Hi,
You know when all is ok something is bound to happen, well, noticed a drop ever so slight (1cm) in the expansion bottle, topped it to the seam. This happened twice. Took the engine bay cover off and found a trickle of water on the top join between the gear box and cylinder head.
Since this I wiped this area clean and re-examined today and found a trickle of water at the front of the clyinder head and main block. No mayo in the engine or dip stick or the coolant cap all clean. No raise in water or oil temp, checked hoses no leaks and air locks either, so once a pressure test is completed then I will know further.....
I read through all the old receipts (2 years old) as it mentioned a head gasket and skimmed head using the upgraded gasket kit, but when taking out all the sound proofing to access the engine bay cover I found a small plastic bag.
This bag contained 2 stainless steel dowels, I can only assume these were for the new kit and never used!
Waiting on the mobile mechanic Russell to arrange a date for a fix...........and while he is at it, he offers option packages, i've gone for C as it includes cam belt change, water pump, thermostate etc so the road will be a fair quieter for the next few weeks.
any other ideas or mechanics please post a reply
regards
Thanks for the valuable information, checked the level by marking the expansion bottle and driving round last night. This evening I checked the mark and now the coolant in the expansion bottle has risen above the mark? No damp along the inlet manifold?
What a laugh :0 cannot figure this one out....what is going on, (jibber jibeer) as I laugh out loud (head gaslet maddness), neighbours know I am mad, now this puts the icing on the jam sponge cake, Mmmmm nice. Just have to wait for russell to contact me and let him figure this one out.
Many thanks for the info, been chatting to russell and hopefully all will be repaired in the next couple of weeks
much respect for the help
Russell will see you right. A top bloke, came all the way to Carlisle to fit me a new head gasket!
Tell him, I said 'Hi', and that, 30,000 miles later, it's still going strong. (Touch wood.)