Sorry, long story...
Many of you will be aware of the
fun and games I’ve had with our van.
I recently posted to say it was fixed and, better still, that it sailed through its MOT.
Well, I felt it was running a bit on the warm side and had needed to top up the coolant a couple of times. I was investigating this yesterday when suddenly the water started spraying out of the header tank at extremely high pressure!
There is only one thing that can generate this sort of water pressure - a blown head gasket!
Before anybody asks, yes I did use a torque wrench and torqued the head bolts to the correct torque, the gasket was new and the faces were meticulously clean.
To say I was upset would be a massive understatement. As you’ll know from my questions about meets/rallies I was already plotting and scheming next years travels.
After a somewhat sleepless night I’ve reached something of a watershed. That’s it, I’m done! I love this van and have spent a lot of time and money getting the habitation how we want but I can’t just carry on throwing money at it.
it has new -
Battery bank
Solar system
Diesel heater
Fridge
Telly
Radio
Inverter
So my plan now is to source a suitable newer van and do my own conversion using the old van as a donor.
it feels like a shame to be plundering an old classic but I’m sure now that this is my most cost effective solution.