Cylinder head gasket or something else

[Lotus Monkey]

https://youtu.be/pqOf9pu1acU

As the title says

Inlet manifold being higher positioned than the head gasket has me wondering, is there somewhere else it could be coming from?

All opinions welcome 🤓

[Phil Hutchins]

Sorry…couldn’t quite work out where the vid was filmed from! Have u got a shot from, say, a metre away for reference?

[Lotus Monkey]

I had to film it from underneath as that was the only way to see the leakage. I'm just wondering if there is anywhere above the cylinder head gasket that could be causing the leak. I can't think of anywhere other than the head gasket

Its the k series engine 

Well it looks like its a cylinder head overhaul with new gaskets & seals

Think I might go for the waterless coolant option afterwards

[Lithopsian]

Really can't tell where that's coming from, but check the inlet manifold first because it's much easier to take off although sometimes a pain to get it to seal again.

[collieek]

As above definitely check the inlet manifold.

I had a similar leak and found the inlet manifold loose, It was spitting back into the air box as well when blipping the throttle. Mine was leaking from the cam belt side.

[Lotus Monkey]

Thanks for the replies guys but i didn't think the inlet manifold held water or am i missing something?

[MrWill]

Like Phil said, it's impossible to discern what's going on from the vid.  Another video walking around the top, pointing, commentary etc would all help.  Taking the P/S back wheel and wheel arch cover off,  might offer a potentially good/informative view?

Good luck getting to the bottom of it

MrWill 

[Lithopsian]

4 hours ago, Lotus Monkey said:

Thanks for the replies guys but i didn't think the inlet manifold held water or am i missing something?

Strange but true.  The waterways don't really do much on the basic manifold.  Except leak occasionally!  One is blind and the other is only for self-bleeding.

[Lotus Monkey]

Ok guys I've took the plunge, decided to take the rear clam off (😫Jeeezuz 3 snapped bolts, another job to the list) FULLY drained the system as I am planning on waterless coolant. I personally don't think the clams have EVER been off.

I took a full picture  as I know some people like to explore pics lol anyway I think I have JUST caught the head gasket in time so the head is going to get the full overhaul, head skimmed if needed, cam seals, stem seals &  valve seats cleaned new timing belt & tensioner (manual) water pump already new. I won't be rushing this job as I need to wait for the victor reins head kit with mls head gasket to come & that won't be till next week sometime as its all vr stuff in the kit not mix & match.

So back to work now 🤓

Stay safe ppl & take care 😷

[Lithopsian]

The good news is it is much easier to change the thermostat now :)

[Lotus Monkey]

2 hours ago, Lithopsian said:

The good news is it is much easier to change the thermostat now

Yeh & new ring seals lol

[Martin R]

I have done a few of these "cough". A small tale. Someone drove into the side of our second car a Fiesta as it happened. It did it no good to say the least. a Gentleman on here let me have a 47K Rover 45 to use till i got the insurance sorted for scrap value which was not a lot. It had suffered HGF. I removed the head, had it skimmed and slapped a new Payen Blue gasket on. The problem being on inspection the liner heights were level with the block. I did not have the time to sort this and took a chance on it being ok. It lasted 1K miles before failing rather spectacularly outside work lol. I slapped a new Chinese gasket on. Its still going strong 4 years later approx for the man i sold it to at work for what it cost me. Im not telling you what to do just letting you know my experiences.. If you do use a Chinese gasket make sure its from a reputable source as there are a lot of fakes about HTH. I also run a PRT and a Electrical water pump on my S2. Worth considering? I would just replace the coolant with OAT personally and not bother with anything else after a good flush.