Oil and Water ..... !!!!

[Hamish]

6 minutes ago, RogerH said:

Hi Hamish

Most of the 'Radweld' type aditives work very well for such leaks

 

Roger

Agreed. Dads favorite was bars seal either in a bottle but I remember a friable block. 

[Z320]

4 hours ago, PriceLes said:

The weep picture was in the car with the rocker cover removed.

Found when checking the valve clearances which were IN 0.005” and EX 0.002” (DPO<)

Ok, I expected less coolant really visible

[RogerH]

Thats what I was trying to remember

 

[james christie]

2 hours ago, RogerH said:

Most of the 'Radweld' type aditives work very well for such leak

I think you will find that 'traditional' repairers of our rads hate the stuff

james

[Hamish]

2 hours ago, RogerH said:

Thats what I was trying to remember

 

Grill spring onion ???? 😉

[stuart]

34 minutes ago, Hamish said:

Grill spring onion ???? 😉

Nope, Rad leak.

Stuart.

[Hamish]

Bars leek

i like this game. It’s like answer smash. 

Edited June 17 by Hamish

[RogerH]

Grill, spring onion - we are not playing 'three word location'

At least you got there.  Bars Leeks  - Barrs Leaks

My talent is wasted.

Roger

[Hamish]

46 minutes ago, RogerH said:

Grill, spring onion - we are not playing 'three word location'

At least you got there.  Bars Leeks  - Barrs Leaks

My talent is wasted.

Roger

Start a new thread Roger and we’ll all play the game. 

[TR4'er]

On 6/16/2026 at 11:16 PM, TR4&#x27;er said:

Thanks for all your coments - taken on board. ust back from Hols, so will start tomorrow Wed 17th and will update  with any developments.

Thx again. Rob.

Cleaned out waterways and radiator, replaced cylinder head gasket, using minimal sealant on both sides. Left for a day then started up with no water, to heat up the block. Left for another day and filled with coolant and ran for around 20 minutes - mid range temp, with plenty of water circulation. Cooled down and checked radiator - no oil present, but oil filler cap had condensation on it - as in pic.

Any ideas as to the next step - is it cylinder head to be skimmed - if so any suggestions as to who could do this - I live in Aylesbury.

Thanks in advance. Rob.

[stuart]

45 minutes ago, TR4&#x27;er said:

Cleaned out waterways and radiator, replaced cylinder head gasket, using minimal sealant on both sides. Left for a day then started up with no water, to heat up the block. Left for another day and filled with coolant and ran for around 20 minutes - mid range temp, with plenty of water circulation. Cooled down and checked radiator - no oil present, but oil filler cap had condensation on it - as in pic.

Any ideas as to the next step - is it cylinder head to be skimmed - if so any suggestions as to who could do this - I live in Aylesbury.

Thanks in advance. Rob.

Thats not enough time running to get rid of all the condensation, It needs a much longer run.

Stuart.

[Dale Moore]

Have you retorqued the head bolts ?

Dale

[trchris]

Yep agree with Stuart you need to go and give it a good run….. in the glorious sunshine ☀️ 

Chris

[TR4'er]

1 hour ago, stuart said:

Thats not enough time running to get rid of all the condensation, It needs a much longer run.

Stuart.

Thank you for that ..... good point. 

Will do. Thx. Rob.

[TR4'er]

On 6/17/2026 at 4:15 AM, PriceLes said:

This is the factory plug in the cylinder head, not it applies to your situation based on previous replies.

That plug can corrode from the inner side resulting in weeping (as I found) . It can be removed and tapped 3/4 NPT to take a brass hex plug.

Thank you for the information. Have checked the  "ally plug" and all looks well.

Will continue with the process suggested on this thread. Thank you. Rob.

[Trumpy3]

Rob

Suggest you should have checked the liner seals when you had the head off.

1. You had to drain the oil anyway.

2. It is not that much work to remove the sump.

3. If the seals are leaking, the head would have to come off anyway.

4. You would have covered all the normal causes.

5. The sump could be properly cleaned of any oil/water mix.

Then, my background is aircraft so safer is always better.

Brian

[Z320]

Pick up a trop with your finger and taste it on your tongue

—> is it sweet —> it is coolant

[TR4'er]

22 hours ago, Trumpy3 said:

Rob

Suggest you should have checked the liner seals when you had the head off.

1. You had to drain the oil anyway.

2. It is not that much work to remove the sump.

3. If the seals are leaking, the head would have to come off anyway.

4. You would have covered all the normal causes.

5. The sump could be properly cleaned of any oil/water mix.

Then, my background is aircraft so safer is always better.

Brian

Thx Brian, coolant removed, all water channels cleaned as well as the radiator. Oil changed and sump cleaned, fresh oil/filter used. So will get out for a longish run Sunday.

Get back to you all. Thx Rob.

[Mike C]

Certainly some good weather coming up in the UK for drying water out of engines.

[TR4'er]

On 6/19/2026 at 1:20 PM, trchris said:

Yep agree with Stuart you need to go and give it a good run….. in the glorious sunshine ☀️ 

Chris

Have been out for a round trip to Cardiff - 400 miles, and found a wonderfully clear oil filler cap, once everything had cooled down. Hopefully that should be sorted.

With regard to re-torqueing the cylinder head, re-torqued the day following fitting the new gasket following a minimal run.

Do you think I should re-torque after the long run ... ???

[trchris]

 l would re-torque after 500 miles so l would think you about ready to 

Chris

[Hamish]

I was lead to believe it was more about good heat cycles rather than miles especially if the miles done in one trip. 
but yes check again now. 

[Motorsport Mickey]

Rob, When you are retorquing the cylinder head make sure to UNDO the head nuts by about 1 flat first to allow the stiction( sticking friction) to be removed from the nuts, I mark the nuts with dab of white paint. Then with the torque wrench at 105 lb ft retorque the head in a smooth sweep action until it clicks off in the appropriate sequence as per workshop manual diagram. 
Don’t be surprised when the fastenings screw down maybe an extra flat beyond where they were originally, the heat treatment to the gasket allows it to crush tighter upon retorque. I continue retorquing yearly until there is no further movement of the nuts, showing the head gasket is crushed to it’s limit.

Mick Richards

[TR4'er]

On 7/5/2026 at 10:31 PM, Motorsport Mickey said:

Rob, When you are retorquing the cylinder head make sure to UNDO the head nuts by about 1 flat first to allow the stiction( sticking friction) to be removed from the nuts, I mark the nuts with dab of white paint. Then with the torque wrench at 105 lb ft retorque the head in a smooth sweep action until it clicks off in the appropriate sequence as per workshop manual diagram. 
Don’t be surprised when the fastenings screw down maybe an extra flat beyond where they were originally, the heat treatment to the gasket allows it to crush tighter upon retorque. I continue retorquing yearly until there is no further movement of the nuts, showing the head gasket is crushed to it’s limit.

Mick Richards

Thank you all for your comments in my situation.

On return from Cardiff - re-did the head nut torque again  - as advised and took it for another long run - Liverpool and back - 500mls. Good to inspect after cooldown and not a drop of condensation to be found. Really comforting to have you all behind me when doing jobs and not too experienced. Thanks again, Rob.