problem with cooling system on expert van 1.9td

[dudarus1]

i have just purchased a expert van 1.9 td 1998 and i think the head gasket is knackered. the symptoms are that every morning i have to bleed the radiator and its full of air. if i dont bleed the radiator then it will boil over when left idling. as long as the radiator is bled everyday then the van is ok. the temp is always around 70 if its overheating it does to 80 but the fan doesnt come on because i think that works at 90. is there anything other than gasket what could be letting the air in.

regards
jake

[spider]

Fan at about 90 is normal yes. Running temp should be about 80 usually, 70 is a bit low.

It should not pull air into the cooling system. Us there any pressure build up ? , I'd of thought the compression pressure in the cooling system would show up. I thought about a failed o ring on a bleed screw letting air in however that would also leak coolant out.

No signs of external water leakage ?

Could well be the HG going. If its been cooked it will have lost the gasket, the same as if coolant changes are neglected they can clog up.

[citronut]

why/how do you think there is air in the coolant system

if you mean when you first start up from cold the coolant erupts with the cap off, then this is almost certainly HG failure,

can you explain more what and when its acuring and your procedure

[dudarus1]

there is no mayo in the oil or oil in the water. every morning i open the bleed on the top right of the rad and loads of air comes out the water goes down. it will then be fine all day but if u dont let the air out then water will come out of the overflow on the header tank even though the temp gauge only reads 75 ish. when started with the expansion tank cap off i can not see any bubbles. hope that helps