58 replies to this topic

[Chinna]

 

 

 

Leak from water pump seals  - Good point. Again, i assume this is under the radiator. So, any ideas how to check ?
Leak from cabin heater valve -  I wouldn't know where to check for this. I will google this.

 

 

 

 

Yellow is the water pump pulley, it is directly connected to the fan.

Green is the heater valve.  It is a known problem, lots of dodgy versions about, many people (myself inc.) have replaced it with this: http://www.dsnclassi...ngled-1-2-hose/  Pros: it will never fail. Cons: you can't turn off the water movement through the heater.

 

I'm not sure how you check a rad cap, but, like you can do for oil leaks, with the water leak, you could put some UV dye in the water and check it out in the dark with a UV light

 

 

okay, thank you. you gents seem to know the mini cooling system like the back of your hand !! It is a LOT for my brain to process, to be honest. I will try your recommendations.

 

1. The UV light idea is a good one. a bit scientific.

 

Blatherskite : sorry, i just have plain old tap water in the radiator at the moment and it all looks rusty so, it is hard to tell which bit looks steam cleaned !

 

Maximas

That's a good idea too ! I will try and get someone to rev the engine a bit while i look underneath. I have also been given a snake scope ( like a laproscopic camera ) to help me investiage the problem :)

 

I will try this tomorrow morning and I will definitely report back on progress.

 

Thank you Gentlemen.

[Chinna]

Right as advised topped up with water removed the overflow pipe and left the engine running for a good 20 minutes. Nothing...absolutely nothing. And then bingo !



So the new radiator cap is absolutely useless !

Here is a picture of the new and old radiator cap. This is a 15 lbs one I bought off ebay.



So what radiator cap to buy and from where ? Any recommendations gents ?

THANK YOU so much for all your help chaps :)

Edited by Chinna, 02 October 2015 - 08:37 PM.

[Keith Staley]

The rad cap might not be the end of your problems I'm afraid. The thermostat could be stuck or the waterpump/radiator blocked.

 

Re-run your test with the new cap and see if it happens again. If it does, the easiest and cheapest place to start is with the thermostat.

[Chinna]

Keith that's a good tip.
I took the thermostat housing off and to my horror there wasn't a thermostat ! Just a lot of dirty water. Also, I couldn't find the gasket for this with any of the local shops. Someone recommended the gasket paper and cutting it out myself. Also, I bought an 83 degree thermostat from eurocarparts

Please let me know if the gasket and euro carparts thermostat is a bad idea.

I am probably going to be shot for this, but I then tried to empty the radiator (I know I should have done that before I tried to take the thermostat out )

Lucky for me (NOT!!) My radiator doesn't have a drain plug ! Wonderful! I am currently stuck at the final frontier of the lower hose screw. darkness hampered progress.

I tried starting the engine as advised by "the clubby hubby" (lovely chap) to check if the water pump was working. Instead of the water in the thermostat housing being sucked in, the water was pushed out. Clubby hubby confirmed that this was okay and he asked me to check the heater box for blocks.


So I moved on to remove the heater box. I've cleaned this by taking the matrix out and flushing it under the tap and I've put it back together, ready for refitting

The outlet heater matrix hose is clear and easy to blow through. The inlet is not. Will check this after draining the system.

Is there any golden tip to taking the lower radiator hose off ? Shall I take it off at the water pump ? It is more accessible from that end.
Thank you gents.

[Mini Manannán]

You'll get more water out if you take the bottom house off. You need a long screwdriver and a bit of patience. It's not that tricky a job, silicon hoses make life easier because they slide back on easier.

[Spider]

The rad cap might not be the end of your problems I'm afraid. The thermostat could be stuck or the waterpump/radiator blocked.

 

Re-run your test with the new cap and see if it happens again. If it does, the easiest and cheapest place to start is with the thermostat.

 

I agree!

 

Looks to me like the cap is fine and working perfectly.

 

I'd say you have an overheating problem and the loss of coolant (re: water) is from it being blown out when the system boils.

[Chinna]

The bottom hose jubilee clip was very stubborn. I ended up removing the radiator with the bottom hose by disconnecting the bottom hose at the water pump.

There certainly was a big blockage. It was in the connector between the radiator bottom hose and the heater hose. See picture of offending jubilee clip and connector.



Now I need to order these parts.

Yes silicone hoses would be great. But perhaps next summer :)

Edited by Chinna, 04 October 2015 - 10:30 AM.

[Spider]

There certainly was a big blockage. It was in the connector between the radiator bottom hose and the heater hose.

 

With some reasonable certainty, I can assure you, that will not be the only blockage.

 

Have the entire cooling system professionally cleaned, you are wasting you time otherwise.

[Chinna]

There certainly was a big blockage. It was in the connector between the radiator bottom hose and the heater hose.

 
With some reasonable certainty, I can assure you, that will not be the only blockage.
 
Have the entire cooling system professionally cleaned, you are wasting you time otherwise.

Hmm okay. But what is it that the professionals would do in addition to all that I have already done ?

I.e. 1. remove radiator and hoses and clean
2. Change blocked adaptor
3. Remove heater and clean matrix
4. Install new thermostat and gasket
5. New radiator cap
6. Flush system with radiator flush liquid
7. Install new jubilee clips
8. Install fresh antifreeze.

Thank you

[Mini Manannán]

 

 

There certainly was a big blockage. It was in the connector between the radiator bottom hose and the heater hose.

 
With some reasonable certainty, I can assure you, that will not be the only blockage.
 
Have the entire cooling system professionally cleaned, you are wasting you time otherwise.

Hmm okay. But what is it that the professionals would do in addition to all that I have already done ?

I.e. 1. remove radiator and hoses and clean
2. Change blocked adaptor
3. Remove heater and clean matrix
4. Install new thermostat and gasket
5. New radiator cap
6. Flush system with radiator flush liquid
7. Install new jubilee clips
8. Install fresh antifreeze.

Thank you

 

 

Chris probably means you'd be best getting it chemically cleaned.  At the very least put some radflush in and get it hot, we bet you'll get a lot more gunk out.

[Spider]

 

 

 

There certainly was a big blockage. It was in the connector between the radiator bottom hose and the heater hose.

 
With some reasonable certainty, I can assure you, that will not be the only blockage.
 
Have the entire cooling system professionally cleaned, you are wasting you time otherwise.

Hmm okay. But what is it that the professionals would do in addition to all that I have already done ?

I.e. 1. remove radiator and hoses and clean
2. Change blocked adaptor
3. Remove heater and clean matrix
4. Install new thermostat and gasket
5. New radiator cap
6. Flush system with radiator flush liquid
7. Install new jubilee clips
8. Install fresh antifreeze.

Thank you

 

 

Chris probably means you'd be best getting it chemically cleaned.  At the very least put some radflush in and get it hot, we bet you'll get a lot more gunk out.

 

 

Yeah, but the Profession guys (or at least the good ones) use some pretty heavy duty chemicals and do it with very hot water, much quicker and likely cheaper than you could do at home.

 

There are some 'home brew' methods, there's been some talk of them in recent times, but - sorry to say - I really think yours is quite past that point.

[Keith Staley]

Hmm okay. But what is it that the professionals would do in addition to all that I have already done ?

I.e. 1. remove radiator and hoses and clean
2. Change blocked adaptor
3. Remove heater and clean matrix
4. Install new thermostat and gasket
5. New radiator cap
6. Flush system with radiator flush liquid
7. Install new jubilee clips
8. Install fresh antifreeze.

Thank you

Actually I've just had the exact same problem as you and I found that the heater valve on the head was blocked and after removing the water pump for inspection, I found it to be badly corroded/blocked so it was replaced as well as the bypass hose. I checked for any built up crud & manually flushed each part of the system until it ran clean. After it was all put back together, I refilled/ran to temp & drained it a couple of times before finally topping up with anti-freeze. Problem solved.

You sound like you've got it all back together now....has it stopped boiling over?

[Chinna]

Okay. Gents. Point taken :) I will heed your advise and take it to a professional cleaner. Will any garage be able to flush the car?
Thank you

[Spider]

Maybe, but I'd suggest a specialist, here's one in your area

 

http://www.vehiclera...icle-radiators/

[Chinna]

Right gentlemen,

I've replaced the thermostat,
cleaned the heater matrix,
removed and cleaned the radiator.
Cleaned and checked all hoses.
Replaced cylinder head take off
Flushed with holts radiator flush with the car running and the heater on hot.
But there is no hot air coming through the heater. And the car is still over heating.

Running out of ideas and talent now.
Thanks

Edited by Chinna, 11 October 2015 - 04:02 PM.