Overheating

[john1doherty]

Hi

been having problems with my 01 1.9tdi galaxy for a while now , problem is when going up a hill SOMETIMES the temp guage rises all the way to the top and the warning light and beep come on, if i pull over and sit for 5 mins it drops back down to 90 and the car will runn on at 90 for however long the journey takes . water pump has been changed and coolant levels are normal alough sometimes when i check levels in the expansion tank the level is normal other times it is above the full line and no water has been added in between times !! havent a clue why this is but the coolant level can be normal again the next time it is checked.

anyone any advice for me ?

 

thanks

[chrispb123456]

Hi

been having problems with my 01 1.9tdi galaxy for a while now , problem is when going up a hill SOMETIMES the temp guage rises all the way to the top and the warning light and beep come on, if i pull over and sit for 5 mins it drops back down to 90 and the car will runn on at 90 for however long the journey takes . water pump has been changed and coolant levels are normal alough sometimes when i check levels in the expansion tank the level is normal other times it is above the full line and no water has been added in between times !! havent a clue why this is but the coolant level can be normal again the next time it is checked.

anyone any advice for me ?

 

thanks

Hi there

Could be a sticking thermostat but as you haven't lost any water I would change the temperature sensor first.

[john1doherty]

cheers mate , i replaced the thermostat at the same time as the water pump to be on the safe side but it was still happening. i will pick up a new temp sensor and try that.

thought it might be air in the system but i blead it loads of times after temp shot up and it was fine for a while but then back to "normal" pain in the a**e. any idea why the water level would be at the full line some times and above it on others ? seems a bit strange to me ?

Oh the thermostat i removed i tested in a pot of water and brought it to the boil and it opened ok so i guess this wasent the problem, the water pump was ok as well , it was the plastic impellor one but it was ok

Edited December 28, 2010 by john1doherty

[chrispb123456]

cheers mate , i replaced the thermostat at the same time as the water pump to be on the safe side but it was still happening. i will pick up a new temp sensor and try that.

thought it might be air in the system but i blead it loads of times after temp shot up and it was fine for a while but then back to "normal" pain in the a**e. any idea why the water level would be at the full line some times and above it on others ? seems a bit strange to me ?

Oh the thermostat i removed i tested in a pot of water and brought it to the boil and it opened ok so i guess this wasent the problem, the water pump was ok as well , it was the plastic impellor one but it was ok

Would expect level to be slightly higher when engines hot and will return to normal when cold, check the colour of the sensor to make sure you get the same as I beleive there's more than 1 type.

[john1doherty]

chris

the water level is higher when the car has been sitting overnight and the engine is cold , i check the water level every morning before going out in it thats why i have noticed it i would expect it to be higher when warm but cant explain why its high when cold ????? thats whats been doing my head in, i dont think the faulty temp sensor would cause the level to be higher sometimes even when the engine is cold ?does it looks like the thermostat might indeed be sticking ? could this cause the level to be higher ??

 

cheers

 

john

[john1doherty]

update.

 

i just went out to the car to head to the shop and found the water level was low and it has just taken 1l of water to top it up no sign of coolant anywhere around fillercap, it went up to high temp alarm last night on the way home and this is the first time i have driven it since. any advice welcome please

[chrispb123456]

chris

the water level is higher when the car has been sitting overnight and the engine is cold , i check the water level every morning before going out in it thats why i have noticed it i would expect it to be higher when warm but cant explain why its high when cold ????? thats whats been doing my head in, i dont think the faulty temp sensor would cause the level to be higher sometimes even when the engine is cold ?does it looks like the thermostat might indeed be sticking ? could this cause the level to be higher ??

 

cheers

 

john

In that case if you remove the filler cap when the engines cold does it blow out like it's still under pressure? if so you may have early stage of head gasket failure.

[john1doherty]

chris

when the engine is cold and i remove the cap it does indeed give a release of pressure , i thought this was normal as the system was pressurised when it became hot ?

[chrispb123456]

chris

when the engine is cold and i remove the cap it does indeed give a release of pressure , i thought this was normal as the system was pressurised when it became hot ?

Any rise in coolant level when hot should always return to the previous level when cold, likewise with the pressure it will return to zero when cold.

[john1doherty]

thanks for the advice chris, so it looks like head gasket failure then i had been thinking along this line for a while now but hopped for the best, can you advise me on the best course of action to take now ? my brother in law is a fairly competent at home mechanic is this somthing that can easily be tackeled or is it best to go to a proper garage where responsibility can fall on them for any mishaps ??

would it do any good at this stage getting some wynns head gasket sealent and trying that ? how does that work ?

 

cheers

Edited December 29, 2010 by john1doherty

[chrispb123456]

thanks for the advice chris, so it looks like head gasket failure then i had been thinking along this line for a while now but hopped for the best, can you advise me on the best course of action to take now ? my brother in law is a fairly competent at home mechanic is this somthing that can easily be tackeled or is it best to go to a proper garage where responsibility can fall on them for any mishaps ??

would it do any good at this stage getting some wynns head gasket sealent and trying that ? how does that work ?

 

cheers

Hi John

You may get a temporary reprieve by using wynns but I think your only putting off the inevitable, if your in law is confident and has a decent set of tools shouldn't be a problem although don't expect it done in a day as there's things like the EGR valve and turbo will need cleaning and be prepared for rusty exhaust nuts on the turbo.

[john1doherty]

cheers chris thanks for all the advice i will have a word with ith brother i law and see if he is up to the task.he should be , he is a cumbrian man worked on fords all his short life so heres hoping for the best.again thanks for all the help on this

 

john

[Higs]

cheers chris thanks for all the advice i will have a word with ith brother i law and see if he is up to the task.he should be , he is a cumbrian man worked on fords all his short life so heres hoping for the best.again thanks for all the help on this

 

john

 

I'm also having overheating problems and would appreciate any advice/wisdom.

See below for details I've posted on the 'cold heater' thread - I'm sure they're connected. I'm not discounting the possibility of a CHG problem but I have a feeling the problem is colland circulation/blockage. Actaully, in a strange way I wouldn't mind if it was CHG as that's a definitie problem with a definitie fix.

 

I have these symptoms too:

 

• heater only blows cold air even when engine temp displays 90c
  
• coolant level drops when engine running
  
• pressure in expansion chamber even after cold for many hours (days!) - coolant returns when pressure released
  

 

To date this has been an annoyance but not a real problem. However we've had a couple of overheating incidents recently and I reckon there must be a link.

 

Garage has replaced thermostat, reverse flushed coolant system and tested coolant for exhaust gases (negative). Water pump has been replaced - impellor was free from shaft.

 

In the past the aux heater has been either bypassed or blocked off by a different garage - I don't actually know what they've done as (i) my wife took it in for something else and they just did it for her (without asking) as it was smoking and (ii) because of where I live/park I can't really get under the car to look and wouldn't know what to look for if I did.

 

Since the car last went into the garage I've read on here about a 'run on' pump. As far as I can tell this second pump is not running - certainly there's no notable 'whirring' under the bonnet once the engines off. In fact thinking about it the fans behind the radiator never seem to come on either.

 

 

1.9TDI '02 reg 130,000miles.

 

Any ideas?

 

The guy at the garage (who I trust after many years of good service and common-sense advice) says it has some of the symptoms of a CHG failure, particularly the pressurisation, but he's confused by the absence of combustion product in the coolant. He says he's happily do the gasket for me but can't be sure that's the fault.

 

The garage is closed now 'til Jan 4th and our other car (Saab) is refusing to start. Joy.

[john1doherty]

higs

all your symptoms are mine as well down to a tee, no oil in water no water in oil no water in exhaust gasses but overheating and loosing coolant when this happens but no coolant loss otherwise driving me madi had been thinking there was a blockage but how would that keep the expansion tank pressurised ???likewise any advice or an explanation as to what is going on is welcome

 

john

[Higs]

I had been thinking there was a blockage but how would that keep the expansion tank pressurised ???

It's infuriating isn't it.

I can't think of another way it could be being pressurised unless there's some way air is getting sucked past some form of valve but I doubt it.

I know it doesn't make sense but it's almost like the coolant is being sucked into the 'system' and the air gap in the expansion tank is under vacuum, not pressure. :)

 

I've had a car with a serious head gasket failure before (gas into water) and the rad hoses felt like they were full of concrete, rock hard. With this current issue, there's still some squish in the hoses.

Edited December 29, 2010 by Higs

[john1doherty]

makes sense, one thing i do have is a hose was split and it was repaired with a 62length of copper pipe and 2 jubilee clips there might be a chance for air to get past this and into the system , i will check it out and get back to you . anything is worth a try rather than changing the head gasket.

[Higs]

makes sense, one thing i do have is a hose was split and it was repaired with a 62length of copper pipe and 2 jubilee clips there might be a chance for air to get past this and into the system , i will check it out and get back to you . anything is worth a try rather than changing the head gasket.

Almost certainly though, any breach somewhere like that would result in liquid leaking out rather than air/gas getting in.

[john1doherty]

normally i would agree with that higs but who knows whats going on with the galaxy, the hose i am refering to is actually above the expansion tank above the engine block in the middle and is on the return side of the cooling system so in theory it could be pulling air in and not letting coolant out. makes sense to me anyway ?????? havent had problems like this since i owned a discovery. i will try replacing the hose in question and see how i get on

[AD90]

Hi Guys,

 

I've been battling with coolant issues on my Alhmabra too. It's a 51 Plate 115pd (Engine Code AUY) Here's the story:

 

On our summer hols - drove from Aberdeen Scotland to Modena Itlay. Ambient temperatures were up around 38degC some days and when pushing hard on the motorways, it was using 500ml of coolant/day (500 miles) I couldn't find a leak, so continued to top it up - the car never overheated. Once home, I traced to the leak to a connection on the aux heater - fixed it, filled the system with 'anti-freeze' mix and all seemed well.

 

Just before Christmas, the Mrs called me and said the coolant light had came on yellow. She was not far from home, so I told her to go home. I topped the coolant up with 'anti-freeze' mix. A few days later, same story. However, when I went to fill it (hot) when I opened the cap, it spat the coolant at me. My initial thoughts were head gasket, but the more I experimented and analysed the problem, the less inclined I was to believe it was the head gasket.

 

I could not feel any circulation in the hose from the thermostat to the radiator - so I removed the stat and tested it - it seemed a bit sluggish so I changed it - things were no better. Must be the pump thought I - so I removed the pump and found no issue, but since it's done 90,000 miles I changed it anyway.

 

My next thoughts were blockages - so I drained the system, put the garden hose on to several point and flushed the system till everything was flowing clear. I then filled the system with fresh water and rad-flush, drove it ~30 miles, drained and flushed again now filled with the CORRECT anti-freeze.

 

Things are still acting strange :-(

 

It always seems like there is an air lock - so I removed the stat and drilled a small by-pass hole in it (like old stats had)

 

But still the problem persists - when I fill the system I put the heater temp controls on max and let the engine idle for 5 mins, I then hold the revs @ 2,500 to get some heat in. The returns to the expansion bottle generates a little bit of foam, no more than a covering on the surface. But when the temp guage reaches 90degC (stat opens) the expansion bottle level rises quickly and overflows.

 

I am still loathed to believe it's the head gasket, but fear I may now be in denial. Previous head gasket failures have rapidly pressurised the cooling system (hoses hard) that does not happen on this car. I just can't understand the mechanism that is causing this phenomenon.

 

Any final words of advice before I lift the head?

 

Thanks

 

Andrew

[AD90]

OK - Denial over.

 

Just been for a drive and the hoses are rock solid and when I cracked the cap, it spat the coolant out.

 

Here's hoping it's just the gasket and not the head

 

I'll keep you posted.

 

Andrew

[mashbury]

Hi all,

 

Have had similar problems with my 51 plate AUY galaxy. Have had high pressure/ high coolant level, then, at other times, suddenly low level needing 500ml to top up coupled with overheating and (so wife says) no heater. No obvious sign of leakage. In fact just Like John1Doherty and Hig's problems, very similar indeed. I am baffled at the moment, and haven't had time to have a decent look, but have all the same thoughts as you chaps. Hoses are nice & floppy.

 

I did have the problem (or similar) a few months ago, but found the over-run pump had failed, replaced this and all seemed well for a while....also been faffing with the Aux heater, so assumed it was just an air lock. Could it be that while the over-run pump was failed, the additional heat around the turbo has caused the head to warp?..I hope not.

 

If I find out more I will post.

 

Mashbury

[mashbury]

Dear all,

 

Well, got to the bottom of my overheating problem. Water pump had failed, plastic impellor spinning loose on the shaft. Thanks to whoever suggested that one could check out the water pump for this problem by feeling through the thermostat hole...it works.

 

 

[john1doherty]

A few more words about the symptoms. All is OK if you keep the power down, easy journeys..it only overheats when under prolonged load. Local boiling causes the pressure to build, beyond that one normally gets with hot water, and if it not too much it pressurises the system and stays there...hence the expansion cap `popping' even the next day when cold. However if it is too much pressure the cap vents and water is lost...hence the level going down. You don't get either of these all the time, and sometimes you get both, depending on the journey and conditions....(not too sure about this but it sounds good :-).

mashbury

 

refering to your above post , i had the same symptoms as described and thought along the lines of the water pump and thermostat so i replaced both but just got back from a long journey were the car overheated going up quite a steep/long hill pressurised the system and dumped coolant out of the cap. the "popping" noise is still evident when the engine is cold and has been even after i changed the stat, my thoughts are now with head gasket failure. So confused with the whole thing as people have so many different opinions on the same subject.

After looking around on different forums i am planning on getting a bottle of k-seal to see if i can cure the problem cause at the moment i cant afford to get the gasked done, alough i am dubious about adding k-seal i dont see any other way out. I also get loss of heat from the blower and a temp guage that goes up and down, sometimes depending on wether the car is going up hill or down hill. I dont think its a simple case of air in the system as when the coolant blows out of the cap i would expect the air to be forced out as well and the problem resolved but it is back the next day.

Heres hopeing k-seal will do the job.

Edited February 18, 2011 by john1doherty

[chrispb123456]

A few more words about the symptoms. All is OK if you keep the power down, easy journeys..it only overheats when under prolonged load. Local boiling causes the pressure to build, beyond that one normally gets with hot water, and if it not too much it pressurises the system and stays there...hence the expansion cap `popping' even the next day when cold. However if it is too much pressure the cap vents and water is lost...hence the level going down. You don't get either of these all the time, and sometimes you get both, depending on the journey and conditions....(not too sure about this but it sounds good :-).

mashbury

 

refering to your above post , i had the same symptoms as described and thought along the lines of the water pump and thermostat so i replaced both but just got back from a long journey were the car overheated going up quite a steep/long hill pressurised the system and dumped coolant out of the cap. the "popping" noise is still evident when the engine is cold and has been even after i changed the stat, my thoughts are now with head gasket failure. So confused with the whole thing as people have so many different opinions on the same subject.

After looking around on different forums i am planning on getting a bottle of k-seal to see if i can cure the problem cause at the moment i cant afford to get the gasked done, alough i am dubious about adding k-seal i dont see any other way out. I also get loss of heat from the blower and a temp guage that goes up and down, sometimes depending on wether the car is going up hill or down hill. I dont think its a simple case of air in the system as when the coolant blows out of the cap i would expect the air to be forced out as well and the problem resolved but it is back the next day.

Heres hopeing k-seal will do the job.

Hi John

 

Hate to say this mate but I think your only putting off the inevitable, the more it overheats the more chance you have of major damage like a cracked head or even seizing up completly, don't waste your money on K seal get a radflush instead for after the head gaskets done, hopefully thats all it is.

[sparky Paul]

I've had a car with a serious head gasket failure before (gas into water) and the rad hoses felt like they were full of concrete, rock hard. With this current issue, there's still some squish in the hoses.

 

As Chris said, could still be very early signs of HGF, or possibly cracks in the head.

 

The only way to find out what is going on for sure is to remove the head. If the gasket does turn out to be sound, then the head is the next suspect. I have heard of cases where the liquid glass stuff (such as Kalimex Seal-Up or Holts Wondarweld) has been effective for micro-cracks, but K-Seal is, at best, only a temporary fix.

Edited February 19, 2011 by sparky Paul