Evenin all,

I have a 1989 Estelle five speed which i brought off ebay. after getting it collected from devon (200 miles) with no issues i thought i would have an easy ride.

Mistake!

It has now been taken for a drive 3 times and dumped its water three times.

New stat and low temp fan switch fitted no difference.

Any ideas? Head gasket? run it without the stat?

If it is the head, anything i should do while i have it apart?

Thanks in advance guys

Dan

Brilliant car btw.

When you get it running right you'll love it.

Try putting a post on www.skoda-forum.com

alot of people with good knowlege on older models on there..

Not that im saying people on here are thick, far from it. just they seem to tend to the older models abit more other there.

I would go for the head gasket or a cracked head. Dont run it without a stat as the coolant will not flow correctly , creating hot spots. As long as the head is ok , doing the head gasket should only take a morning

Hi road rescue, sounds like leaking headgasket causing combustion gas lock in cooling system. Check if rad gets warm ,cold rad when should be warm would confirm. head probably needs skimming.Pete.

Get head pressure tested before skimming, they have a habit of cracking between 2 and 3

Estelles are prone to head gaskets blowing, especially if its been run mostly on water or the wrong type of anti-freeze.They are a piece of cake to do, as Rigsby says shouldn't take that long to do.You may as well change the thermostat whilst you're at it, be on the safe side.Make sure you bleed the system well too, as airlocks are a begger.Once you've got it running and up to temp, about 80 on the gauge, take off the watertank cap and open the bleed tap at the front of the car - a little brass affair which is connected to the hose from the rad that runs along the top of the osf wing to where the windscreen wiper well is.Give it a minute or so at about 2000rpm to make sure its a clear flood of coolant coming out with no air, then close the tap, top up the expansion tank and it should be ok. I remember having to do this to several of my Estelles and Rapids in the past, usually within the first week of ownership as previous owners had neglected to keep them topped up with anti-freeze, just water etc.Hope this helps, and when its done, Enjoy!!

Hi I was looking at that one myself, however I will warn you the engine in the 120S can be more temperamental than a 120 from an L5 or later. It was the only reason i didnt bid on it in the end. The headgasket isnt hard to do, but check the head for warpage. They normally stretch near the stat housing end.

It will be a lovely car when done though, well done

Before paniccing about the head gasket, I'd check the radiator's not airlocked. No point in changing a gasket in order to bleed the cooling system!

Sorry Ken, but i would say the complete opposite. For the sake of a couple of hours work I always change the headgasket for my own piece of mind, even if its running ok.

Ive never had a headgasket that ive replaced ever go on me.

thanks for all the advice guys, unfortuantely the 120 is ont he back burner for now, as the Fav just failed the MOT in a big way :(

latest update, Grumble (as the Mrs has named it) has had a compression test. running 125 psi on cylinder nearest water pump, 110 on other three.

Does this still point to a head gasket?

I don't think so, unless you've got oil in the water or vice versa. I'd check the pressure cap, and as I said previously, try bleeding the cooling system.