The Overheating thread

The story so far....................

I was given for free a 2001 75 V6 tourer. The reason it was free was a humungous water leak. It took a long time but I finally got the thermostat replaced - what a **44%*! of a job that is.

Finally got it insured today - just for one day - for an MOT (it expires on Monday) so took it for a few test runs. first 20 miles on country roads convinced me it was worth the effort to rescue it so I then took it for a blast down the local dual carriageway. After about 15 miles the temp gauge went off the scale and an "Engine Overheat" warning appeared. Oddly it didn't seem to be getting particularly hot.

The symptoms now are......... after a few miles at 70-ish it overheats. It doesn't use much water, but the heater is now only blowing cold air - when I first got it running it was working fine. Infra red thermometer says the rear head is at about 110 deg, tho' the rad is much cooler (and the fan is on).

These symptoms make me think head gasket. It may have got very hot when the thermostat housing let go for the previous owner. Any suggestions/comments or observations from anyone gratefully received. It would be a great shame to scrap it (the interior is great and it is very tidy) but I really have no enthusiasm to get involved in major engine surgery if that is necessary. The alternative is to put it on Ebay with no reserve and hope someone feels inclined to take on the challenge - or use it for parts.

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The Overheating thread