Hello all,
I've got to get a Renault Safrane V6 some 170 miles over the weekend, but the car has a blown head gasket. Other than that, it's in pretty good condition, with fully working electrics, good bodywork and solid mechanicals.
I'm assured that it's driveable, but I'm conscious of the terminal damage I could do. Given that I have absolutely no option* but to drive it, what's the best way of managing the drive without causing any additional damage?
Is it better to do it in one hit, driving it gently, or should I take a break every 20 miles or so and let the 'Renault Rocket' have a bit of a rest? Any ideas, or any suggestions on the best way to handle this situation?
* It's for a charity event, the car's costing an astonishing £50, and any extra cost takes away from the charity donation. I'd rather take the £51 risk that I'll blow the car than spend £150 on having it transported.
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id take a gentle cruise , keep a keen eye on the coolant temp and stop to refill /check the level often. make sure you have lots of water with you
maybe bridge the rad fan to run all the time?
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Take plenty of water (and oil) with you. If head gasket has blown, the car will have a raging thirst for coolant. You certainly won't be doing the car any favours by driving it with a blowing HG as you will be running the risk of damaging the head. Best bet is to drive it steadily, keeping an eye on the temperature gauge and see how you go, even if it means stopping every 20-30 miles.
Good Luck!
Martin
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I don't think no matter how you drive it, if its going to go, its going to go, no matter how you drive it, especially if you've got any kind of hills to climb.
Its like asking, how long is a piece of string???
If you are in the AA or RAC could you not ask them to tow you home. (Breakdown) ??
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Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
Barring about 15 miles at the beginning, which will be split into two journeys, it's going to be pretty much all straight down the A1 on a Sunday afternoon, so there shouldn't be too many hills or too many traffic jams (he says, with fingers crossed).
I lost my nerve - I've got myself some breakdown cover that will recover the car to home should it fail, although that's added £32 to the cost. Total so far for the car, including travel to pick it up and some insurance: £98 :-)
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I had to do this once in an old Saab. Dont know whether I was being over-cautious but I did Sheffield to Nottingham at a steady 50mph on the motorway, with one eye on the temp. guage. I tried to coast in neutral whenever I could to keep revs to a minimum. I did one stop at services for a 15 minute cool off and check water level. Temperature was fine on the motorway, it was just in traffic where it got a bit nail-biting. The engine behaved strangely at idle when it got hot but it got me home. It didnt help that it was a hot summers day when I had to do this; good Iuck with it I hope you have cold weather!
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if you dont care too much about the engine...maybe nip the head bolts up a touch more or consider one of these bottles of slop that claim to cure everything
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The car made it back. Cruising at a steady 50-55mph on the A1 for three hours or so, with the constant fear of the engine grenading itself, wasn't perhaps the most relaxing Sunday afternoon drive!
There's a lot of water in the oil, and the oil pressure indicator suggest the pressure drops to zero when the revs drop to anything around tickover. It also seems very low on power.
Other than that, it's in stunningly good condition. All the electrics work, the tyres are good, the gearbox is ok, the bodywork is in good order, and its got all the right paperwork - including a full servcie history, the original PDI and every MOT.
Thanks to all those that helped.
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So what's going to happen to the car now?
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