Another in the long string of overheating hijets !! Gasket ??

Several times now my van has overheated


Symptoms are

Reserve tank boiling

No hot air from heater

After these symptoms I have pulled up to let it cool down . Removing the cap under the seat reveals no coolant even though it was topped up 50 miles or so before. It took about 3 litres of tap water ( all I had at the side of the road ) radiator fan not kicking in as rad is not hot. rad pipe at bottom is not hot. Had thermostat changed. overheated again. Got new caps coming but I asked the guy at the garage if head was blown 3 months plus ago and he said no but now says maybe ! chucked some coolant seal in ( you probably don't recommend that ) and said it could be the caps releasing pressure which I am gonna replace !

when I topped up at side of the road I tapped all the pipes to get any airlock out and noticed a small amount of gunge ( Mayo ish looking ) in the water. Has oil got in my water ?? no mayo in oil cap so water has not got in my oil so where is it all going ??? no visible leaks, wet patches !!!!

He also wants to fit a fan switch !

Whats your thoughts ??

Fitting a switch is only a backup not a solution, change garage! Water pressure when over heating is higher than oil pressure so water will push into oil ways or into combustion chambers if gasket gone hence mayo in water. Get head pressure tested and you know one way or another. If test ok then get head skimmed and change gasket.

Thanks for the straight forward info. What should a gasket and skim cost ?

Not sure off hand would have to go dig out a receipt from when mine was done but first get head checked with a cylinder pressure test to see if that points you I that direction before you start spending more.

It tends to get more involved that just a head gasket job.

The gasket failing is a symptom of a coolant system fault.

Typically rotten pipes with pin holes, or radiator end caps weaping.

Then the owner keeps topping up with water, and with the combustion gases in the coolant, it makes the pipes rot even more, and with the head gasket leaking it over pressures the coolant system making the radiator end caps weep even more.

If you just let some spanner monkey do a head gasket job without paying close attention to the rest of the coolant system, you will be back at square one with an overheating van in a short amount of time.

Tread carefully.

Thanks for your reply. He held back on fan switch as he wants to get to the route of the problem. The cap under passenger seat he noticed the copper onto was green indicating it has had moister on it. The rubber was also perished! Both caps replaced ! A visual on pipes shows no noticeable damage ! It's stayed under half way on temp so far. Used to sit at just over half way !

Fingers crossed, see how it goes on the run that showed the issues.

Quick update: vans been running fine for week and half. Started to hesitate on exhilaration ! Today it over heated again and no cold air from heater. Pulled over. Reserve tank not bubbling this time but full to the bring and cold ! Let it cool down and took cap off to find it dry. Topped up and working fine again ! Still no visible leaks. Had gasket seal poured in so still don't understand where my coolant is going ! 1 bottom rad hose hot and the other cold ! What would be my next port of call ??

Liquid seal products are bullshit.

HighlyJetted wrote:Liquid seal products are bullshit.

I dunno, they certainly seal up heater matrixes ( completely.... )

Had a bit of time on my hands today and although I am no mechanic I had a look at van. Drained the cooling system. Emptied out expansion tank. Lots of crude in that ! Poured about 5 litres of water through with drain plug off then filled it up. Had the van up hill as no jack to lift front. Filled and bled. Started it up for a min. Took cap off and it's foaming :-(

i think if your thermostat is still in it wont go round..

fixing an overheating hijet isnt something you can fix when you have some spare time.
stop putting usseless liquid seals in it and dont use water..
did you even read higlyjetted post ?

your probably doing more harm than good
there is a lott of info on this site regarding your problem
you can do 3 things..
1-keep fiddiling around with it and brake more stuff in the process... in the end you will reach option number 3
2- take it to somebody who knows hijets and get it fixed.. it will cost you some good money but then you know its going to be fixed correctly...
3-sell it

scotia wrote:i think if your thermostat is still in it wont go round..

fixing an overheating hijet isnt something you can fix when you have some spare time.
stop putting usseless liquid seals in it and dont use water..
did you even read higlyjetted post ?

your probably doing more harm than good
there is a lott of info on this site regarding your problem
you can do 3 things..
1-keep fiddiling around with it and brake more stuff in the process... in the end you will reach option number 3
2- take it to somebody who knows hijets and get it fixed.. it will cost you some good money but then you know its going to be fixed correctly...
3-sell it

I did read his post. I am finding it frustrating as no mechanic round here knows hijets. The only reason I put water in was because it would cost me a fortune with coolant. Obviously I don't want to fuck it up more. I also don't want to sell it as is.

Could anyone recommend a garage near me with someone experienced in hijets?

I didn't want the garage to stick a liquid seal product in he just done it. He also replaced both caps with spring caps. Rad never had spring cap originally. Hose to thermostat is soft at the bottom. Can't feel any holes / leaks but it's perishing!

What can I do to not fuck it up ? Should I fill it with coolant? Replace hose ?

Genuinely stumped ! I know you guys are prob shaking your heads !!!!!

i cant help you with an adress , i am from the other side of the water.
i had the same problem with mine
i thought i could fix it myself but in the end i had replaced so much stuff that i didnt know anymore where to find the problem..
did i fix the problem number 1 but didnt correctly fitt part numer 2 ???
and now 1 is fixed but the second part results in an overheating engine to..

explanation:
-hijet is overheating because of radcaps letting air in
-you dont know that and start by replacing thermostat and radcaps
-you put the thermostat in the wrong position..now you have fixed problem 1 but still have an overheating engine because of wrongly fitted thermostat.

in the end you will go crazy and nothing will make sense anymore


it cost me money and a lott of time and in the end it still overheated.. and i sold it
please dont be like me
i hope somebody on here will give you a adress of a good mechanic

Thanks again Scotia and the rest of the guys

I cant find anyone local with a knowledge of hijets so I am currently looking for a new vehicle! It's a shame as it was a good little van and I had got used to people calling me Mathew Corbett!!!!