95 VS Commodore overheating.

[Chris73]

Wife just rang me saying her 95 VS Commodore is overheating. I told her to
call the RACV because I couldn't get out of the office.
RACV guy says it needed heaps of water, and just kept blowing the water out
of the top of the radiator, and he filled it again, and it was still blowing
bubbles out the radiator, and eventually boiled. He says possible blown head
gasket. Now, I'm no expert, but if I'm not mistaken, it is very rare for
these to blow head gaskets, and I'm thinking it will always boil if the cap
is off. Am I right?
I have noticed that the water pump has been rather noisy lately, and am
thinking it's more likely that it's lost the water from there whilst driving
(no water noticed on garage floor). I know the water pumps are only about
$110 or so, plus about an hours labour, which I can do myself anyway.
If it does turn out to be a head gasket, which I doubt it is, and hope it's
not, what is it likely to cost me to get fixed, and is it something I could
do myself, with my basic abilities. I am comfortable doing stuff like water
pumps and distributors etc, and have done rocker cover gaskets before, if
that gives you any idea of my mechanical prowess.
Thanks guys,
Chris

[iamhappy46]

I would hazard a guess that the waterpump has died, not circulated the water around the motor for a while and finally popped a headgasket, which the ECOTEC V6 does quite well at. I would do a compression test to confirm the headgasket at the very least.

Waterpump can be bought for around $80 if you know the right people and make sure you use Holden Genuine Coolant at around $50 per bottle with the cooling system pellets. Takes about an hour to do properly and bleed the air from the cooling system from the little screw above the thermostat(next to alternator)

[Toddler78]

Takes about an hour to do properly and bleed the air from the cooling system from the little screw above the thermostat(next to alternator)

This is the most important thing here, bleeding the air out of the system from that screw in the top of the thermostat housing, otherwise that little amount of air will expand and blow hoses off. This is commonly over looked by road side assit guys and holden mechanics(appentises) a like

[Chris73]

Thanks guys. I'm familiar with the bleeding requirment. The Pajero's have the same thing. (long and sad story. Don't ask!)
I'm confident enough to do the water pump myself. Is nobody mentioning the price of the head gaskets because it might scare me to death? :confused:
I'm really hoping the gaskets are fine, as she said it didn't run rough or anything. She said she just noticed the temperature gauge was almost up to the red, so she pulled over and stopped. I'm praying she caught it in time.
Chris

[iamhappy46]

The headgaskets are probably fine (for now, they usually blow a few weeks after they get really hot) and they are quite a cheap part.

I would however, replace the thermostat when replacing the waterpump. The holden waterpump pellets will also seal up the headgasket(sort of like 'chemi-weld') if it does blow in the future.

For now, I would just replace the waterpump, thermostat, coolant and waterpump pellets, then wait to see if any other problems eventuate.

Also, those little air bubbles have a nice little habit of getting stuck in the cylinder heads and causing hot spots :evil:

[VX2VESS]

VS head gaskets are common on higher K motors. those symtoms are a blown head gasket compression from the motor being pushed into the cooling system.

should also find evidence of water under the oil cap and in the oil. but that depend how bad the leak is atm. a slow leak will loose coolant into the motor over time and may burn off, until it looses to much and overheats.

it won't run rough with a small leak on one cyl.

you may have success if it is a head gasket by using a sealer in the water. many around like bars that do head gaskets, another called liquid glass, etc etc. they will work if not too bad a leak. not really a permanent fix but may last a while, at least until you come up with a permanent fix. much cheaper than the alternative repairs. if it s a high K motor would be cheaper to get a used motor to replace it than doing the head gaskets and associate work such as machine the heads etc. get a new pump (if noisy) and a stat, add some sealer to the system for a quick cheap fix. think about a low K motor off a wrecker or selling the car next

[Chris73]

The garage just called me. They filled it up, and pressure tested it all, and said it all tested fine. They reakon the coolant was just low, and it got hot. They put in a new thermostat, and gasket, and coolant, checked the water pump for any movement, which there was none. He said they took it for a good drive and the temp never got above normal. So, $87 has seen it fixed.
I'll be keeping a close eye on it over the next few weeks, and the garage said to bring it back in a couple of weeks and they'd re-check everything, but they reakon it's ok. They are even delivering the car to my house free of charge. Great service from a local garage.