Water pump failed, now system won't bleed

[BaaaadSlider]

Hi, our 1.9dg engine bust the coolin system distribution
part,then the water pump.
Have replaced parts and other cooling parts and the system just won't seem to bleed.
There is defo air in the system , which after two hours is still There and there is also a lot of pressure in the system in that the red light comes on when water is still present and the temp gauge slowly shoots up.
Radiator got warm but when driven went cold.
Van was front end up on jacks and revved accordingly.

I'm not technically minded but any help I can pass in would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Katie

[CovKid]

Almost certainly not enough revs or for long enough. Needs to be consistent. I put a brick on my throttle pedal to do it. You don't want it screaming its guts out, but it should rev high enough to pee off your neighbours. If thats a prob, just run it somewhere nearby but away from houses. Keep your eye on temperature throughout. It'll only bleed if its warm enough as thats when thermostat opens to send hot water to rad which it hopes will start cooling it. I didn't raise mine and I managed to bleed it fine - once I realised just HOW fast the engine needed to be running. Feel rad, you should feel the hotter water gradually rising until....

Remember to keep topping up at the back end though!

[BaaaadSlider]

Almost certainly not enough revs or for long enough. Needs to be consistent. I put a brick on my throttle pedal to do it. You don't want it screaming its guts out, but it should rev high enough to pee off your neighbours. If thats a prob, just run it somewhere nearby but away from houses. Keep your eye on temperature throughout. It'll only bleed if its warm enough as thats when thermostat opens to send hot water to rad which it hopes will start cooling it. I didn't raise mine and I managed to bleed it fine - once I realised just HOW fast the engine needed to be running. Feel rad, you should feel the hotter water gradually rising until....

Remember to keep topping up at the back end though!

Thanks, was high revving it and topping water up for up to two hours , but will keep trying
Thanks

Katie

[CovKid]

If you've got a new pump and radiator was getting warm, you should be able to bleed it. Try it on the flat, I never found raising the vehicle helped in my case.

[itchyfeet]

Did you have the heater on hot? that's needed to get the air out of the heater circuit which is a lot of pipework on a T3

I suppose it's also possible that you have a small head seal failure which is why your distribution parts broke then water pump

[ghost123uk]

was high revving it and topping water up for up to two hours , but will keep trying

A few years ago, I had a major oil in water issue which after fixing the engine, left the cooling system very oily.
I had to drain/flush/re-fill/bleed lots of times to get the oil out of the cooling system.

It shouldn't take more than 15 to 20 minutes to bleed it, at the most. Is there air still coming out of the rad bleed screw after 2 hours of work ?

When you say :-

There and there is also a lot of pressure in the system in that the red light comes on when water is still present and the temp gauge slowly shoots up

Note that the red light has nowt to do with pressure, it comes on if the water is too low in the expansion tank (the one on the left).

Temp gauge "slowly shooting up" is a bit of a contradiction but is indicative of a problem. The next thing I would do is check ALL the thin pipes that "T" off the bleed rail, and the bleed rail itself, for blockages. It is quite common for them to block up. This can cause a total lack of coolant flow to the left hand head, in turn causing the water to boil, creating pressure and air locks continuously. The "Dalek" cap cannot keep up under these circumstances. This maybe is what caused your distribution tower to burst. I and a good few others on here have experienced just this. Here is a pic of what you can find.



That was in the thin rubber pipe off the back of the left hand head

[ermie571]

Don't want to be the harbinger of doom...


but your exact symptons were my failed engine....I had exhaust gases going into the coolant

I drove it for a number of weeks though...but you have to stop very very regularly to bleed the rad (ie let the pressure out) or it will blow every water seal in the system.

I had a 9 mile drive to work. I used to bleed it on arrival at the carpark..... and then on arrival back at home. I could get the grill off and the rad bled in minutes lol xx

But I Knew it was doing it....I could see the air bubbles in the top up tank...would continue to run even when the engine was turned off.

Sniffer test confirmed

Really hope you haven't got this issue....but to blow the distribution pipe.....that's some pressure....

Em
xx

[BaaaadSlider]

Thanks for all your replies, went back to it this morning and low and behold it was all good.
pumped pipes a few times and checked levels and radiator and all fine , engine runs like a dream
No leaks no bangs and no flashing light and reached temp fine no probs
So must of worked last night somehow, been for a test drive and 30 miles later no issues and water still present and radiator working fine
Thanks again
Katie

[ermie571]

Brilliant news!! Just needed time to settle!!


Enjoy your hols xx