Mondeo Water System Major Prob Please Help Some1

[stevehartly]

mk2 Mondeo 1.8 zetec (99 T Black top) a year ago the bottom water pipe (metal 1 running under the crank)split due to corrosion causing the car to slow up really quickly & evenctually stop. Since replacing it with a flexy similar the car just wont hold any water. I cant find any leaks & the head gaskit is fine with no signs of contaminated oil...but its chucking out water when it gets hot straight out the top of the filler bottle even when tightened tightly (but temp gauge does not go into the red??)...the top rad hose is getting hot & when changed the thermostat signs of water flow were present so its getting round that far atleast..., iv replaced thermostat too but cant understand why its chucking the water when hot back out?...could there be a block some where?...should i strip all water system pipes off & flush the system if so how??...any help would be very very much appreciated.

[tiny]

If the head gasket is gone between the cylinder(s) and water jacket there will be no emulsification of oil but the water system will pressurise forcing water from the weakest point in the system. This is most often the expansion tank cap which has a pressure relief valve built in. Worst case senario a warped or cracked head, did it overheat when the pipe burst? You mention it slowing up and stopping which does sound rather serious, a simple loss of coolant should not do that until the car has overheated quite severely.

 

A "sniff" test will either rule out or confirm the above, its a simple chemical test that can be done at a garage that will detect hydrocarbons in the coolant.

 

In the meantime, with the engine COLD, try starting it with the expansion tank cap off and cover the opening with your hand to see if there is any pressure there, with the engine cold there should be nothing at all. Does the coolant smell of exhaust gases or petrol? If so this could prove quite costly.

 

I hope you find its something less serious, please keep us posted ,the Mondeo section of the forum is a little underpopulated!

[stevehartly]

If the head gasket is gone between the cylinder(s) and water jacket there will be no emulsification of oil but the water system will pressurise forcing water from the weakest point in the system. This is most often the expansion tank cap which has a pressure relief valve built in. Worst case senario a warped or cracked head, did it overheat when the pipe burst? You mention it slowing up and stopping which does sound rather serious, a simple loss of coolant should not do that until the car has overheated quite severely.

 

A "sniff" test will either rule out or confirm the above, its a simple chemical test that can be done at a garage that will detect hydrocarbons in the coolant.

 

In the meantime, with the engine COLD, try starting it with the expansion tank cap off and cover the opening with your hand to see if there is any pressure there, with the engine cold there should be nothing at all. Does the coolant smell of exhaust gases or petrol? If so this could prove quite costly.

 

I hope you find its something less serious, please keep us posted ,the Mondeo section of the forum is a little underpopulated!

 

hello & thanks for replying...no there was no indication of it overheating on the temp guage, it just sat as normal mid range (just under)...there was initially a strange continous tapping/light banging kind of noise at 1st while going up the dual carriageway with it getting louder the more i tried to accelerate then quieter when releasing throtle but it wouldnt go faster ( i couldnt stop at the time due to there being an accident only 20 feet infront so i would have caused more hinderance if i had just pulled over which i know i probably should have done now...anyway, then i noticed steam or smoke coming from under bonnet with strong burning smell which is when she pulled to a stop...after waiting for it to cool down i noticed the metal pipe had corroded when i tried refilling it with water...i stuck a flexy hose on it instead of another solid pipe (dont think this makes a diff?) but since then iv had this water loss? & bubbling over which never shows on the temp guage as overheating?

[Mirez]

If its bubbling and overflowing from the tank thats a sure sign of pressurisation which is nearly always caused by head gasket failure allowing the cylinder gases to escape into the coolent system. As a result the coolent system is pressurised resulting in it overflowing but not overheating (well until its all come out) :rolleyes: Edited October 8, 2009 by Mirez