Discussion
Neil911 said:
Hi, my T350 keeps overheating. Water is filled up to correct level but after 10 minutes of driving , steam is billowing out from under the bonnet! Not sure if it's hoses, radiator or god forbid....head gasket!
Any other ideas?
It could be the rad cap is knackered (its a VW part) OR you are overfilling the coolant which is expanding when hot and it is spitting it out of the cap until it finds its level. Warm it up, let then let it idle with the bonnet up and watch where the steam comes from. How full have you got the swirl pot or is your car a newer car that has the expansion tank? It might also have an air lock if you have had to fill it up. There is a bleed screw on the rad you can use to try and get the air out.Any other ideas?
Edited by shep1001 on Saturday 17th May 08:30
Are you sure you are not overfilling the expansion tank and have the lid on tight enough.
I have just been through the same issue as you have with my sp6 Cerbera. Try the following.
Run the car on the drive and check that both fans come on at around 90/92 degrees. Check/feel the hoses at this temp the top one should be hot(the thermostat opens at around 80,deg) and tight and the bottom hose should be a good bit cooler to the touch than the top hose.
If you blip the throttle a few times does it cool the engine down?
If the temperature keep rising after you have done this and it starts to spew coolant out the expansion tank normally around 105 degrees then you have a leak in the system such as hoses/ radiator.
If they are OK then it could be water pump failure or cylinder head gasket failure unfortunately.
I have just been through the same issue as you have with my sp6 Cerbera. Try the following.
Run the car on the drive and check that both fans come on at around 90/92 degrees. Check/feel the hoses at this temp the top one should be hot(the thermostat opens at around 80,deg) and tight and the bottom hose should be a good bit cooler to the touch than the top hose.
If you blip the throttle a few times does it cool the engine down?
If the temperature keep rising after you have done this and it starts to spew coolant out the expansion tank normally around 105 degrees then you have a leak in the system such as hoses/ radiator.
If they are OK then it could be water pump failure or cylinder head gasket failure unfortunately.
Hi Neil!
I had a very similar problem a month ago on my T350t (2004).
It turned out that I had a huge airlock in my cooling system.
Have you tried bleeding the cooling system?
If help is needed, I can point you to the right threads here in the forum - or, if you send me pics of your engine/radiator bay, I can annotate them for you.
Cheers,
R
I had a very similar problem a month ago on my T350t (2004).
It turned out that I had a huge airlock in my cooling system.
Have you tried bleeding the cooling system?
If help is needed, I can point you to the right threads here in the forum - or, if you send me pics of your engine/radiator bay, I can annotate them for you.
Cheers,
R
BuzzBillsberry said:
Where's the bleed screw on the rad? Is that a standard factory rad or is there one on they alloy rads?
Buzz
They both have bleed screws. My ally one has a flush nut with a hex head on it, the std rad had a plastic screw that protruded a little. Both in the same place, top corner on the PS side. Right arse to get to especially when hot!Buzz
Shep
shep1001 said:
They both have bleed screws. My ally one has a flush nut with a hex head on it, the std rad had a plastic screw that protruded a little. Both in the same place, top corner on the PS side. Right arse to get to especially when hot!
Shep
I assume you are talking about the early T350 with vertical mounted rad. You bleed the later style horizontally mounted read using bled nipples on the read pipes do you not?Shep
Just found what I believe to be a small leak in my read coming from around where the bleed bung is. No chance of getting to that though to check, although I suspect a failed read rather than a bleed bunch being lose especially when it isn't used.
NickT said:
I assume you are talking about the early T350 with vertical mounted rad. You bleed the later style horizontally mounted read using bled nipples on the read pipes do you not?
Just found what I believe to be a small leak in my read coming from around where the bleed bung is. No chance of getting to that though to check, although I suspect a failed read rather than a bleed bunch being lose especially when it isn't used.
Maybe the rubber O-ring has perished on the bleed screw? Pressure test should show where the leak is.Just found what I believe to be a small leak in my read coming from around where the bleed bung is. No chance of getting to that though to check, although I suspect a failed read rather than a bleed bunch being lose especially when it isn't used.
NickT said:
Realised my phone kindly "corrected" rad to read 
I guess pressure test of rad is a rad out job or can it be done with rad in? I guess any garage could do it?
No its done in situ. The pressure test will pressurise the whole system so you can see if its a hose leak, loose clip or the rad is kippered. If its ever had rad weld stuff in it to seal a leak there is the risk it will push this out making the leak worse. If you can't find a leak with a pressure test then try a new rad cap.I guess pressure test of rad is a rad out job or can it be done with rad in? I guess any garage could do it?
It is definitely leaking water from around the front passenger side of the rad as I can see it slowly dripping through the aircon condenser. Doesn't seem to be the pipes as these are accessible so reasonably easy to check. I know the bleed nipple is around that area hence my thoughts.
Is radweld or similar suitable to use as a temporary measure to plug a small leak in a radiator? I use the car on track and want it to be good so will look at a longer term fix of new rad I guess. I'm hesitant to use something like this as I don't know what it is doing to my engine internals!
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