oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I did my weekly check of the oil and coolant this morning. Needed to add a little but i always have each week. Took radiator cap off and the sprung part was all mayo . The water was clean but you can see what looks like an oil sitting in the water. There is leak from the car, not sure where not got round to looking yet. Still runs and drive well, no smoke. What you you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny69 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 How often do you drive it? It's quite common to get a bit of mayo up there if you regularly don't get it fully up to temperature, but it's much more likely to happen in the winter than summer. Oil in the water isn't a good sign, but a bit of an oily film on the top probably isn't anything to worry about. Edit - actually, just realised that you said it's on the radiator cap, not the rocker cover cap. Doesn't sound like good news I'm afraid. It won't smoke unless it's worn a ring completely out or if the combustion chamber has burned through the headgasket to an oilway (like Ford crossflows do). What's the crankcase pressure like, is it breathing heavily? oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Cheers, did'nt thing it was good news to be honest. How do i check if its breaking heavily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny69 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 If it's venting a lot of fumes out the block breather or rocker cover cap. A little bit is ok but if it's really pushing out a lot of stinky oily fumes then it's letting combustion gases through to the crank case either past the rings or past the headgasket. Usually does it when the engine has a lot of miles on it and is worn. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 On a reliant engine a small amount of white film under the oil filler is ok, particularly if it's not in regular use. I'd be concerned about seeing it in any quantity. You could try getting it hot and doing a compression test? Ps reliant engine? Hgf? They all do that sir! oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 If it's venting a lot of fumes out the block breather or rocker cover cap. A little bit is ok but if it's really pushing out a lot of stinky oily fumes then it's letting combustion gases through to the crank case either past the rings or past the headgasket. Usually does it when the engine has a lot of miles on it and is worn.Hi, no oily smells as such, runs fine too. Its done 34000 but its 1983 motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 On a reliant engine a small amount of white film under the oil filler is ok, particularly if it's not in regular use. I'd be concerned about seeing it in any quantity. You could try getting it hot and doing a compression test? Ps reliant engine? Hgf? They all do that sir!Its on the radiator cap mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Unless its getting hot I'd be tempted to leave it untlil it till actually blows spectacularly, when they really blow Its usually really clear cut... mayo everywhere. I actually changed a Reliant Head gasket last month which wasnt blowing.... The Rebel was running hot, down on power and i was convinced that it had a blow, no white froth but it seemed to be loosing coolant. It had good compression 160 - 165 psi on all cylinders, but I was still convinced it had to be HGF, Took the head off had it skimmed fitted an uprated dick harvey type Gasket and it still ran hot.... Turned out that the water pump was fucked and I'd probably changed a perfectly happy head gasket. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Unless its getting hot I'd be tempted to leave it untlil it till actually blows spectacularly, when they really blow Its usually really clear cut... mayo everywhere. I actually changed a Reliant Head gasket last month which wasnt blowing.... The Rebel was running hot, down on power and i was convinced that it had a blow, no white froth but it seemed to be loosing coolant. It had good compression 160 - 165 psi on all cylinders, but I was still convinced it had to be HGF, Took the head off had it skimmed fitted an uprated dick harvey type Gasket and it still ran hot.... Turned out that the water pump was fucked and I'd probably changed a perfectly happy head gasket.Cheers for the info. I would need to try and change the head gasket myself when it comes to it. Only ever done an oil change before. How was it doing the Rebel? Access to the engine is better but was it hard going? You hear horror stories about the head being stuck on the block with it being alloy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Oil in the radiator is not from short journeys! A small amount of water vapour in the oil , yes , but oil in the water is hgf im afraid. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taff Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 serves you right for fitting a K-series... oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryoldcortina Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Cheers for the info. I would need to try and change the head gasket myself when it comes to it. Only ever done an oil change before. How was it doing the Rebel? Access to the engine is better but was it hard going? You hear horror stories about the head being stuck on the block with it being alloy. I'm afraid in a rialto you need to remove the engine to do the head gasket because you can't get the head clear of the studs with it in the car. While I'm mentioning the studs, it's usually these that stick to the head rather than attaching itself to the block. It's a pig of a job tbh, and I've done quite a few over the years. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'm afraid in a rialto you need to remove the engine to do the head gasket because you can't get the head clear of the studs with it in the car. While I'm mentioning the studs, it's usually these that stick to the head rather than attaching itself to the block. It's a pig of a job tbh, and I've done quite a few over the years.When do i drop it off As you say i think i will run it until it goes pop. Ask my mate who does all the work on my cars and don't think hes up for it. Would love to give it a shop but its the time and the kit i would need to do it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HH-R Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 serves you right for fitting a K-series...(Reliant) Kitten-Series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticvandan Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 oil in the water is less serious,and generally can last a long time like that.ive never had to take the engine out to change one either.having a head lifting tool is a must though.the studs siezing to the head is the worst problem though,last one i did took 6 days to get off,and that was on a rebel with decent access! oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I've never had any problems getting the heads off, they are not done up to a very high torque by modern standards. I personally think heads that are difficult to remove have been got at by previous owners or clueless garages. There's a lot of very bad advice floating around about reliant head gaskets, I ve heard all sorts of bolloks spouted about overtorquing them, running the engines without coolant until they are hot, smearing head gaskets with hylomar etc ... People then wonder why they can't get them off! And why their engines are shagged. The reliant instructions given in the Worksop manual are comprehensive and should be followed, I don't know about the realto but according to the manual the robin hg can be changed with the engine in the car. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaryoldcortina Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What the manual says and what you find when you try to do it are often completely different. The first time I did one I tried the "in car" method the manual suggests and found it was impossible without removing the gearbox and dropping the engine backwards to gain enough height for the head to clear the studs. It's right around then that I decided to take the bloody thing out instead. It's not like its heavy or anything. Only thing to watch out for is that the car will then do a backwards dive off the 2 post lift because the axle is now the centre of gravity.... Lacquer Peel, oldcars and PhilA 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Cheers for all the info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticvandan Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 Personally i have always run them for a couple of minutes dry to allow the laquer on the gasket to melt and form the seal.i never had one blow again afterwards.the problem in removing the heads is usually corrosion between the studs and the head,nothing to do with previous owners etc.Ive changed around 10 now,and never had one blow since doing them,several hot and cold cycles of retorquing works far better than leaving 500 miles,by that time the heads loose and blows again. oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovylee Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 hi all, thanks for all the replies. so, i finally got around to investigating the possible HGF. and im pleased to announce that it is NOT OMGHGF i dropped the oil, and it was nice and oily, no wattery gloopy crap in there at all.i removed the rocker cover. all good in there except for a film of condensation-esque mayo in the top. all of the rocker gear was nice and oily.i removed the rad, and flushed it through. no oily gunk in there. i think i got a bit carried away, and the crap on the rad cap wasnt oily, just the result of god knows how old antifreeze shite. so, refilled with new oil, new oil filter, new coolant in the rad. took for drive, oil everywhere! should have bought a new rocker gasket lol new one is on way. that said, no gunk in the rad, and no mayo anywhere. result! mat_the_cat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groovylee Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 aaaand, ive replied to the wrong thread. D'Oh! sorry! oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 aaaand, ive replied to the wrong thread. D'Oh! sorry! you wished mine good luck mate but it didnt work im afraid groovylee 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted September 1, 2015 Author Share Posted September 1, 2015 Ok, this is now getting worse. Still runs well. Whats folks thoughs on steel seal? Mate used it on a Mini as a stop gap fix and was impressed. Didnt clog coolant etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyBastard Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Fancy this? DSC_5201 by srblythe, on Flickr DSC_5200 by srblythe, on Flickr DSC_5198 by srblythe, on Flickr DSC_5197 by srblythe, on Flickr The owner wants around £200 for it, no previous keepers on the v5. Someone should save it from being used as a tacky advertising car... It's at our unit in Cowdenbeath. oldcars, They_all_do_that_sir, UltraWomble and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Steel seal can't be worth it on such a simple engine surely ? It can't be much work to do the job properly oldcars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Bo11ox Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 I think these are more fragile on the head gasket than 10,000 Rover 75 turbos. But, cos the engine is so simple, the gasket costs £1.50 and the cars tend to be owned by mentals who will just roll their eyes then fix it on the driveway while smoking roll-ups, they tend to get away with it OK. Junkman, DeeJay, Sigmund Fraud and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticvandan Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 As I worked for the conman who imported,and still does import steelseal,I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole.it will clog every part of your reliant s primitive cooling system,and will just show up a weakness elsewhere. Urko, oldcars and Eddie Honda 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticvandan Posted September 1, 2015 Share Posted September 1, 2015 Re the F reg Rialto hatch,I'll let you in on a secret,87-89 cars,particularly F reg,I have found (and a few dealers) to be the best built,and strongest mechanically of all reliant 3 wheelers,that could make a very good daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 As I worked for the conman who imported,and still does import steelseal,I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot barge pole.it will clog every part of your reliant s primitive cooling system,and will just show up a weakness elsewhere.Thanks, did a bit more reading last night and i think i will do it properly. Will start next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcars Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 You should get £200 no bother at all for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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