Is air bubbles in the radiator another one or?

 

Yes. Normally won't see that until its gone good and proper though.

 

First thing is normally water in the oil (pressurised water galleries and un-pressurised oil galleries) So look for "mayonaise" under the oil cap. The sump oil will also start to go creamy.

 

As the blown HG gets worse you also start seeing droplets of oil in the water, as above bubbles in the radiator or header tank, steam/water coming from the exhaust and its also start running like an absolute dog by this stage.

well hopefully i get some time to myself so i can get a start on it. might just get a cheap battery to keep me going for now. i can't see water in the radiator, but it is damp, so it may just be low. and i can't see any mayonnaise in the oil cap. if i can take some pics i will show u and see what you reckon

ok guys pulled the tappet cover off this morning, and all over the inside was 'mayonnaise' as most call it, so there is definitely water in the motor. talked to my local mechanic, and he ordered a head gasket and vrs kit for 50 bucks which is pretty cheap i thought? it should be here either tomorrow or saturday morning. hopefully will be running like new by sunday! and don't worry i am taking a heap of pics today and will put them up tonight, including the residue under the tappet cover, for those who havent seen it before.

Be careful with that. It really depends why there is water in the oil, do a decent amount of investigation if you can. It may be corrosion somewhere, it may be a BHG, and depending on what happened when it went, things may need a skim so that it all seals properly when reassembled. If you don't mind maybe blowing the $50 then just whack it in and see what happens. Otherwise I'd spend a little more time checking everything is OK before putting it back together.

well there seems to be a bit more oil than usual near the head gasket, so i assumed that it was the problem. got the pics uploaded so see if i can put them up now.

Hmmm...i might drive over and steel that shell, looks heaps straight......really jealous.....Engine bay looks tired though but in time it will look good.

Edited July 23, 201016 yr by jono1986

very straight looking car!

 

as for the head, once you have the head off, drop it at your local machinist get it checked out. they'll pressure test it and prolly give it a skim.

 

if your keen get them to take a bit more off, get some extra bang for your buck;)

Just put one of your 4k's in it. :)

Sweet score bro. And yeah just bang a 4k in there.

Edited July 23, 201016 yr by blzbub666

i will discuss that with my bro in law, as the 4k's are his. i think i might be able to persuade him :) unless i rebuild one of the 4k's while i drive the 3k into the ground, because i just want to get it registered asap. whats the best way to flush the engine once the new gasket is in? one of my mates use 50%oil and 50% transmission fluid, because the tranny fluid has a cleaning agent in it?

I dunno about the trans fluid, I personally wouldn't.

 

Just put some NEW, cheap 20w50 in it, run it for like half and hour, then do an oil change. Repeat for extra piece of mind. :)

Cheap shit oil from K-mart is only 10 bucks for 4 litres. Which reminds me I'm running that at the moment as I was broke. Oil change tomorrow.

i checked with my mechanic that got the gasket kit for me, and he gave me the name of a bloke that skims the heads pretty cheap, so will be going to see him sometime this week. he also said just get some fairly decent oil and filter once the engine is back together, as whatever water is left in the motor will evaporate

Quick question.

 

Is that a ke55 dash? I have a 4/77 ke35 and I've got the early dash. Was there a change over? The rest of that car is very 35 so WTF?

+1 ^^^ look at where the dash pad meets the dash? looks like a decent gap?

 

and they look like late ke55 door trims?