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Yes ppl,most....if not all of us, have been through it.......u comin from ah beach lime with ya limin crew,everyone cracking jokes and having a good time when your engine cut,d check engine light start burnin your eye and your coolant temperature guage make u look twice at it cause u never see it so high before,then u get a wiff of d hot engine.so u and your partner who say he kno bout car standing over d engine and u wondering if urine or d hot beers in d back can be of any use.when u do get some "usefull" liquid, u cah help but send up a smoke signal visible from miles away.so before u move off,u start taxing everyone 4 a new headgasket,thermostat,to pay for machine work,fresh oil anc coolant.u manage to get $40 and on d way home all u thinking is "wat d hell happen" or "damn i cause this on myself".

yes........it has happened to me on 3 occasions-
coming from south,and yes i admit,i did leave the rad. cap half open.had d engine looking like a black and white cheetah from d water marks,

it happen again when my thermostat locked up.when giving gas, d temp. guage was rising as fast as d tachometer and droping just as fast when not mashing d x,

happened again when my radiator buss,had a bucket ah water to help nurse d car to El Socorro where i got a metal one

so post alya experience! doh be ashamed to say u cause it

ah boy this is a good one well i disconnect the fan to service it and same time someone check meh to go check something and well my brother see keys so he take d car as buss it when he came back no gas and well seems the head gasket blow too but d car still working hada fix that

well ah padna of mine came to service his car so i flushed the radiator system next day he call me telling me the car overheating but the radiator full well meh boy was looking at the overflow bottle and saying it full what happened is that his radiator was poor rust and the rust was clogging the holes when i flushed it it removed the rust well nothing happen to the car i repaired the radiator for him cause a new one was costing $1400 and i repair it for $60 and it stll working 6 months now

I GOIN TO LIME A SAT. NIGHT AND SAW MEH GAUGE GOIN UP AN DOWN.DIDNT TAKE IT ON .DEN WOW ALL D WAY UP.I STOPPED.IT WAS A HOSE IN D BAK OF D ENGINE BUSTED.I TOW HOME THE CAR CHANGE IT D NEX DAY.

Gone wallers with meh padna and his B12 to see some Gangster drags.... time to go home, they jump in d car and waitin on meh(gone to take ah Leak)... they hurryin meh to go b4 all d traffic and Jacka$$ drivin start .....

when i reach by d car....seeing under d car flood out with rusty water .....

so i knock on d glass and ask him whats that....

when we pull d bonnet....ah water line buss.....Good ting it was long enough...we cut off the burst part and join it back ....but then realized we had no extra water

so we stand up and put out we hand like ah "badtinghustling$$" and luck a man had a 2L bottle ah water, he lend we it and we gone

^^^he lend allyuh water...lol

Meh brother Xtrail.....Went down some windy twisty road by the look out in Maracas in 4wd mode - make two trip up and down the hill - last trip with about 10 people in de van going up a STEEP fackin hill. By the time we get to the top - temp needle dancing up and down....

Ah tell de man stop and leh we check - but going gown the north coast road - needle dropping when the cool air hit it.... Same thing going down the highway - ah tell de fokka leh we stop and check it- ..."nahhhhh..we go be ok until we reach home"......reach home - the radiator almost dry. Take about 2 jaliter of water.

Next day - I had to use the thing to go by Bhagwansingh to pick up tiles...Temp needle on the half...looking good......drive up in the back ah Bhagwansingh (Chag) - fokka doh want to start....It start after about half hour after it cool out....

Long and short - head gasket gone.....not sure - but most likely they shave the head too....

I have ah Xtrail myself now - so I don't know how to trust them QR20....

eitech wrote:^^^he lend allyuh water...lol

2 and half years going to UWI from Rio Claro...worrying to harass meh ex gf did not notice the temperature needle going up...had the ac on full the whole way..reach the top of the highway by GB when i notice it.....was too late already.....apparently one of the cooling fans had stop working...and the temperature was just rising...when they check the radiator cap....that an all was damaged. The mechanic said that it was suppose to lift when then pressure in the radiator reach a certain amount....
i was lucky doh cause the next day i went in the bamboo and got a GA15 engine complete for $1500....took 2 days to change it ...still working real good.

1 month ago...5:30 in the morning i going to work and as i make the big corner in point....i only see a set a steam coming from the front of the car......radiator blow out.....cost me $1700. to get a copper one from Davey's radiator works.......
since i put that in my car running at a lower temperature than before......but i does always have my eye on that now ....

does anyone have some helpful hints on how to tell if ur head gasket blow, i think mine blow but de car working good, de only sigh is when i rev with de radiator cap off de water coming up instead of going down.
small loss of power but that is cuz my plug wires need changing
temperature gauge reading normal,
what else should i look for?

well from my experience...look for white exhaust gas from the muffler due to coolant gettin in d pistons,pull your oil dipstick and look for foam or strange colour oil due to coolant mixing....that should tell u. if d water coming up it may be because d thermostat has not opened yet,if it comes up for a long time well......i dont kno (nubiee)

kingkdr - is doubtful that your head gasket gone. Check the following:

With the rad cap off, after reaching normal oper. temp:
1. If thermostat out - you should see the coolant in the rad flowing constantly.
2. If thermostat in - you would see flow only when the 'stat opens. Not sure how often this is.....

When you rev the cooloant may come up if you have air in the system. If so - try to bleed the system by either letting the car run with the rad cap off and fill up while idling (this is more useful if the 'stat out). Don't fill the rad to the brim - leave space for any traped air to get circulated out and escape to the atmosphere. The other (safe) way is by using the bleed nut which is usually located close to where the 'stat housing is. Keep filling from your rad with the bleed nut backed off a few threads...when you see a steady flow of coolant coming out - you should have all the air out.

Now - similar to my case - your coolant temp sensor and/or gauge could not be working properly. Check your coolant level in the rad, and overflow bottle regularly. About every day or two days, depending on how much and what type of driving you do. If the rad level remains constant, keep a closer eye on the level in the overflow bottle. The system is designed to maintain 1.9bar pressure. If the gasket is blown - cylinder pressure will exert on the coolant system, and you will hear / see bubbles coming into the overflow bottle. It could work the other way around too - where the system will use coolant from the bottle - but small amounts is no cause for concern.

BUT if you start seeing a film of oil on the coolant on the rad... well start looking for a new engine....

I hope this helps.

will try this out later, well my rad has no drain cork so i have to drain it from de hose,
the car is not driven very often only on weekends
the coolant level has been going down over the pas couple of months
i don't think ther were any air in de radiator when testing.
oil was changed last weekend and everthing seemed to be normal.
i just want to be cautious, i really do not want to change engines now

1. Fan failure
2. Radiator was too small (engine swap)
3. Head Gasket blown

If the gasket is blown - cylinder pressure will exert on the coolant system, and you will hear / see bubbles coming into the overflow bottle. It could work the other way around too - where the system will use coolant from the bottle - but small amounts is no cause for concern.

ok this is interesting....cause my "new" engine use to do this all the time....but since i put in the copper radiator it stopped.........
before i had the copper radiator is use to use water only....now i using coolant....my question is: because the water in the bottle use to be bubbling....does that mean that i blow the gasket??
i do not get any white smoke...but i do have some loss in power but i just taught that maybe the clutch disk slipping or something........
i does change my oil every month an a half ....i dont recall seeing any strange colour oil when i checked it...... i will check for oil in the radiator doh....
is there any other way to check?

wait.....people does use water in any engine cooling system?? do u guys know what water does to your engine? . blown headgasket more than likely is caused by an engine overheating.the excess heat causes it to crack,but we like to say blown...was your rad filled when u saw the bubbles?what did your temp. needle read when u experienced the loss of power? did you change the thermostat when the rad was changed........and too all u people with plastic rads......change dem before you suffer....don't say we didnt warn u

Radiator was filled when i saw the bubbles....temperature was half way (which was the norm with that radiator).........i did not change the thermostat when i changed the radiator....there are alot of conflicting stories when it comes to the thermostat....some say keep it some say take it out.........i asked my mechanic about it and he said he if it is working properly then there is no need to take it out....so i left it in......
can you all shed some light on the topic??
which makes more sence??

k....the thermostat is like a valve which allows liquid from the engine into the rad.when it is closed liquid does not flow allowing the liquid in the engine block to heat up and warm the entire engine,when the liquid in the block gets to a certain temp.,the thermostat opens slightly and allows the hot liquid to flow into the rad trying it's best to keep a constant temperature(the hotter the more it will open).they do stick open-when this happens the engine wont operate at opt.temp all the time and will cause an increase in fuel consumption.they do stick close which will cause the engine to overheat and cause real issues(warped head/block,blown headgasket and others).some ppl say remove it cause "we live in hot climate and that is for cold countries".DONT...it will improve gas mileage and pervent accelerated engine wear

The water pump mash up unexpectedly,
i realize the guage hitting the top and pull over. Notice water leaking from the bottom. i wait about 30 mins, then i added a lil water and start the car only to see water flowing like a bust wasa main.

ps: vehicle was a f/u b13. so age probably played a factor in the failure. Engine still good just a lil slow.

Plastic radiator does also mash up after a while. Best you invest in a copper radiator cause sooner or later it will go.

Plastic radiator lasted about 160km on a local b14 before it went.


Also a woman i know forget to put back the radiator cover when she was checkin the fluid level...drive to town..and the rest is history.

It real simple..the xtrail comes with TWO thermostats one in the engine and one where the rear radiator hose attaches to the engine... I only changed one and then 3yrs later I had to change the head gasket again and then found this other thermostat..

The next thing I have an oil pressure unit installed in my trail to keep and eye on the oil since for some strange reason I am not burning oil but after long runs the oil disappears so I am not chancing any probs with engine...

I have had mine for 6yrs and its running 175000kms and now looking to do an engine overhaul re looking for full engine kit and timing chain kit which N&M selling one part at a time while online it going for about $3000 landed...

Once i have done this I think its time to sell and move on so the new owner will have a good engine and overall sturdy vehicle so drive it like they stole it...

I hope this helps....Oh DO NOT USE any FRAM oil FIlter in the trail since it WILL damage your crank!!!

cylinder head gasket blow on qg15..
noticed a little oil in the water but didnt bother about it....
then noticed the water drying up from the bottle
driving again and feeling engine getting dead.....look at gauge almost right up...
pull aside and call for water....when i open the cap only oil no water.....gone home flush out radiator and full up back with water...idle for about a hour with ac on etc temp normal....
drive out de road to test drive....floor it and temp gauge moving like the tacho....spin around and gone home.
change head and block to a qg18 cost me 2500$ for everything
alot more fyaazzz