Club 80-90 Forums

Okay, so I'm new to the t25, we bought one last week and seem to have developed a problem already. Driving home today and there's a bit of steam coming out of the air vents at the back. Pull up and check the engine and there is steam coming from the lowest pipe at the bottom right of the block, and also from a j shaped pipe at the upper left of the engine. I suspect that the steam was coming from the gaskets where these pipes join. Checked the oil and there is no emulsified oil, heater seems to work well. Any help as to what would cause this to happen? Seems like over heating to me, I know the head gaskets are prone to going but this has none of the normal symptoms.

Photos and a pointing finger always help. Probably just leaky old gaskets and baggy hoses. Dont condemn it just yet!
PS the head "gaskets" arent conventional - barrel and water jacket seal are seperate - so the symptoms arent always "normal"

I will take some pictures and post shortly. Driving lovely up until the steam, very annoyed as I was loving it.

Ok so it's the pipe that bends back into the bleed valve (?) And the pipe that is behind the flywheel. Was definitely the gasket there where steam was escaping from.

Ok. Do you mean the thin braided hose on top of the thermostat cover (4 bolts) that goes up to the bleed rail (tucked under the lhs of the engine hatch) or the J shaped hose that goes from the inlet manifold to the front side of the lower thermostat housing?
Regarding the other plastic hose connection on the rh side of the engine, they distort with age and are sealed with a shaped rubber O-ring, not a gasket. Best to fit a metal replacement (syncro spec and more reliable)
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The J shaped one that doubles back in the housing. To be honest I found it a little concerning that it was steaming from more than one spot. Any clues what might be causing the overheating? Pump doesn't have any play as far as I can tell, so should I start at the stat?

But is it actually overheating? Best.to make aure that there are no leaks or split hoses first, then get the system full and all the air bled out (heater set to hot and open rad bleed screw a couple of turns once engine is hot)
Its all in the wiki and a common wbx question.

Thanks for your advice. I will try sorting out the leaks first and see where that takes me. I will let you know.

So. I refilled the coolant and promptly watched it drain out again. Fantastic. Had the foresight to put a container underneath so wasn't too big a problem. Definitely leaking from those spots so when it stops raining I can get onto sealing it up again.

Water is always cheapest!

One hopes the steam is a result of a water leak onto a hot surface and not actually steam coming directly from a pipe / gasket. If the latter, then that indicates a serious lack of any coolant in that vicinity

As you mention you are new to T25's and the flat four petrol engine, I would point out that these engines do not like any failings in the cooling system. It is important not to drive it until you have sorted the leaks out and have a cooling system that is full and properly bled of air. As silverbullet says, you can test it for a few days, even weeks, with plain water to save on loosing expensive antifreeze. As soon as you are sure it is all sealed and working properly, then drain and refill with 50/50 pink/red antifreeze.