overheated/Engine light on ! :0(

really do not need this right now.. bikerfest this weekend etc.
vans been fine, this afternoon i drove 13ish miles as i normally do, only difference is that i had the cool air from outside van on instead of slider at the heat side.
got to where i was going and realised the vant temp was on the H! when i stopped i could hear water boiling.
left it for 30 mins to cool down and set off again for home, another 12 miles. outskirts of home the engine light comes on... off.... came on/off 4 times for the remainder of journey.
the temp stayed on the H all the way, i had the blowers on hot/outside/full blast hoping to suck the heat away from the engine..

got home to see steam and what looks like coolant on the underside of engine/mud flaps.
i have checked the water level and its with in the marks.

i have a serious amount of stuff to get ready for this event, is there anything i can do that wont take too long?

*update* let is sit for 2 hours, set off to the nearest village 3 miles away, got over a mile and temp went straight to H.
pulled in to a garage and the idle was erratic.. up/down..up/down.

what about fitting a seperate manual fan switch if you havent already?
then you can flick it on to stop it getting so hot...

apart from that, make sure you have enough actual coolant in the system (not just water)
and get yourself a pot of K Seal...

works wonders to stop overheating problems if the head gasket is damaged, or even if the head is cracked...

should be able to get it from most motor factors...

Our van did this on the day we bought it & it's done it a few times since.
Ours blew the top off the expansion bottle once & filled the van with steam.
It was airlocked, so the water wasn't circulating.
Check the hoses that go into & out of the bottom of the radiator behind the front bumper :-
Do they both feel full of water when you squeeze them or are they flat?
Are they both about the same temperature when the engine is warm?
Check your handbook for details on filling & bleeding the system, as yours is different to our 1300.
If that doesn't do it, it could be the thermostat or water pump.
Hope this helps.

I've also fitted a new thermostat & wired the rad fan to a switch.
But it will still overheat when standing for a while in traffic, so I just switch off the engine.
It overheats every year when they do the emissions checks at the MOT, as they have it running for ages.
I've got a new water pump to fit, so maybe that will make a difference.
I check ours regularly & top it up as the handbook says.

*update*
fan is working, hot wired now, thermosat is out, no stat in system.
i get 1 mile and the temp goes stright to hot even with the fan running from cold.

water pump?
blockage?

do both pipes connected to the rad get hot?

if so, the rad isnt cooling, so probably blocked...

will check again tomorrow if i have time. got a mate bringing a transit round for me to try out. if i get on with it i get to use it for the weekend (free + diesel) which means the hijet will stay at home.

when i removed the thermostat i noticed the chamber was empty, when i opened it there was no overspill..........?

mate also says i need a new rad sensor as mine is buggered.

Or is the head filling up with exhaust gasses?
Test the fluid for sulpher with some chemical you can get. If it comes out positive you know its the head and/or gasket.

Plus if your system is filling up with air/exhaust gases/steam then you'll get an air lock in the radiator and water pump, thus not circulating the water, and probally bottom half your rad will be hot and top half not so hot. The head will be dry inside; once an engine has overheated it causes the head to warp etc. When the head gasket goes it causes overheating. A bit chicken and egg like!

What was your cause? Fuck knows. But unless you find it you'll go round in a circle spending money. On one car it turned out to be a tiny crack in the radiator, but only found that out after the third head gasket job £££.

i know the water did smell of exhaust.....
i always thought if the gaskets went that you got water in the oil etc.. milky stuff... there is none in the oil or water in my van...yet!

what can i look for apart from these symptoms for warped head, i dont hear any odd noises from the engine (knocking etc) apart from gurgling/boiling ? could there be a chance that its been caught in time? or is it too late.
head... is that just a "rocker cover"
i assume the gaskets them selves dont cost much. the headache comes fitting them?
is it an engine out job?

no the head is the cylinder head...

a gasket is a fairly cheap job

a head isnt...
if its warped, you can usually get them skimmed
if its cracked, sometimes they can be welded which then usually requires it to be skimmed
sometimes though its just too bad...

I would get a pot of K Seal.
not Radweld or any of the numerous other ones...

K Seal is very good.
I had a bike with a blown head gasket, used a tub of K Seal and it stopped the boiling...

Its a little expensive, but can even stop a cracked head from leaking...

That milky stuff is an emmulsion formed from mixing water and oil.

Head gasket failure is a vague term. The Head gasket can fail in many places:-

Between 2 cylinders
between a cylinder and a water way
between a cylinder and an oil way
between a water way and an oil way
between one of the above and the atmosphere

From the sounds of it yours has failed between a cylinder and a water way. But you can get exactly the same sypmtoms from a cracked or warped cylinder head.

I've never done a hijet, but from looking at mine now i'd drop the engine and box onto the floor then do the head job with easy access. Probally 5 to 8 hours labour.

The head can be taken off in situ I did ours twice once to change head gasket the second to change the head gasket and get it skimmed, I have put my compression tester with our gear to come to bikefestuk do you have a spark plug spanner/socket etc to get the plugs out which should show if you have a leaky gasket takes longer to get the plugs out than to test the pressure.

i am sure i can take 30 mins away from the show. i live 5 mins away so not an issue.
van is at home with my tool box in the back.. lol

did manage to get away from show a few times this weekend but i had event stuff to do so didnt get any time to look at van.

Rich, you mention that you can remove the head with engine in. did you have to take a contortionist class first and have any skin left on your fingers when done? lol..... how did you manage it?

going over to mates this eve (round the corner) and make a list of things we can eliminate our selves. also going to read up in the manuals what i can.

No and no but am qualifed mechanic so have hands made of leather and don't bleed for very long, you have to take the handbrake lever and the centre plate out and use a clothes peg to hold the upper back bolt up to clear the block and have the intake manifold pulled up out the way I used a rachet strap its all a bit tight but it does all clear.

lol.

list to do before we start ripping things apart!
1) remove thermostat= didnt fix problem, new one not fitted yet but will be
2) hard wire radiator fan to come on with ignition= didnt fix problem, but at least the fan works!
3) check rad pipes for equal-ish temperatures to tell if pump is buggered. = did this today, top pipe gets hot 1st, bottom gets hot eventually but feels the same temp as top= pump working. i did feel bubbles in the top pipe!
5) check all coolant pipes for leaks= all the rubber ones are still flexible not hard, no cracks or leaks that i can see.
5a) compression test + inspect plug ends.= 150psi across all 3 (best of 3 go's); hijet manual reads 177psi, plugs are red/brown
6) drop 2 denture tabs in rad, circulate, drain, flush, re-fill/bleed= did all this, forgot to re-fill with coolant! took van for a wee spin, temp didnt pass half way, thermostat back in, fan still hot wired, heater matrix switched off. i want to replace the fan switch, fit a bypass switch then put coolant in.
7) remove rad and check for blockages/leaks= when flushing water pissed out the bottom just fine.

also.. a tip!
when re-filling the system, dont plug the matrix bleed pipe for too long while your garden hose in bunged down the rad opening! i pressurised the system with water (unknowingly) to which it decided it had enough and blew cold water all over me!
lol as hot as today was i didnt mind + i dried off in 30 mins!

right, flushed, denture tabs, new fan switch etc and re-bleed the system.
been for a 20 mile round trip and temp got to half but didnt go much further, when i put hot blowers on the temp dropped, when doing 40mph+ the temp stayed in the normal range 1/4th-1/2.
when i got back home i did hear a SMALL amount of bubbling and only for half a min in the expansion tank... no where near what it used to sound pre-boil over.

i am going to keep an eye on it, stick to short runs just in case.
could i have really got away with not replacing the head gasket this time? maybe a blockage in cooling system caused the problem?

hope you got your compression tester Rich, if not should be monday/tuesday.
while digging in my other tool box i found the compression tester that i used on my bike! same thing i guess.

if in doubt get a pot of k seal and that will fix your head gasket if its leaking...

I had a boil over on mine though :S