Hi all. New series 3 E Type V12 manual 2+2 owner here! How best to check if this car has overheated in the past? I have read all previous threads, but would appreciate an expert, all options covered, summary. Thanks!
Look very closely for rusty water stains all over the front portion under the bonnet. They may have missed some in the cleanup process. On the other hand, if you have had the car for a while and driven it some distance and allowed everything to get fully warmed up, you will make your own discoveries.
Quite hard to tell, if the PO has taken steps to conceal the event. The definitive test is a hardness test of the cylinder heads. Of course, generally this requires that the heads be removed from the engine. If the engine has got really hot, a test of the external surfaces close to the valves will be an indicator.
Regards,
Bill
More practically, if you have proper compression and pass a leakdown test it indicates your valve seats remain where they belong and the heads have not warped. You will always find issues left by a PO, fix them properly and the car can be quite reliable.
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Thanks everyone - all really useful tips.