hey guys i'll make this short.

i have TE magna. with the 3L V6 engine

I noticed my coolant level was low the other day and i decided to top it up. I also noticed sludge on my radiator cap. I've cleaned the cap and topped up levels. I was worried that a head gasket could be a issue, especially with sludge and water loss.

I drove the car from newcastle to syd (approx 180kms) temp was good all the way down. Untill i hit traffic in syd. Temp rose a bit but not critical.... say 1 bar over the 1/2 way mark. I checked levels in the over flow bottle and it was fine. I didn't want to open rad cap cos i didn't want to go to hospital as well. All was good..

On the way back to newcastle, all was good till i was about 3/4 of my journey. The temp guage was starting to rise... then again i was starting to drive abit faster. THe car was sitting on 3K rpm. The temp guage was creeping up towards 3/4 mark till i backed off the high rpm. Then i got off the freeway and i was driving slow, then my temp rose to 3/4.

i get home and i decided to check some other things... like leaks and smells. Nothing.

the car was 1/2 and i revved it to 3K rpm for about 2 minutes. Temp rose to 3/4 and i think it would've went higher if i didn't stop.

I check levels when the car had cooled down and the levels were fine. i didn't also lose any water in the over flow bottle and there was No sludge on the radiator cap.

But i did start the car to check if there was any bubbles for a head gasket issue. There was.
It only had bubbles when i revved the engine. On idle there was no bubbles at all.

Now my questions are, does the magna have a issue with head gaskets?

do magnas bubble in the radiator all the time??

do magna's have issues with coolant loss?

do magna's over heat with the factory thermofans?



any help and ideas is appreciated

hey guys i'll make this short.

i have TE magna. with the 3L V6 engine

I noticed my coolant level was low the other day and i decided to top it up. I also noticed sludge on my radiator cap. I've cleaned the cap and topped up levels. I was worried that a head gasket could be a issue, especially with sludge and water loss.

I drove the car from newcastle to syd (approx 180kms) temp was good all the way down. Untill i hit traffic in syd. Temp rose a bit but not critical.... say 1 bar over the 1/2 way mark. I checked levels in the over flow bottle and it was fine. I didn't want to open rad cap cos i didn't want to go to hospital as well. All was good..

On the way back to newcastle, all was good till i was about 3/4 of my journey. The temp guage was starting to rise... then again i was starting to drive abit faster. THe car was sitting on 3K rpm. The temp guage was creeping up towards 3/4 mark till i backed off the high rpm. Then i got off the freeway and i was driving slow, then my temp rose to 3/4.

i get home and i decided to check some other things... like leaks and smells. Nothing.

the car was 1/2 and i revved it to 3K rpm for about 2 minutes. Temp rose to 3/4 and i think it would've went higher if i didn't stop.

I check levels when the car had cooled down and the levels were fine. i didn't also lose any water in the over flow bottle and there was No sludge on the radiator cap.

But i did start the car to check if there was any bubbles for a head gasket issue. There was.
It only had bubbles when i revved the engine. On idle there was no bubbles at all.

Now my questions are, does the magna have a issue with head gaskets?

do magnas bubble in the radiator all the time??

do magna's have issues with coolant loss?

do magna's over heat with the factory thermofans?



any help and ideas is appreciated

Yeah sounds like you have done a HG and something is up with the Thermostat as well. No car should lose coolant or overheat if the factory thermo is working correctly. As for the bubbling its the same deal, unless there is a huge airlock in the system.

yeah thanks for that.

after tinkering over the weekend i've slowly come to terms that i've done a HG. I believe it's the rear bank HG too. The thermostat is fine. I opened the thermostat housing and had the thermostat on my hand and it opens quite freely.

i want to know is this common on all magnas??

if i was to upgrade to which model magna would i look for?

yeah thanks for that.

after tinkering over the weekend i've slowly come to terms that i've done a HG. I believe it's the rear bank HG too. The thermostat is fine. I opened the thermostat housing and had the thermostat on my hand and it opens quite freely.

i want to know is this common on all magnas??

if i was to upgrade to which model magna would i look for?

It isnt a common issue no, did you check the thermostat via boiling it in a jug of water? also use genuine gaskets as well, the acl ones are ok, but the gen ones are by far better and are around same money for a VRS.

Find it hard to believe a 3rd Gen magna has done a head gasket.. It all sounds like a head gasket but they have Metal Gaskets so go little to no chance of blowing one..:)

Find it hard to believe a 3rd Gen magna has done a head gasket.. It all sounds like a head gasket but they have Metal Gaskets so go little to no chance of blowing one..:)

Unless its a cracked Head, first one ive heard on a 3rd gen however.

Unless its a cracked Head, first one ive heard on a 3rd gen however.


Yeah that could be it.



So on second inspection there was no sludge..??

Have you checked oil condition..??? Pull the dip stick out and see if you got a caramel milkshake.

If all seems good there hard to explain without seeing it. So are cooling fans working ok..???

other thing i would be checking first is thermostat. When ending starts to heat up like you say check to see if both top and bottom radiator hoses are near the same temp. if one top is HOT and bottom is COLD its a thermostat not doing its job..

I would first replace your thermostat and radiator cap, just to rule them out, they aren't all that exxy. The thermostats ive held didnt move freely, its was very hard, with my bare hands, to get it to move at all.

Easiest test for thermostat is on car radiator pipe temp test.


If you end up removing it from the car get two tubs of water. One tub cold water. the other boiled HOT water from kettle. when you drop thermostat in the cold water it should close. when you then drop it in the boiling hot water it will open. then put it back in thr cold and it will close. if it doesnt do that she is stuffed.

If you pull it out replace it with a new one regardless..:)

What about a partially blocked radiator core (insects, straw, general dirt & gunk etc.) or possibly the internal passages in the radiator are partly blocked giving inferior water circulation? Perhaps try putting some radiator cleaner through the system, and also check the exterior for rubbish. :confused:

Did your thermo's come on at all?

Also - when was the last time you flushed your radiator?

radiator was flushed about a year ago... i can't remember if i was using anti freeze/boil or inhibitor. I have 2 cars and i make it common practise that i prepare both cars ready for summer.

I had the thermostat out and it's fine. It wasn't seized. I opened it when it was quite warm and it was open and then once the water had gone the thermostat closed.

Now to the sludge. There was definately sludge there... on the radiator cap. But since cleaning it up, i haven't had any build up there. There is no water or milky oil in the sump or white stuff on the inside of the oil filler cap.

I flushed the radiator and possible part of the engine. I didn't take out the nuts on the block cos i didn't know about them... until i just read the service manual. But i did flush out as much as i could via the radiator hoses with the thermostat out.

I refilled the radiator etc and once i had the engine running... i gave the engine a rev. Water spurted out.... meaning that there is compression going into the cooling system. Unless there water pump pushes alot of water.

Thermo fans do work.... then again i've only noticed one work. That's the one closest to the battery. Once again upon reading the service manual, i found out that i have a missing relay.... i think it's the Mid Fan Relay. Which i will be replacing asap.

So from reading the response.... TE V6 magna head gaskets are NOT common to blowing??

How about cracking the head??

The thermo gauge did NOT go past 3/4.

if i was to rebuild, are the head bolts monotorque?? or do they require to be re-torqued?

radiator was flushed about a year ago... i can't remember if i was using anti freeze/boil or inhibitor. I have 2 cars and i make it common practise that i prepare both cars ready for summer.

I had the thermostat out and it's fine. It wasn't seized. I opened it when it was quite warm and it was open and then once the water had gone the thermostat closed.

Now to the sludge. There was definately sludge there... on the radiator cap. But since cleaning it up, i haven't had any build up there. There is no water or milky oil in the sump or white stuff on the inside of the oil filler cap.

I flushed the radiator and possible part of the engine. I didn't take out the nuts on the block cos i didn't know about them... until i just read the service manual. But i did flush out as much as i could via the radiator hoses with the thermostat out.

I refilled the radiator etc and once i had the engine running... i gave the engine a rev. Water spurted out.... meaning that there is compression going into the cooling system. Unless there water pump pushes alot of water.

Thermo fans do work.... then again i've only noticed one work. That's the one closest to the battery. Once again upon reading the service manual, i found out that i have a missing relay.... i think it's the Mid Fan Relay. Which i will be replacing asap.

So from reading the response.... TE V6 magna head gaskets are NOT common to blowing??

How about cracking the head??

The thermo gauge did NOT go past 3/4.

if i was to rebuild, are the head bolts monotorque?? or do they require to be re-torqued?

Apparently the stock HG;s are metal so pretty uncommon to have one go, as for cracked head, again pretty uncommon but hey anythings possible, headbolts are monotorque, once they are torqued that is it.

before going crazy on rebuilding the top end, maybe pull the radiator out of the car and get natrad or a radiator specialist to have a look at it. A radiator is way cheaper and easier then pulling the top end apart.

Read so far and then got bored so please ignore if has been posted.

Remove your manifold, block off the coolant pipes

Using a threaded tube, one by one pressureise the cyl with compressed air and see if your coolant level changes. This will take a minute or so per pot.

This wil tell you if the gasket is an issue or not or if the head is cracked in the combustion chamber area which would also be rare.

Go to a parts shop and also get yourself a monoxide test kit, this will detect carbon monoxide in the cooling system

yeah i was thinking of doing a leak down test.... and see if bubbles would come up through the radiator. But i'm concerned about removing the intake manifold.

Is the intake manifold gasket re-usable? Is it rubber or metal??

yeah i was thinking of doing a leak down test.... and see if bubbles would come up through the radiator. But i'm concerned about removing the intake manifold.

Is the intake manifold gasket re-usable? Is it rubber or metal??

Mabey water pump. My parents old TE had this exact problem wont be crakced head or HG

yeah i was thinking of doing a leak down test.... and see if bubbles would come up through the radiator. But i'm concerned about removing the intake manifold.

Is the intake manifold gasket re-usable? Is it rubber or metal??

Is a metal gasket and provided you do not bend it, which would be hard to do unles you were careless, you just use it again.