Help please lorry experts

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Louby

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The temperature gauge on my lorry has never worked so I have had it repaired (was a cut wire??) and now works that good it went past the red after the lorry was stood idling on the yard for a fair while. I turned it off and a friends husband checked the water which was fine and after about 5 mins unscrewed the water cap thingy and it just slightly hissed for a few seconds. I would have thought it would have bubbled over or something. It was running fine and I didnt even think to look at the gauge so was :eek::eek::eek: when I seen it. Its 7.5t Iveco. Im wondering now if the previous owner knew the gague was wrong and has cut the wires??? I have a mechanic coming on Tuesday to have a look but just wondered if anyone had any ideas?

Thank you:D
 
It sounds like it was pressurising so I would hazard a guess and say the head gasket?
Not cheap I'm afraid on one of those. Sorry for the doom and gloom :-(
 
Eeeeeek, Im worried now. Thanks for replying. Its been running fine and still was even though the temp gauge was showing red. This is the first time Ive used it since the temp gauge was fixed so I cant see how anything has changed apart from the fact the gauge is now working. What do you mean by pressurising? Are there any more tell tale signs? I was hoping a dodgy gauge or temp sensor. Gosh :(
 
If you have a head gasket gone then obviously the best thing to do is to replace it however that will be expensive. It's expensive on a car so you can imagine the cost on a lorry.

There is another way of attempting a repair & that is to use 'Kalimex K Seal'. Due to the size of the lorry engine you will probably need to use a couple of bottles. Don't skimp of the Kalimex K Seal, use 2 bottles.

Here is a video of what you do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7pus6Xr41c&feature=related

You can get Kalimex K Seal from the internet:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/K-Seal-Pe...ssories_Car_Care_Cleaning&hash=item27bc99785e

Hopefully this will repair your problem at a fraction of your estimated cost for a new head gasket? Good Luck.
 
Thanks for that, What are the symptoms please of a blown head gasket, apart from overheating? Its running fine. Obviously I havent touched it since I noticed it overheating but if the temp gauge reading is right then it could have been overheating for a while. Also Ive never had it idling for so long, I usually get in it and go.
 
Thanks for that, I will have a look now. :)
Last question... promise :o Would it run ok with a blown head gasket as it seems odd its just come to light since I had the gauge fixed. It must have been like this before it was fixed as apart from starting it up and letting it run, it hasnt moved more than 100 yards since the gauge was reconnected last week.
 
If the guage was reading correctly,and seriously in the red .Removal of the cap would cause the system to boil over(VERY DANGEROUS ,to you ,not the truck)This is because the system is normaly pressurised and this elevates the boiling point. Removal of the cap suddenly reduces the pressure and lowers the boiling point. result. The water in the system immediately turns to steam and shoots out scalding anyone in its path.Since it did not do this , it is safe to assume that the temperature was nowhere near as high as the guage suggested. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest the head gasket has gone ,from your post. I would have expected the cap to hiss. PLEASE NEVER TRY TO REMOVE THE RADIATOR CAP FROM A HOT ENGINE.
 
I would imagine that there has probably been a problem for a while hence the previous owner had disconnected the temp guage to hide the issue. The engine would run ok for a while but the problem will escalate as water will be getting into the oil & visa versa & this will eventually cause serious problems. It isn't something that can be ignored. Hopefully the K Seal will fix it for you, assuming this is the problem. Don't get too worried, wait until your mechanic comes & after he's had a look he'll be able to let you know the problem & what the options are.

Unfortunately lorrys, specially older ones, have expensive issues. About 2 months ago I had a reconditioned radiator fitted to mine & now I've just had a reconditioned compressor fitted, both were expensive however the compressor considerably more so. I dread to think how much I've had to spend on my lorry. Can't get around it though, if the repairs aren't done it's just so much scrap metal isn't it? :(
 
Thanks Mike, my husband said the same about the water and that if the temp had been so high, we would have known about it (in a bad way) but he isnt a mechanic. He said many years ago, he was really lucky not to have been badly injured by removing the cap form an overheated car engine. He never did it again :eek:
It was a friends husband that did it, not me, I wouldnt have known what to touch or not touch.
I had to restart it to park it up shortly after he had replaced the cap and it was still in the red, so hopefully it is a faulty gauge, sensor??? as the water was definately not boiling over.
Thank you, I feel a bit better now and will stop mithering and wait til Tuesday :o
 
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