Another Problem - Coolant

[NobleGuy]

I've recently fixed 5 or 6 mini leaks from the coolant hoses but I've just got back in this evening to find coolant literally pissing out of the header tank outlet having got close to boiling.

I can think of 3 reasons for this:
Header tank cap is not pressurising correctly, allowing the boiling point to drop.
Too much coolant in the mix.
Head gasket(s).....

Has anyone else had this problem?

[Biggriff]

yes had it. overfilled the header tank

[NobleGuy]

I thought that, then only filled it to 1/3 full. It still emptied the tank and much more onto the road.

[Biggriff]

airlock

[NobleGuy]

Ahh, OK. I hadn't thought of that. Is the best way to remove simply draining the lot and starting from scratch?

I also meant to add that the dipstick and oil cap show no signs of rabies so it may not be head gasket. Having already spent 3.5K this year my wallet's getting that nervous twitch again. And I lose my job in 2 weeks. Hurragh!

[Ash 996 GT2]

Airlock!

Run cold with cap off till warm.

You will be able to tell if it is an airlock, turn heater up to full and engage fans. If the air is cold it is an airlock, if it is hot it is something else.

[NobleGuy]

Ash 996 GT2 said:

Airlock!

Run cold with cap off till warm.

You will be able to tell if it is an airlock, turn heater up to full and engage fans. If the air is cold it is an airlock, if it is hot it is something else.

Ooops. Still got my heater sitting in my office - wanted some room to double check those pesky coolant hoses underneath for leaks. There is heat coming from the matrix as the cabin still warms up after a bit of a drive and there is warm air coming from the ducts. Radiator hoses get warm after a while, so thermo appears to be working. Fans are OK too.

Did notice a loud/horrid hissing noise (it used to be a calm, quiet occassion) from the header tank when I turned off the engine yesterday. I'm hoping the cap (at a very reasonable £8 plus local taxes or so) is just not sealing/pressurising properly.

[Jim O.]

When you were doing your repairs, did you remove the hoses from the coolant tank? If you did, check to make sure that the two small hoses aren't reversed. Also, check the hoses you were repairing for any kinks, pinches, etc. Bleed the cooling system to make sure that you don't have any trapped air pockets.

In the States, you can buy a kit to check for combustion gases in your coolant for around 40 dollars. If you find combustion gases in your coolant, you have a head gasket leak.

Hope this helps,

Jim

[NobleGuy]

Thought I'd close this one off in case anyone comes across it in the future.

Ordered a header tank cap from Ford and found my problem.
When I took off the cap while trying to find the problem, the rubber seal was positioned like this:
http://www.p3jfk.com/Car/Cap1.JPG

I corrected it to:
http://www.p3jfk.com/Car/Cap2.JPG

New cap was like this:
http://www.p3jfk.com/Car/Cap3.JPG



Probably didn't need the new cap at all, but I may never have realised my stupid mistake without it. Must not have been sealing correctly, thus allowing the coolant to boil and piss out of the tank overflow.

£8 fix so not too annoyed .