Punto sporting 1.2 heater/coolant problem
Discussion
A friend of mine has just asked for some advice and I thought I'd ask hear.
To me it sounds like he has an air lock but the usual remedies are sorting it.
Basically, the engine temp was not going past an 1/8 ish, so I told him to check the water, sure enough, there wasn't much in it. He's topped it up and ran the engine with the vent open but nothing is happening, the temp went upto about 1/4 but when he revved it it went back down? Any thoughts?
I was thinking about just telling him to run it longer but I don't want to give him bad advice resuting in killing the engine.
Also, the main pipes to the rad are NOT getting hard!
Cheers.
To me it sounds like he has an air lock but the usual remedies are sorting it.
Basically, the engine temp was not going past an 1/8 ish, so I told him to check the water, sure enough, there wasn't much in it. He's topped it up and ran the engine with the vent open but nothing is happening, the temp went upto about 1/4 but when he revved it it went back down? Any thoughts?
I was thinking about just telling him to run it longer but I don't want to give him bad advice resuting in killing the engine.
Also, the main pipes to the rad are NOT getting hard!
Cheers.
cramman said:
Also, the main pipes to the rad are NOT getting hard!
Hard or hot?
Sounds like a thermostat problem on the temperature side. More worrying is where has the coolant gone that he's had to top up? Best keep an eye on that as I think a few Puntos (not sure which engine) like the odd head gasket...
Cheers, I'll let him know.
My first question was where has it gone? Having owned a k series rover for my sins I though head probs!
No obvious signs, in the oil tho.
The car has only done 40K miles but I guess that's not the point, luck of the draw somethimes I think.
I'll check the link and see what it recomends.
As for Hard or Hot? It's not getting eiter, making me think temp sender issues, just going off my MK2 GTi problems in the past.
My first question was where has it gone? Having owned a k series rover for my sins I though head probs!
No obvious signs, in the oil tho.
The car has only done 40K miles but I guess that's not the point, luck of the draw somethimes I think.
I'll check the link and see what it recomends.
As for Hard or Hot? It's not getting eiter, making me think temp sender issues, just going off my MK2 GTi problems in the past.
OK then, he has followed the guides on the punto forum and managed to get the temp upto about 1/2, normal, oreating temp. He then drove round the block and the temp dropped to around a 1/4. Any ideas, I'll post on the punto forum but I need to register and thought I'd try here for suggestions first.
Cheers,
Cramman
Cheers,
Cramman
My first thought is thermostat stuck open? So water is constantly being pumped around the engine when the thermostat should only be opening when it's getting hot. Hence why it can't get up to temperature, and when he revs it or goes for a drive, the belt obviously increases speed on the water pump sending even more unnecessary cooling water around the engine, hence the temp falling back down.
By the way, my mk1 Punto head gasket went a fair distance before 40k.
By the way, my mk1 Punto head gasket went a fair distance before 40k.
Too far fetched.
The needle waving about is because the sender won't work in steam. It needs water. When the level gets low on the Punto it's quite difficult to get water into the sender void. It has several bleed points but the most effective is the difficult one against the bulkhead. You need a long screwdriver down past the inlet manifold.
Be careful. The Punto suffers from Gasket failure if the water gets low.
The needle waving about is because the sender won't work in steam. It needs water. When the level gets low on the Punto it's quite difficult to get water into the sender void. It has several bleed points but the most effective is the difficult one against the bulkhead. You need a long screwdriver down past the inlet manifold.
Be careful. The Punto suffers from Gasket failure if the water gets low.
Gassing Station | Alfa Romeo, Fiat & Lancia | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff