According to the workshop manual yes it is. If it is that then it's a cheap and easy fix!

Just re-checked the manual after 500miles the head should be re-torqued cold loosen each head bolt 1/4 turn and re-torque in the correct order so it is possible the head gasket has blown?

FYI, I've had two old Spit 1500's that blew head gaskets.

Doncha just love British engineering?

Mind, I was in MOMA in NY recently and they have one of these in this colour!
http://i66.tinypic.com/igkcvt.jpg

Thanks for the input fellah's, I do hope the head gasket has not blown, as it was replaced just a few miles before this overheating problem! And as I said earlier, it was an absolute bitch to work on, as I had not opted for the the flip front on the car, and had an awful tricky time trying to get to all the nuts and bolts in the constricted space I had to work in! To do it all again would be a real bummer.

What coolant are you using? One of the classic cars on wheeler dealers used a coolant that didn't have water in it which kept cool for higher temperatures plus a big more efficient radiator and fan to keep it cool.

The waterless coolant is pricey and a pain to flush your engine through as well to ensure it's clear of water before filling


Cheaper alternative once your head issue is sorted is stuff called water wetter or equivalent it's an additive rather than replacement

Zag and RRB, I am using just water and antifreeze as normal.

I believe the the waterless coolant is around two hundred quid a go.

But as I said before, up until the head gasket went, I had driven for 600 trouble free miles during the hot summer months, and the powerful fan I had fitted worked really well, and dropped the temp quickly when it was required to.

As a matter of interest, when I stripped the head off to sort the gasket, there was a 1 inch gap of gasket missing between cylinder 1 and 2, so it had been on the way out for a long time by the looks of it.

I use water wetter in my old Jag, before it was added the gauge would always sit just above halfway, afterwards it sits just below halfway. There is a much cheaper alternative to water wetter, it comes up on an eBay search. The bottles are only small so I added 4 to my cooling system. I also added an expansion tank and that has helped a great deal as before whenever you open the rad cap it always needed topping off. The handbook says you should check the water every week! How often do you check the water on your modern car?

Thanks for that Jagtvr, I check the water twice a week in my
"modern" car (which is 25 years old!) Never had an overheating problem, and my van which is 17 years old, I check perhaps twice a year!
But I always watch the temp gauge and it usually stays fairly constant.

I used to have a Triumph Stag so I developed a squint, one eye looking ahead, the other constantly glued to the temperature gauge. It has left me with an overheating phobia, I can smell anti freeze in a hot engine with a tiny leak.

I use a pressure system to check for leaks, very useful, similar to

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Univers...YAAOSwcu5UMWMa

In a humorous vein, I looked at that link and saw the kit, and noticed that there were an awful lot of adapters for loads and loads of cars, but could not see one for an XKSS.................

Not that I have an XKSS of course..............

Well I finally charged up the (well flat) "new" battery, and the XK started fairly easily. drove her out into the sun and opened the bonnet prior to doing the test to see if there were exhaust gasses in the coolent. Before the engine had time to heat up, I opened the radiator cap to check for pressure and the water shot out!!

Doom, gloom and despair! My worst fears realised! I think I kind-of knew this would happen anyway, which is why I left the car for so long without doing anything.

So it looks very much like there is something warped/twisted/ cracked or blown, so its head off time yet again!

Before anyone asks, did I get the head crack tested when I refitted the skimmed head after the head gasket blew?

No I didn't and of couse regret it now. Couple of hundred quid down the line and still no drivable car, am I peed off? You bet I am!

BUT, I have a plan, I want to move forward and do not want a repeat of what has just happened, so............

Instead of taking the head off yet again and chucking more money at it, with who knows what results, I will go another route.

I have never been a fan of a three bearing crank engine anyway, so my plan is to find a 1300 engine ( by all accounts they have more than just three crank bearings) and get it rebuilt, fit a new clutch at the same time then do a one for one engine swap.

That way, I think is the best way to avoid more nausea in the long run.

So, if anyone out there knows of, or has a Spit 1300 engine available, please let me know. The sooner I get my hands on one, the sooner I can sort this unfortunate mess out

(Obviously a re-built or performance 1300 engine would be an advantage, but a re-buildable one will do)

So come on you guys, dig deep in the back of your man-caves and see if you can help me out!

At least I now have a positive plan to move forward, and this has helped me get over the initial despair of this morning!

That is a bummer scottie. Hopefully you have used up all your bad luck, so good luck with your search.

Scottie, where are you based? I have a Spit 1300 under my bench. I've never run it but it is complete.

I was thinking the same Barb! No point in worrying though, I have to go onward!

Oxford, that sounds like good news, I am based in Hereford, which is not a million miles from Oxford?

Do you have any info on said engine?
Too much to hope its a 145BHP half-race???? (Humour!!)

How about that little 6 cylinder engine you have lurking in your back garden?
Make a nice new thread!

Don't even go there!!