water gone - encouraging words please :(

[clartsonly]

okay so drove 130 miles over the weekend, only issues regarding charging as described in a different thread, just drove 8 miles and about 1 miles from home on way back noticed the temp raising higher and higher and then the light starting to flash and a plume of white smoke trailing the camper, by the time I stopped switched off and unloaded the boot, all was calm. the engine seemed absolutely fine, is there any chance this is a pipe / cap issue or am I looking at a head gasket issue? I had noticed that since I put the engine all back together it seemed to have a bit of oily smoke when it was first starting? have I ruined something putting the new exhaust on.

how annoying.


I assume I am going to need to fill it up then try and find out if it is an external leak or internal. when I put the exhaust on it was a real struggle to get one side on is it possible I damaged the head get the downpipes on?

[ermie571]

The only way you will know is to refill......if you are really lucky you will see a leak before you even start it.....if you are lucky you will refill, start it and see the leak......otherwise.....its sommat more difficult to find. But if it went from cold to flashing red light and boiling in 7 miles, then I guess you have lost the water real quick - unless of course you lost most of it gradually over the last 130 miles....

Good luck

[clartsonly]

thanks, I am worried as nothing appeared wet when I had a quick scan, it had no heat from the vents. I assume the worst at least I already have an engine crane and removable components exhaust etc.... my worry is that if it was dripping it would have kept steaming after I stopped. I know if i start it and it has too much white smoke from the exhaust it is internal.

[Ian Hulley]

Read the Wiki and bleed the system properly, otherwise you'll see nowt and cost a fortune.

Ian.

[clartsonly]

ha ha yeah I had bled the system properly, I have noticed a "slight" leak this morning... at the same rate I was pouring water in it was coming back out (which is a good thing as it means it is an external leak). it seems to be the high pipe on the starter motor side on the otherside of the tin works. I had a little feel around it it feels like a metal pipe has corroded / snapped, does this maybe hook onto the back of the thin metal pipe?


is there a cheap repair for this type of corrosion? I am wondering whether it has been slightly leaking for a while as on occassion I seem to have no water in the overflow tank, and other days I did?

[Ian Hulley]

Do you have the late or early water system ?

Ian.

[ermie571]

ha ha yeah I had bled the system properly, I have noticed a "slight" leak this morning... at the same rate I was pouring water in it was coming back out (which is a good thing as it means it is an external leak). it seems to be the high pipe on the starter motor side on the otherside of the tin works.

You feel into the very lucky....

Em
x

[ghost123uk]

it seems to be the high pipe on the starter motor side on the otherside of the tin works. I had a little feel around it it feels like a metal pipe has corroded / snapped

Yep sounds like a relativity easy fix as in, it is out side the engine and not inside it !!
From what you say, it sounds like you caught it before the engine got badly yoverheated ( I hope)

As Ian asks, is it the early water system or the late (post 86ish) system.
Early = metal thermostat housing at rear of engine (as opposed to black plastic one at the front nearside of the engine) and 2 big pipes, one on top of the other, running across the top front of the engine.
Later system parts are hardish to find.
Early system parts are VERY hard to find.
However you can often "Jury Rig" something or get lucky and find the bit you need (from the likes of Billy739 or on eBay) or via a "wanted" on here.

A pic of the broken bit may help identify and find a source of one.

[clartsonly]

thanks it is a late water system plastic thermostat and plastic clutch pipe, I alawys seem to get a model which is half old and half new designs.

I am hoping that it is simply a metal pipe used to join the rubber hose from the radiator onto a braided flexi hose poking through the tin works next to the starter motor awkward to get to (eg I need to lay in the mud and reach between the starter and driveshaft).

I will have a proper look at it at the weekend and take some photos if I need any other assistance, shame about the £30 of coolant on the road instead of inside the engine.

[ghost123uk]

I know what you mean !!!!

I have often found a bit that will do the job from a totally different vehicle at the breakers

Mine has a water pipe near where yours is (mine was the slightly S shaped bit) that failed (or was about to I should say) - I got an almost identical one off a Volvo in the local scrappy

[Ian Hulley]

There's a wide hose that goes up from one of the front > back plastic (or metal) pipes onto the plastic bulkhead connector next to the startermotor, make sure it's not the end of the plastic/metal pipe that's actually gone though.

There's also the (thinner) heater hoses around the same area.

Ian.

[clartsonly]

thanks this pipe joins the thin pipes (heater) that run around the inside of the engine bay.

[Ian Hulley]

It's called the 'Bleed Ring' and is available pre-loved in nylon.

Ian.

[clartsonly]

cool thanks well the bleed valve goes that way so that sounds right, hopefully that is not the fault and the connector is broken only so I can just replace that metal joining pipe, as soon as I can identify the exact bit that has snapped I will upload it. I do hope this water channel has not been broken by bad air bleeding.

btw the fiat cincquento air bleed is done by undoing a screw and waiting for water to appear, rather than a 5 hour process which may or may not work everytime.

[ghost123uk]

Whilst you are there I would check all those thinner pipes, both the bleed ring around the engine bay and the "T" pieces on it, and the thin rubber pipes around the stat, and the one that goes from the rear of the nearside head to the bleed ring, check them all for blockages.

I am aware of at least 3 instances were one or more of the above have been blocked.

One had disastrous consequences according to the owner, and when mine was blocked it very nearly had disastrous consequences, in fact I reckon it was what caused my original WBX to seize up on the nearside rear cylinder - just glad I discovered it before it had chance to do the same to my low mileage recon I got to replace the original with.