124 drinking water like a camel
 

i did a search that was inconclusive, so i'll ask here

my car started consuming copious amounts of water today. 1990, 260E, needs a head rebuild.

anyway, i drove up to half moon bay (nor cal) this past weekend and had to stop several times to check the coolant when the temps started creeping up. but that was after at least 200 miles of driving.

today, after not twnety minutes the temps crept up, i stopped the car and checked the overflow tank. it was empty, and the water in the windshield washer bottle was full and boiling. odd i thought.

i filled it, drove on and 10 minutes later same thing.
it took nearly a gallon of water each time.

does this mean i need to do the head now or is there some other explanation.
TIA

thank you.

when i first looked at those coils in december (when i bought the car,) i thought they were heater elements and heated the water so that in col climates you could have heated water to defrost your windshield. i guess i was partly right.

anyway, looking at them today, i realised they are water pipes, and suspected what you mentioned. i just figured it was unlikely that the metal part broke in the tank and dismissed it.

i shall have a look at it.

i bypassed that system and problem disappeard. thank you