Water coming out of Radiator fill cap?????
Discussion
Morning chaps,
My 2001 Mk1 Tuscan has been sitting on the drive for the past few months. I have recently started to give it the attention it needs on the weekends, ready for some half decent weather. Last week i changed the battery and topped up the oil & noticed the radiator water level was low. So i put in abouta third of a litre of ready mixed coolant up to the recommended lower neck of the filler tank.
I started the car and got her up to running temp, at about 80 degrees i noticed that some steam was emminating from the d/s radiator, when i looked underneath i noticed that there was some drops of water coming from the underneath (central) of the engine. I switched the car off and decided to have a look with the main bonnet off this weekend.(thought it might be a split pipe) hoping!
(a week later) i started the car (checked the water level, was spot on ?)and took the main bonnet off and got the car up to temp. No steam from radiator this time , but loads and loads of water coming from the radiator cap (at 92 degrees) Any thoughts Guys??
Cheers for your anticipated help
Gary
My 2001 Mk1 Tuscan has been sitting on the drive for the past few months. I have recently started to give it the attention it needs on the weekends, ready for some half decent weather. Last week i changed the battery and topped up the oil & noticed the radiator water level was low. So i put in abouta third of a litre of ready mixed coolant up to the recommended lower neck of the filler tank.
I started the car and got her up to running temp, at about 80 degrees i noticed that some steam was emminating from the d/s radiator, when i looked underneath i noticed that there was some drops of water coming from the underneath (central) of the engine. I switched the car off and decided to have a look with the main bonnet off this weekend.(thought it might be a split pipe) hoping!
(a week later) i started the car (checked the water level, was spot on ?)and took the main bonnet off and got the car up to temp. No steam from radiator this time , but loads and loads of water coming from the radiator cap (at 92 degrees) Any thoughts Guys??
Cheers for your anticipated help
Gary
if the radiator is cold and the engine is reading 80 deg i would suggest that you have a circulation problem. this could be as simple as the thermostat jammed closed or the water pump not functioning correctly.
if you take out the thermostat you can check it's working ok by dropping it into pan of boiling water, though you will need a thermometer to find out what temp it opens. alternatively just remove the thermostat and tery running the car and see how it goes if the radiator gets warm again i think you will have solved your problem just dont forget to get a new thermostat and stick it in lol.
Chris
if you take out the thermostat you can check it's working ok by dropping it into pan of boiling water, though you will need a thermometer to find out what temp it opens. alternatively just remove the thermostat and tery running the car and see how it goes if the radiator gets warm again i think you will have solved your problem just dont forget to get a new thermostat and stick it in lol.
Chris
As somebody else pointed out, the symptoms suggest either a faulty stat or no water circulation.
Have you check the temperature of the hose to the rad as well as the rad itself? If you have an air lock in the rad the rad itself would stay cold (at the top, at least) even with water flow through it.
The coolant temp sender is usually on the engine and on your car the fans are switched on by the ECU based on this sender. Do your fans come on when it gets hot?
Does the heater blow hot when the engine is up to temperature? If not that would point to no coolant circulation. Make sure you don't let the engine overheat while you're investigating this problem as you could end up with a very expensive bill from overheating damage even if the original problem was only minor.
Have you check the temperature of the hose to the rad as well as the rad itself? If you have an air lock in the rad the rad itself would stay cold (at the top, at least) even with water flow through it.
The coolant temp sender is usually on the engine and on your car the fans are switched on by the ECU based on this sender. Do your fans come on when it gets hot?
Does the heater blow hot when the engine is up to temperature? If not that would point to no coolant circulation. Make sure you don't let the engine overheat while you're investigating this problem as you could end up with a very expensive bill from overheating damage even if the original problem was only minor.
Hi Green
the hose from the tank to the rad is cold, and seems soft when pressing it (like its just air in it?)& all the rad is cold. I havnt took it up to temp (92deg) yet to see if fans kick in(will do shortly). Is there a best way to drain the system and refill from scratch (would this help??)
Cheers
Gary
the hose from the tank to the rad is cold, and seems soft when pressing it (like its just air in it?)& all the rad is cold. I havnt took it up to temp (92deg) yet to see if fans kick in(will do shortly). Is there a best way to drain the system and refill from scratch (would this help??)
Cheers
Gary
orangeone said:
Is there a best way to drain the system and refill from scratch (would this help??)
There will be a way, but I don't know enough about your model to tell what the procedure is. In any case it is unlikely to help and more likely to make things worse.It's only a guess, but I suspect you've actually lost more coolant than you think and now have an air lock somewhere. You will need to vent and top up the system. Perhaps the owners manual tells you how to do that - if not you will have to find another owner who can advise you how to do it.
The other possibility is that it is a failed stat and not an air lock. In this case you would find the heater works fine, hence the suggestion to test the heater.
As GreenV8S has already suggested it is important to find out if the water is circulating. If your interior heater is getting nice and warm when the engine is running but the radiator and pipes are still cold this would almost certainley point to a thermostat/airlock problem. Like GreenV8S i to have little knoledge on the exact layout of your engine so it is difficult to point you in the right direction on how to bleed the system correctly but a general rule of thumb is to find the highest water pipe located on your engine loosen the jublilee clip a bit and (engine must be cold) and keep topping up until water starts come through the pipe. this is not a sure fire way to get rid of airlocks but may as a quick fix sort the problem. just remember DONT start undoing any pipes unless the water is cold, water boils at a higher temp when under pressure so by releasing a pipe it suddenly start boiling over and spraying you with scolding water.
Chris
Chris
I have just replaced my water system pipes
with silicone, so had to drain system down
Try loosening the hose clip on the ds rad
and squishing the long feed pipe to induce
some water to move around (when COLD only)
The other interesting pipe is the short one into the
top of the head...try the same trick there
with silicone, so had to drain system down
Try loosening the hose clip on the ds rad
and squishing the long feed pipe to induce
some water to move around (when COLD only)
The other interesting pipe is the short one into the
top of the head...try the same trick there
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