Losing power and overheating

[tigger2000]

hi, I have a 1989 petrol engine T3 and have lately had a few problems. On a recent long run (4 hours, mostly motorway), she kept losing power, slowing down for no apparent reason even though I had my foot on the floor. Each time, I pulled over onto the hard shoulder (had to, she was doing 30mph on the M6), waited a while, then set off again to find all was well ... until the next time. Then she was running fine for a couple of weeks, for the journey home and then just doing local runs. Next, the losing power happened on a local trip (5 miles) and by the time we got her home, the engine was steaming. If anyone has any idea what the problem might be, I'd be grateful for clues. Thanks.

[Mocki]

so what warning lights were you getting? over temp? oil warning?

[CovKid]

And do the warning lights/tempterature guage actually work?

[dugcati]

You might want to check/consider...

air-locks in the water system
Thermostat faulty - jamming open/closed

[J188]

I found when my van started to overhead it was due to the waterpump impellers/propellers (whichever it is) that pump the water round the system had corroded and fallen off, as a result the van could drive for about 20miles with the water in the system cooling the van but eventually it started to overheat, as it wasn't circulating the water to rad and back.

Ste

[dugcati]

good to hear you found the ault and (hopefully) fixed it

[tigger2000]

Sorry, I can't remember who asked what, but the first couple of times, none of the warning lights came on. The (probably) fifth occaision, the temp warning was flashing and so was the battery light. So I had a bit of an investigation this morning. The oil was on the low side, but above the min. The coolant was well low, so that explains the overheating and warning light, so I've topped that up. Then I had a prod about and found a belt that fell off in my hand. Presumably that explains the battery warning light. By now, I'm feeling a bit like Sherlock Holmes! I'm assuming that the losing power is a seperate problem from the other bits, so thanks for the ideas there. Any more would be welcome - the less time the garage have to spend scratching their heads the better.

[ermie571]

Replace fuel filter?
no fuel = loss of power.

Just a thought

And they aren't expensive

Em
x

[Red Westie]

The belt could explain all the symptoms ie: belt drives the water pump, no drive the engine overheats.....also the belt drives the alternator, no drive and the ignition light comes on but also after a while the battery runs down because it isn't being recharged properly so the engine starts to missfire.
Overheating the engine is a bad thing, it could have caused more problems....seized pistons, warped heads. I would try refilling the coolant, topping up the oil and fitting a new belt...now test drive for problems keeping a special look out for coolant leaks. Fingers crossed you haven't caused permanent damage.
Martin