already on the lookout for project C

maybe able to get a car which is decribed as "over heating & brown sludge in the coolant tank"

I am suspecting Oil Cooler fail??

If so can i drive it say 20 miles?? which is what i need to do to get it back...

i am guessing i could drive it say 7 miles, stop. Drain the coolant, put some fresh coolant back in... and then continue for another 7 miles or so, and repeat?

Or could i get away with water in the coolant system?

Drive it and see just how hot it gets. But, for gods sake, dont let it get too hot or you will knacker it completely

STMO123 wrote on 20. Aug 2006 at 18:25:

Drive it and see just how hot it gets. But, for gods sake, dont let it get too hot or you will knacker it completely

Apprently it was only driven from an auction, so I don't know how hot it got  :-/

Also: try and pick it up when there is little traffic about, you really dont want to be standing at lights etc

Your the expert Tunnie.....you should know  ;D

Im not an expert but from what ive read on other posts....does sound a bit like oil cooler.

Sounds like rad is sludged up if its overheating

As STM says drive it....if its gets too hot....let it cool down and then drive it a bit more.

Caution tho!! If its been overheating how do you know if the owner hasnt driven too hot...and caused damage.....warped heads??

You could be biting off more than you can chew on this one  :-/

Just a personal viewpoint here Tunnie, but I would try and get a bit further with project B before thinking about another ;)

STMO123 wrote on 20. Aug 2006 at 18:38:

Just a personal viewpoint here Tunnie, but I would try and get a bit further with project B before thinking about another ;)

Its going for silly silly money, and its so close to me!

Will report back soon...

If its come from an auction and its going for silly money, theres a reason. Please be careful.

When My oil cooler let loose I was 15 miles away from home. Had to by two large milk canisters, pour the milk away and fill with water. Drain sludgy coolant and fill up with water. had to refill twice before I could get home. Watch that temperature gauge like a hawk and dont let it get above 95%, because when you stop to let it cool down and refill with fresh coolant, the engine temperature will rise before starting to cool.

I personaly wouldn't run it.....not only wll the cooling system be getting mroe and more gunked up but, the oil will already have a load of water in it so the lubrication will be compromised.

Just tow it.

Remember you are taking someones word it has only been driven from the auction!

Think about how much you could make breaking it, then base any price potentially paid on that.

opps, too late  :-X

I don’t think the actual overheating is the main problem here. As far as the cooling system goes, as long as you keep topping-up the expansion tank the car should not overheat badly over a short journey (inspite of reduced pressure and having oil in the coolant). I have driven a car with a blown head gasket for much more than 21 miles… And you can use normal water for a single journey no problem.

However the problems as Mark DTM pointed out is are that you are diluting the oil with water and can potentially damage the engine, and that you are clogging the waterways with oily gunk.

So if you really want to take a chance on driving it, I would base my decision on how bad the oil looks, and at any rate carry a 5L water can in the boot. Making the trip when there is little traffic on the road will also help as mentioned beforehand, and be ready to give it a good flush before finally changing the coolant (or what's left of it).

And leave the header tank cap off so the coolant system doesn't pressurise!

Thanks for the help everyone!

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

There, thats' me covered! ;)

wrote on 21. Aug 2006 at 12:40:

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. There, thats' me covered! ;)

;D

wrote on 21. Aug 2006 at 12:40:

I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. There, thats' me covered! ;)

OK tunnie, whatever you do, don't touch it with bargepole. Put it on a low-loader, tow it with AA/RAC/GreenFlag rescue lorry, even push it or crank it, all are OK - but no bargepole. This way is anything goes wrong you can still recover the cost off Ronnie.  ;D