adidasandy

Pretty pi@~ed off today as took my car down to Steve Simpson to get re mapped only to have my new clutch start slipping on the rollers
But then to top it off he said my H/G may have gone as it was pushing coolant out of the expantion bottle
I was told to carry out a leak down test but TBH I have never had any issues with the car over heating or using any water but once someone tells me how to do a leak down test then I will carry it out to make sure it's not the H/G's

dj219957

my car has "suspected hg failure" but its been like that for ages now and it still runs fine.
i get bubbles in the expansion bottle by the battery. i dont loose water or overheat. if it aint overheating then i wouldnt fix it yet.

adidasandy

Oh right, it runs great and like I said never looses water but just spoke to a local lad and he is going to do a test on the water system, apparantly he has a syringe with 2 chambers on it and has dye in it thats changes colour with the emmisions. I hope it NOT h/g's. Want to sell the car soon but would not sell it if there was a fault with it.
Andy

Shaun

If you are pushing water out of the expansion bottle then you certainly have an issue. Assuming your coolant system has not been re-filled recently (i.e. was overfilled), then you are experiencing some sort of pressure build up to throw the water out. Whilst it may not always be the headgasket, it certainly is a cause of the symptons you are experiencing.

When my headgaskets went I never "used" any water.... it just threw it out of the expansion tank.

The method you have suggested to check is a block tester.... I have one of these and have used it on other cars to determine possible HG issues.

Good luck!

dj219957

are you getting just bubbles or is it actually raising the water level by the battery?

adidasandy

Coolant was changed last week so it may have been over filled but the water is coming out of the expansion bottle over flow pipe, I have also been told that I could have a air lock somewhere due to me draining the coolant out of the bottom of the rad.
I'll find out on Thursday when the lad comes to test the car.

Shaun

If you are throwing water out of the expansion tank, then you really need to get it resolved.

Are you sure you bleed the system properly, as it may be the cause if it is off the back of you changing the coolant. Why was the coolant changed.... any particular reason?

Get the water and engine up to temp and check the bottom hose on the rad. If it is cold you have an airlock. This can be caused by HG failure and/or improper bleeding of the coolant system and/or a knackered thermostat.

Shaun

The OP is getting a little more than just "bubbles".... it needs investigating and should not be left!

adidasandy

Water was changed due removal of the rad for the belts to be changed, I bled the system like I would any other = run it with the cap off until up to temp then let the bubbles escape and thats it RIGHT?

Shaun

You need to run it at around 3k rpm with the cap off. Just letting the engine idle will not bleed it properly. Not sure if you did this?

adidasandy

It was on idle with a few revs here and there just to pump the water round abit more.

Shaun

Check the bottom rad hose when up to temp..... easy way to find if you have an airlock. Once you are sure you have no airlock, you can then start to worry about other things.

adidasandy

Cheers Shaun, TBH if the H/G's are gone then it has to be done, no drama's really but I will find out on Thursday and keep you's updated.
Thanks Andy

adidasandy

Right, done a combustion test with the blue die and it's never changed colour so thats a good thing, also cheched for blockages and everything is fine, expantion bottle still has pure anti freeze in and is stone cold. Could not get the car to push water out of the expantion bottle even at high revs. All I can think of is it was cooked on the rollers or had a air lock which has cleared?
Any views?

adidasandy

Ok, just got car back today from body shop, drove it home (20 miles) and after arriving back I could hear hissing from under the bonnet. After further inspection I found it to be the header tank cap was leaking and water was bubbling in the expansion bottle also it looked like it had been squirting out of the over flow tube. After doing another combustion test it came back normal.
Now I have been told that it could be a faulty cap???????
How can that be, if it's leaking hot air then surely a new cap will only make the pressure worst?
Temp was normal and never flickered.
Any idea's please or advise on the cap method.
Andy

dj219957

when you say the cap was leaking do you mean it was leaking onto the header tank or leaking fluid into the overflow? if its leaking onto the header tank then i would replace that before spending more money on anything else. i run a 1.1 bar cap i got from egay for a £10. I still get bubbles in the overflow but its been doing that since i got it last July. Not enough bubbles for it to overflow or even cause a rise in the tube.
Still runs spot on (touch wood).

adidasandy

Just borrowed my mates cap and it works a treat
The only problem I have now is a intermitant screaming noise when boosting but thats another thread.

dj219957

have the bubbles stopped then?