Overheated with New Engine

[garry247]

I was driving along and all of a sudden the temp went up.

The AA guy found that the water was not circulating,

Then after bleeding and squeezing pipes the water started to flow from the radiator again.

Any idea what this could be. The water was pink as it was filled with new coolant when engine was fitted.

Could it have been something from the old radiator?


G

[Ralf85]

Sounds like an airlock occurred when the new engine was fitted because they didn't bleed the system properly. I should check your top up reservoir again. I suspect that it is probably now low or empty!

[CovKid]

Follow bleed sequence in WIKI or it'll do it again.

[garry247]

I Had done 2 trips before this happened. A total of about 150miles. Could it still have been an air pocket?

Cheers,

G.

[fairwynds]

Quite possibly, yes. They take upwards of 18 litres of the pink coolant you mentioned (G12... Now called G13!). It can be a bugger to bleed if the garage aren't familiar with the intricacies of the w/c plumbing! Best follow the above advice re the WIKI way of doing it. Also, check your thermostat... Could be duff?

[garry247]

Thanks,

I will discuss with garage about bleeding and will check when I get it home.

It has a new thermostat and water pump so that should not be the problem.

G.

[kevtherev]

your early cooling system is quite particular about an air free system

[garry247]

Thanks guys,

Im really tring to get this Camper running so we can go to France for 10 days but the Wife is not very optomistic as we have broken down twice before new engine and now twice after (rear axel came out and now overheating suddenly).

I really need to get it going so that it will not break down again. She has told me that she now wants to take the car!

I think i will buy the extra large rad from Brickwerks...
http://www.brickwerks.co.uk/index.php/r ... etrol.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...and then re bleed the van when i get it back, that way i should be fully covered (fingers crossed) going somewhere warm. If i convince her to go and it overheats i think she will kill me

G

[Ralf85]

Use the bleeding guidance in the wiki at the top of this page to ensure satisfaction!

[Simon Baxter]

Who's thermostat did they use? there are some known "iffy" ones.
Why are you doing this and not the garage?
When we fit an engine for a customer we run through the cooling system making sure it's right before we compromise a new engine.
I don't want to fit and engine and it come back, I want to see it go away and stay away.
Does the radiator fan work?
Running a van up to temperature and checking the thermostat and fan operation are fairly fundamental operations.
Why did the original engine fail?
Does it have a decent header tank cap on one a cheapy with 2 visible valves inside?
Putting a big radiator on may just be a remedy rather than a cure!
Where does the temperature gauge sit? bang on the LED and not move or is it all over the shop?

[ghost123uk]

The AA guy found that the water was not circulating,

Umm, I wonder how he figured that out. If it was a cool pipe to the rad then either the stat got stuck shut (as can happen with certain makes that the likes of GSF and JK sell) or there is a major blockage in the rad. The rad is fairly easy to check by removing it (not a huge job) and pouring lots of water through it The stat can be checked (pan of boiling water) but I would replace it with one from Brickwerks to be on the safe side (and tag a new "Dalek" cap onto your order ). Take care if working on your (early style) stat housing. They can break and iirc they are hard to source (Simon ?).

then after bleeding and squeezing pipes the water started to flow from the radiator again.

Ummm (again) the only thing that could cause water to start circulating after doing that is if there was a huge airlock at the actual pump = very unlikely !

AA (and RAC etc) seem too keen to "just say summat" when in fact they are working blind ! They should learn this line to use more often = "I don't really know what I did that helped, but it seems OK for now"

My bet is on the stat, but read what Simon says above, answer his questions and you will be well on the way to solving it