Cooling problem 1.6d n/a

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 11 Jan 2007, 22:00

Hi guys.

I have a bog standard 1.6d n/a. the van has been perfect up till my drive home today. Basically it boiled over and blew the temp sensor out of the resevoir tank.

I have filled it up and bleed the system but no circulation at all.

I have pulled the thermostate out - when I eventually found it at the back of the pump and tested it in the kitchen. its fine.

The pump seems intact and rotates ok - yes the impellor is still there.

It must be a blockage.

The rad appears new. The front to rear coolant pipes appear new. all hoses appear good.

I have poured water down the hose and it appears to flow up to the front and back again ok.

Am I missing something?

The van is like a steam train at the back end but the radiator is still stone cold.

Idea's please.

Post by **dansto** » 11 Jan 2007, 22:12

I can't offer any great advice, but sympathy aplenty! Same thing happened to me on monday (1 day after getting my van).

Fortunately it seems my problem was a leaking hose, thus stopping the system from pressurising enough (until it turned into a team train

)

Check for rusty stains... you may be lucky.

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 11 Jan 2007, 22:45

Pressurising should not stop the water circulating no matter what.

But still I'll take a good look around when I get the time.

In the mean time its back to the trusty Honda C90.

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 11 Jan 2007, 22:48

Anyone know how hard these engines are? I am expecting worse case here. The engine bay was smoking with burn oil when I popped the lid. Not a good sign I know. But its not steaming from the exhaust and no obvious water in the oil as yet. No doubt its buggered the head gasket, but we live in hope eh.

Post by **dansto** » 11 Jan 2007, 23:00

If the water is not kept under pressure it boils in the block, turns to steam and starts popping stuff. The pressure keeps the coolant from boiling (along with the antifeeze which raises boiling temp). Same reasons that mountaineers water boils away when they cook before its very hot and why pressure cookers work so well!

But hey - i'm an extremely positive person

it may be bad news, but I hope not for your sake!

It may be the perfect excuse for that TD upgrade

if you're fed up of doing 65 flat out.

Post by **Andy syncro-nutz** » 11 Jan 2007, 23:35

[quote="

if you're fed up of doing 65 flat out.[/quote]

Id be happy with that

I man yer heed is burst!

Post by **Westy.Club.Joker** » 12 Jan 2007, 08:50

Are you sure the pump is driving OK? Try running it with no thermostat, can`t really see where a blockage could come from suddenly and stop the circulation

Post by **camper** » 12 Jan 2007, 11:04

I have a 1.6td that was overheating.I checked the hoses/connections for leaks replaced the expansion tank cap that is in the engine bay.If the caps valve is faulty the coolent will not be under preasure and simply just flow out into the overflow tank behind the number plate.I took the water pump out to see if it was working okay.I back flushed the rad to ensure there was no blockages.The 1.6td still overheated i then took it to a local garage who did a leakdown test ie coolent compressed and test for exhust gas in it cost was £25.00.Conclusion head gasket or cylinder head problem.As i have a fair bit of mechanical knowledge i did the replacement gasket my self but had the head skimmed by a local engine reconditioner .It cost aprox £80.00 for the head skim gasket was £16.00 ensure you have the correct one ie how many holes .And replacement streech bolts for the cylinder head £12.00.Replace the cambelt

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 12 Jan 2007, 11:27

Yes the pump is turning fine and dandy. Now that I have found the Thermostat - positioned at the inlet / outlet of the pump (must be outlet surely) I could get my finger in there and feel the impellor turning when I rotated the drive pulley.

The Thermostat operated ok in near boiling water (didn't have a temperature gauge) I could not find an opening temp on the thermostat but at least it opened ok.

As you say, to suddenly fail to circulate is a mystery. If the pump were to be high up in the system I could believe an airlock would cause the circulation to suddenly stop. But its not.

The van is not losing water even after its high temperature moment. The sudden stop in circulation must have been the cause of the temp sender blowing out of the header tank as the static water in the engine boiled.

As I said I can circulate water through the front to rear pipework and radiator, so everything initially seems ok there - but it was late last night in the dark and water might have been able to short cut through the interconnecting pipework.

I really need to get out there with a hose pipe and G clamps to isolate hoses and do a thorough check

Post by **ringo** » 12 Jan 2007, 18:21

Yep, i recon your on the right track really - get the hose pipe in and find that blockage. Might be worth taking out the thermostat until you have found your problem.

Let us know how you get on....

Ringo

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 15 Jan 2007, 19:10

Decided Andy is correct, I think the head is bust. Well hopefully its just the gasket of worst case a warped head after is high temperature moment.

I recon the head gasket failed and pumped air into the cooling system, causing an air lock within the block. hence it boiled. Maybe the airlock got down as far as the pump and stopped the water circulating.

Post by **ringo** » 16 Jan 2007, 21:31

Lets hope it is just the gasket.

Be sure to let us know how you get on.

Good luck

Ringo

Post by **MacAoidh** » 17 Jan 2007, 14:41

I've subjected one of these engines to extraordinary levels of abuse, re coolant issues, over the years. e.g. crossing the Alps with a major leak, topping up when I could...

Hopefully yours has got a bit more life in it. But hey! Reconditioning a 1.6d n/a?????? Unless it's really easy to organise, I'd say it's time to move on.

Post by **SplendiferousII** » 18 Jan 2007, 13:13

Yes it is time to move on, your right. But I am a bit skint at the moment to I will rebuild her.

Post by **MacAoidh** » 18 Jan 2007, 22:57

Fair enough, makes sense if you've got ready access to the skills/tools/workspace etc.
Hope it goes well.

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