Loss Of Water And High Pressure

[Wesley]

I have searched through for similar issues but can't find any exactly the same as mine.

 

So I have a 53 plate 1.9tdi Galaxy. I started getting water related problems after my new water pump was fitted. I had a few pipes pop and I thought the system was pressurising too much but I was told it was just because it was a new pump so it was more efficient. I also ended up with an over heating problem that turned out to be a stuck thermostat. After changing the pipes and thermostat I thought it was problems over.

 

It then started loosing water every day for with no singes of where it's coming from. It's a taxi so it gets a lot of use. Some mornings I will need around 1.5 litres and some it's only around 500ml. To me the system still seems to be pressurising too much.

 

Also now the last few days my heating has decided to stop working when it's on tick over but soon as I start driving it comes back on. I have tried several things already.

 

 

[BrianH]

Does the run on pump work if its fitted  to yours? (feeds the back heater with water from the engine)

 

Usually when the head gasket has failed to allow combustion pressure to escape you either end up with excessive smoke/steam from the exhaust, or water being forced out through weakest point - what happens if you remove the expansion bottle cap and then start/run it (if you get water shooting out of it when started then i'd be suspecting the gasket personally at that point) - obviously remove the cap when its cold/cool though.

 

It may also be worth flushing the cooling system if you've found issues with rusty looking coolant - if you can flush using a hose check that the flow through the radiator is ok at the same time (better yet remove the radiator and flush it separately)

[SilverBeast]

A new "more efficient pump" causing hoses to pop sounds like a load of bollocks to me.

 

(i)  While you had the thermostat out did you try turning the rotor on the water pump through the aperture where the housing fits on the block.  They have been known to detach (particularly plastic rotors I believe) which means they won't circulate the water properly and it will overheat.  You shouldn't be able to turn the rotor as you would need to turn the whole engine over as it is directly driven from the timing belt.

(ii) There is a one way valve in the narrow return pipe to the header tank that is known to block up - you should be able to see water trickling/pumping back into the header if you start it from cold with the filler cap off.

(iii) Is there still pressure in the system if you leave it overnight to cool down?

 

All these symptoms have been described on this forum so if one sounds familiar then do a search on that and it may indicate the issue.

 

Saying all that it does sound like the head gasket to me - there are plenty of threads that turned out to be head gasket failure without sniff test/oil in water/water in oil showing any issues.

 

Even without the electric run on pump working (on the bulkhead behind the diesel filter) I'd be surprised if it would cause this issue as I believe it's mainly to get water to circulate into the rear heater circuit rather than for cooling.  The 130 and 150 BHP variants only seem to have this running while the engine is on and not for the extra few minutes after turn off.

 

I'd certainly flush the system and replace the coolant/antifreeze if it's looking rusty anyway.

[BrianH]

A new "more efficient pump" causing hoses to pop sounds like a load of bollocks to me.

 

(i)  While you had the thermostat out did you try turning the rotor on the water pump through the aperture where the housing fits on the block.  They have been known to detach (particularly plastic rotors I believe) which means they won't circulate the water properly and it will overheat.  You shouldn't be able to turn the rotor as you would need to turn the whole engine over as it is directly driven from the timing belt.

(ii) There is a one way valve in the narrow return pipe to the header tank that is known to block up - you should be able to see water trickling/pumping back into the header if you start it from cold with the filler cap off.

(iii) Is there still pressure in the system if you leave it overnight to cool down?

 

All these symptoms have been described on this forum so if one sounds familiar then do a search on that and it may indicate the issue.

 

Saying all that it does sound like the head gasket to me - there are plenty of threads that turned out to be head gasket failure without sniff test/oil in water/water in oil showing any issues.

 

Even without the electric run on pump working (on the bulkhead behind the diesel filter) I'd be surprised if it would cause this issue as I believe it's mainly to get water to circulate into the rear heater circuit rather than for cooling.  The 130 and 150 BHP variants only seem to have this running while the engine is on and not for the extra few minutes after turn off.

 

I'd certainly flush the system and replace the coolant/antifreeze if it's looking rusty anyway.

I'd agree with that - particularly the first sentence. Best bet would be get a compression test done if possible to do so.

[chrispb123456]

Looks like you done all the beating round the bush, getting the head off is your next step.

[Wesley]

Thanks for the reply everyone.

 

Brian H

While replacing a water pipe a few weeks ago I did break the back heater pump. At the time I didn't know what it was just I had broken it. I have replaced it but I don't have any hot air coming out the back heaters now. I not sure if it was working before this point.

 

If the engine is hot it appears the is no fluid in the expansion tank and when you take the cap off water gushes back into it and usually out everywhere. If you run it without the cap on you can see the water return and no water get forced out of the tank.

 

The radiator seems to get hot all over.

 

Silver beast.

 

I never fitted the water pump so I am unsure.

 

The one way valve was blocked at one point going into the expansion tank but I unblocked it.

 

Every morning when I take the cap off the is still usually a slight bit of pressure but not much.

 

I have checked and I get no heat out the rear heaters at all even when driving.

[BrianH]

Thinking about it I'm thinking of booser heater overheating errors, so the back pump probabbly not relevent to this, though sounds like an issue there as well (maybe airlocked?) I had similar issues on mine with the rusty coolant (think mine was someone elses previous attempts at radweld to repair mystery leaks - which I've fixed now apart from a slight leak from the heater matrix) - most of my issues with overpressure went away after flushing though (and replacing radiator as it was leaking due to corrosion at both ends)

 

I'd try flushing it out with a hose till it runs clear if you haven't already, otherwise as said above its looking like a head gasket, so either get a compression test done to confirm, or strip it apart and see if you can find anything/replace the gasket