Guest clacky Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Hi guys a little problem for your grey matter to sort out for me. Yesterday, called in the mobile mechanic (didnt have the time myself) to replace the middle core plug at the front. He manages to get a new core plug from the ford dealer and eventually we manage to get the core plug in, after he has removed exhaust manifold etc. The first core plug blew out last weekend, luckily about a mile from home. Gave the car to my daughter tonight and she also gets about a mile from home and the new core plug has blown out AGAIN !!. Any suggestions as to why the core plug keeps blowing out would be gratefully received cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcCarthy Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 may sound silly but was in it properly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Good question I can only say that it took a lot of banging with a lump hammer and socket to get it in and when finished it appeared to be sitting the same as the other two ie slightly recesed from the engine block level Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest welshie Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 have you checked to see if water pipes feel solid when car has been run if so possible head-gasket creating back pressure in cooling system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KarlosG Posted April 8, 2010 Share Posted April 8, 2010 Yeah i'm thinking head gasket, is your oil contaminated (creamy) as there is only one way the water system get pressurised! Unless the return path is blocked and pressure is building that way, can you see water returning in the header tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Very grateful for all the input guys. After fitting the new core plug we put the rad back in and ran the engine until hot and the pipes were squeezable. The water got up to temp and then it started to circulate through the header tank. One strange thing was the water was a one level on minute and then rose up in the header tank, once the fan kicked in the water went down again. We did a lot of hose squeezing to try and get the last of the air out of the system. All seemed to be ok on the drive until we started to notice a new leak from the radiator, in hindsight, this must have been the water pressure increasing and finding the weak points in the rad. Luckily i had a replacement rad, which i was assured was a non leaking one, so we put that one in and then reapeated the above. After getting it to temperature with the fan kicking in we noticed the new rad had started to leak !!! As before, in hindsight, this must have been the presurre building up. When my daughter took it for the test run, the core plug blew out once agin, so i think you guys are right and that the head gasket must have gone, as it would take an awful lot of pressure to pop out a core plug !! God knows it took an awful lot of grunt to get it in !! The oil looks nice and black and certainly not creamy and the oil filler cap has no white gunge in it. An ideas on the cost involved to get the head gasket done and is there anything else that we should do whilst the engine is in bits?? Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shaun Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Hi mate what's the heater in the car like?......problem could be caused by a blocked heater matrix would give you bad pressure aswell cos it can't flow round. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest welshie Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 the way to tell for sure if the head gasket is blown across a water port is to get a sniffer test done on it.this just involves a large almost turkey like baster which is loaded with a chemical that reacts to co gases and will change colour if present its placed over the header tank when the engine is running and sucks in the steam any exhaust gases present in the cooling system are soon are soon sniffed out as the name of the test suggests Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Hi mate what's the heater in the car like?......problem could be caused by a blocked heater matrix would give you bad pressure aswell cos it can't flow round. Hi Shaun The heater seems to be working fine and blowing nice and hot Thanks for the suggestion though, and its good to keep eliminating each problem area Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 the way to tell for sure if the head gasket is blown across a water port is to get a sniffer test done on it.this just involves a large almost turkey like baster which is loaded with a chemical that reacts to co gases and will change colour if present its placed over the header tank when the engine is running and sucks in the steam any exhaust gases present in the cooling system are soon are soon sniffed out as the name of the test suggests Hi Welshie Thanks for that. i think that must be the test that my mobile mechanic mentioned to me, as he said he had a test kit that changes colour, but he didnt explain it any further. Will defo try that out this weekend, if i can get him to come round Will keep you all posted as to the outcome Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcCarthy Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Keep us all informed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Hi guys Here's the update......... Head was removed and pressure tested and found to be OK. Head gasket showing no signs of a leak. Block tested and two small cracks discovered at back of block between pots 1 and 2 near the water channel. Estimates obtained for boring out and re-sleeving but cost is nearly £1000 by the time all the labour is added up for engine strip down and re-build. Bit of a shame as the rest of the car is fine with new tyres etc for the MOT. Thank you all for your help Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergman Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 so what you gunna do with it mate? get a decent second hand engine? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 (edited) so what you gunna do with it mate? get a decent second hand engine? Don't really have the time to source one and then fit it. I have another mk4 project on the go so may keep it as a doner car but missus wants me to get rid of both. Shame really, cause the one with the cracked bloke is great condition and everything else works and the other one, which is mostly stripped down, has got a rust free body which is mostly stripped back to metal with everything else in good order. Its the old dilemma, not enough time to do it all........... Edited May 10, 2010 by clacky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcCarthy Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 cant you persuade her to keep it, it seems a shame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 cant you persuade her to keep it, it seems a shame I could persuade her, but the reality is that i simply dont have the time anymore. It would be nice for it all to go to a good home for a wee bundle of dosh as i am sure that someone with the ability will end with 2 lovely cabbies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergman Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 how much you after if you sell it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Well...... This is what i have..... A G reg blue over white cabbie XR3i with blue electric rag top in full working order. Half leather seats, torneau cover, 2 brand new tyres on front wheels (Firestone) and 2 nearly new Michelins on rear, all tyres currently on diamond patterned alloys, which are also in good nick. The engine is all there (apart from the radiator and one core plug missing) the block is cracked but is not economic for me to get repaired but someone with the time can achieve it with ease. The engine was a very good runner prior to the crack. Included is a full gasket set, puchased a couple of days ago but not used !! Bodywork is all good and looks fine for its age although the front bumper is damaged (and part repaired) after a badger head butted it. The other one is........ A G reg white cabbie XR3i with white electric hood in full working order. The body is in real good condition with no rust found during the half completed strip down. (Battery tray in great condition!) The bodywork has been half taken back to metal with some primer, the other half is still in original white. There is a body kit that goes with the car, one half has been attached and filled but not finalised. The bonnet is the type with the twin (RS ?) grills. There is also another set of grills, as spares. The engine is still in the car with only the rocker cover gasket removed, the radiator is knackered but overall was a good runner prior to strip down. Front suspension is currently out of the car but is also in good nick. All 4 tyres are in good condition and will come with another set of diamond alloy wheels that have been half prepaired in white. The tyres are currently on steel wheels, which will come with the car. The interior of the car has been removed with the dash sort of just hanging in there. The seats are not up to much, having suffered the normal wear and tear. All weather strips and door seals on both cars are in good condition for its age and still effective. All parts stripped off have been bundled and labelled (when i remembered to do it and didnt get carried away when i was stripping it) There is a white torneau cover plus lots of other bits and pieces that i have picked up in my travels (2 brand new front disc, full set of green pads etc etc) Ideally, i want to shift the whole lot above in one go as i dont have the time to break the cars down. Please feel free to make me an offer, but it wont be sold for peanuts as i want to get back some of the money already spent. Any questions welcomed Cheers Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 Well...... This is what i have..... A G reg blue over white cabbie XR3i with blue electric rag top in full working order. Half leather seats, torneau cover, 2 brand new tyres on front wheels (Firestone) and 2 nearly new Michelins on rear, all tyres currently on diamond patterned alloys, which are also in good nick. The engine is all there (apart from the radiator and one core plug missing) the block is cracked but is not economic for me to get repaired but someone with the time can achieve it with ease. The engine was a very good runner prior to the crack. Included is a full gasket set, puchased a couple of days ago but not used !! Bodywork is all good and looks fine for its age although the front bumper is damaged (and part repaired) after a badger head butted it. The other one is........ A G reg white cabbie XR3i with white electric hood in full working order. The body is in real good condition with no rust found during the half completed strip down. (Battery tray in great condition!) The bodywork has been half taken back to metal with some primer, the other half is still in original white. There is a body kit that goes with the car, one half has been attached and filled but not finalised. The bonnet is the type with the twin (RS ?) grills. There is also another set of grills, as spares. The engine is still in the car with only the rocker cover gasket removed, the radiator is knackered but overall was a good runner prior to strip down. Front suspension is currently out of the car but is also in good nick. All 4 tyres are in good condition and will come with another set of diamond alloy wheels that have been half prepaired in white. The tyres are currently on steel wheels, which will come with the car. The interior of the car has been removed with the dash sort of just hanging in there. The seats are not up to much, having suffered the normal wear and tear. All weather strips and door seals on both cars are in good condition for its age and still effective. All parts stripped off have been bundled and labelled (when i remembered to do it and didnt get carried away when i was stripping it) There is a white torneau cover plus lots of other bits and pieces that i have picked up in my travels (2 brand new front disc, full set of green pads etc etc) Ideally, i want to shift the whole lot above in one go as i dont have the time to break the cars down. Please feel free to make me an offer, but it wont be sold for peanuts as i want to get back some of the money already spent. Any questions welcomed Cheers Chris A quick update.............. Missus says the G reg blue one gotta go Anyone want to make me an offer ?? its even got a full fuel tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeMcCarthy Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 stick some pics up mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clacky Posted May 21, 2010 Share Posted May 21, 2010 will do tomorrow if i can remember how to add pics to the post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingergman Posted May 25, 2010 Share Posted May 25, 2010 photo bucket mate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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