on the highway is fine cause the air flow keeps it cool but as soon as i slow down the temperature gauge raises fast.

 

additional - the radiator cap is for one with a different kind of overflow system i think. can't for the life of me think of it's name now. but i only have the one hose going into the overflow and the fella at repco gave me a cap that's meant to have a overflow with a second tube coming out of it.

 

any thoughts? thanks

[Evan G]

sounds like a you done a head gasket.

 

so you top up the coolant when cold and when its cold again its all in the overflow?

has the coolant got a dark tint to it?

turn the heater to hot and drive it. do it suddenly get cold?

 

exhaust gases in the coolant.

[jara]

I'll check tomorrow everything tomorrow, but you mean turn on the heater while the car is getting hot and see if it cools down?

[altezzaclub]

Yeah, sounds like head gasket leaking into the coolant.

 

When the car is cold the thermostat is closed, so compression gases push the water up the radiator and into the overflow bottle. When the thermostat opens they go up through the t'stat into the top of the radiator and escape via the overflow bottle. The initial liquid loss is not sucked back in as it cools, so the rad is alway short of a litre or two of water. Once its blown that out, the next day it doesn't blow any more out.

 

Start it from cold with no rad cap and completely full of water and just watch it until it warms up. If the water overflows when its cold & bubbles come out then head gasket is gone.

[jara]

Thanks, well I'll check it out tomorrow. It's looking like this is the case. How much do you suppose a new head gasket would be?

[jara]

Saw this this afternoon, feel like an absolute idiot for not mentioning it earlier. Does this mean it's the gasket?

Also, i apologise for my lack of knowledge, I am learning though and we all started from somewhere

[Evan G]

looks like the thermostat gasket or bottom housing is leaking

 

any white chalky residue around it or near the sump?

 

were you located?

[jara]

I'm up in Qld. I don't think there is any residue. but tomorrow i'll be having a big look. It's not the greatest angle, cause the thermostat housing is on the bottom left, ages away from the 'leak'

[silverra23]

Make sure you have the right radiator cap for your system, as that will not help circumstances.

 

I also say this every time someone has an overheating problem on here. Rarely does a home done radiator flush get all the crap out of a 30+ year old radiator. It really needs a professional clean out done at a radiator shop. Its worth the $200 spend to have a reliable radiator in the car.

 

At least that coolant doesn't look milky in your photo, though its only a small sample to tell by.

 

Get that leak fixed up, sort out your radiator and cap, and then see where you are at.

[ke70dave]

  On 12/20/2011 at 12:18 PM, jara said:

Also, i apologise for my lack of knowledge, I am learning though and we all started from somewhere

 

 

no apologies needed!

 

you have put alot more effort into your posts that most guys on here! which makes it easier to help you out.

 

as silvera23 sais, make sure that the radiator is properly cleaned out.

 

the best home method ive used is to physically remove the radiator from the car, turn it up side down, fill it with water (hold hand over bottom outllet), then let it all rush out. do this 10 or so times, untill you see nice and clear water. the theory is that just doing it in the car may not remove all the stuff, and turning it upside down may remove more from being in a different orientation.....thats the theory anyway....

 

failing that...best to get it cleaned at a shop, the KE radiators are a full metal/copper (whatever if is), and usally multi row. so they are a pretty damn good, alot beter than these plastic/alloy things. but generally if the water flows out of it pretty clear and RUSHES out, its probably in pretty good condition...."generally"....

 

if you are indeed pumping compression gases into the coolant, you should feel the rubber radiator hoses pressurising quite rapidly....and you should also see bubbles in your radiator. best bet is to start your car from cold with no radiator cap on, let it idle up to opperating temp and watch for bubbles......might only happen with the thermostat opens..... id let it idle for a good 20mins, watch the thermostat open and close (rushing of water in rad etc).

 

as for the cost of a headgasket, a VRS kit (head gasket and all the bits required) is usually about 70bucks or so. get your head checked and machined while its off, you might need a few new valves etc. so personally i would budget $300-400 for the whole job if you DIY the labor. new oil, new coolant, new points, check ya spark plugs. I'm inclined if doing serious work on an engine, to get everything up to scratch at the time, might cost ya a bit in short term, but worth it in long term.

 

jsut make sure it definately is a HG though, hate to change it and its not the problem!

 

where in QLD are you located? if you get really stuck I'm sure one of us can assist.

[jara]

Wow thanks man, Firstly The radiator has been replaced at some point, cause this one isn't too told and I only bought the car 10 months ago. Also, it does look like the thermostat gasket is leaking so I'm hoping that the picture was that just leaking onto the side of the head gasket and coming down. I'm thinking that it's doing this because when I was putting in a new thermostat my father-in-law also put on some engine glue stuff to the gasket that he uses on his bikes. (our attempt to stop the over-heating). the coolant didn't have a dark tinge and I didn't notice any chalky residue.

 

Also, before I start the compression gases test, I've just filled the radiator with the coolant that was in the overflow. could this have trapped in air giving me a false reading?

 

I live in near Atkinson's Damn QLD if anyone is interested in having a look.

 

Thanks guys for all the help.

[ke70dave]

yeah atkinsons dam is bloody miles away from me, sorry man :P

 

you might have an airlock thats another option.

 

best way to solve this, park your car uphill. or park it on flat, and jack up the front of the car.

 

start engine coldish, with the heater on, with the radiator cap off, and let it cycle through the thermostat opening/closing...

 

you might see some pretty big bubbles pop out (good!) or you might see nothing, or you might see lots of littel bubbles (ie the compression gases leaking). you might overflow some coolant out of the radiator onto the ground. no drama, just fill it back up again. oh and give the radiator hoses a bit of a rigurous sqeeze while doing this, helps to disloge bubbles too.

 

just make sure the overflow bottle thing has some water in it (enough to cover the bottom of the pipe), and make sure the rad is full of water before you do this. shoudlnt have any dramas with sucking in air etc.

 

the k motor coolign system is about as simple as it gets, you don't usually have problems with airlocks, but best to check eh.

Edited December 20, 2011 by ke70dave

[jara]

well i had the car idling for about 5 minutes and bubbles started coming up in the radiator, is this definately the head gasket or could it possibly be cause i had just topped up the cooling fluid and when it went down it's trapped a little air in it. i didnt want to run the car any longer cause it started to overflow from the radiator eveywhere.

[jara]

there were small bubbles and ones about the size of marbles

[jara]

well my front muffler rattles so badly, i was going to have it replaced in a couple weeks from now when i got the money but this thing has come up. and i'm looking in my ke55 service & repair manual and it says that a restricted muffler can over heat the car. is this a possibility?