Hedgywrx

ive recently taken out the thermostat as it was sticking and cannot get a new one until this friday, so im currently runing her without a stat.. the car seems to be loosing large amounts of water? now i know what everyone is thinking as i thort the same,, its not the head gaskets as they have been changed recenlty and she has been pressured tested etc etc.. i will update when i put new stat in but shes loosing a lot of water and cannot figure out were from? any susgestions?

TonyBurns

iTrader: (3)

What model/year of car?

Tony

SLAB

iTrader: (77)

If there's no water on the floor there only one thing that it could be. Also doesn't mean because head gaskets have been replaced mean they ok if the head was warped and wasn't skimmed the chances are theres your leak

d4vidh

Make sure you bleed all the air out of the system, took me over 20 minutes last time to do mine!! There are guides on here how to do it

Hedgywrx

sory mate its a uk 2000 turbo on a 1999 plate :-).. well i did think that aswel but the garage that did the gasket change did skim the heads etc the bloke payed over 1400 for it all to be done.. this was 9000 miles ago..

Hedgywrx

yeh ive tryed just runing the car up from cold with heaters on and got a few bubbles out etc it lasts for about a day then starts to loose water somewhere,, before all this i got the swirling noise of water behind the dash then car overheated and noticed thermostat was sticking and pushing water back out expansion tank... since taking the stat out shes still loosing water and im sure its out the expansion tank still as theres water there around it but wanted some advice

Firez34

iTrader: (5)

Top up the coolant overflow tank(yellow cap behind the passenger side headlight. Take it for a run to warm up give it some boost when your back on the drive pop the bonnet look at the coolant overflow tank behind the passenger side headlight if it's bubbling it's one of your head gaskets failing.
Also check down the side if your radiator(drivers side usually) as the plastic cracks and sometimes they only leak there when warm and you give it boost.

Hedgywrx

Ive just taken it for a run and given it some boost got home poped bonnet and i think theres A leak from sumwere down the bottom near the stat and bottom hose as theres quite abit of water there also poped the cap on the expansion tank and yeh its bubbling quite abit but it doesnt do that wen i start the car from cold andd run it up to a high temp... ive ordered a new rad a new coolant tank cap and new stat im hoping this will all solve it othderwise is it hg?

Baz82

Surely the leak was the loss of water, also that swirling noise behind the dash means you have an airlock

Hedgywrx

I cant find the leak though as it only seems to be wet there wen i give it boost n its warn i think it may also be from expansion bottle pushing water out overflow pipe, since ive topped the water up the swirling noises have gone :-s are there any blled valves anywerd or is it a case of start from fresh drain all water and start again and burp the system with header cap off

4u2nv2

it will be the thermostat housing gasket, did you renew or use sealer. could be water pump had a few in the past and just recently turbine came off the shaft, would boil up like a kettle. anyways what you have undone hasent been put together correctly.

4u2nv2

also cheak passenger side foot well for leaky matrix.

Hedgywrx

Yeh renesed the gasket but as i say il b puting the new stat back in on fri with new rad etc.. yeh ive checked for leaks round housing and bottom pipe but theres nothing, is alot of bubbles in expansion tank head gasket?

4u2nv2

if the thermo housing gasket is **** it can suck in air cos there is no pressure cos you took out thermostat. not good to runn a scoob without thermostat too cold is as bad as too warm with oil. thats why its there to keep a happy medium. ya kinda pissing in the wind till you get ya new parts. new gasket as well buddy.

Firez34

iTrader: (5)

Yep that's what mine was doing when the head gasket on the driver side went. Kev at the Scooby Clinic also confirmed that was one of the signs that one of the gaskets had gone fella. The exhaust gas pushes the coolant into the overflow tank and it bubbles up and out the cap. Just finished rebuilding my engine dropping it back in this weekend.

Hedgywrx

Yeh its just to get me to work until fri then all me new parts will b here so i can sort it on sat, il wait and see what happends with new rad and stat and cap if it carrys on il just have to do the heads :-( lol

d4vidh

Who did the head gaskets and how long ago?

Hedgywrx

Recipt i got is from zen performance mate so i know its been done properly just cant understand if the overflow bottle is bubbling when i give it some can the thermostat housing with a small leak cause that?

RedScoob

Can't hurt to take it for a sniffer test at the local garage, then you'll know for sure if you have a head gasket problem.

Hedgywrx

Yeh after i fit new stat etc am guna take it for one and she what the outcome is

toneh

iTrader: (1)

Have a look at the turbo water pipes , the one that runs under the turbo
, I had the same symptoms and was convinced it was the stat , couldn't see any water dripping as such , replaced stat and still the same , could hear gurgling and bled the system numerous times , then noticed damp between the steel turbo water pipe and block / bell housing , sure enough it was leaking , only a tiny pin hole but had a massive effect

Temp would be normal and as soon as you hit boost it started to rise , and expansion tank started filling , but when you slowed down again it was ok

Hedgywrx

Ahhh ok mate good idea and its the one under the turbo u say near bell housing?

toneh

iTrader: (1)

Yes mate , mine was actually chaffing against the bell housing and wore a tiny hole in the pipe , but like I say the effects were massive

Hedgywrx

The symptons u described are exactally what mine is doin i will have a look later when im home :-) was it the metal pipe or rubber pipe that had the hole in?

toneh

iTrader: (1)

It was the metal piece mate , I had another set of another turbo and they had corroded in roughly the same place as mine had worn through , did you test your old stat to see if it was deffo sticking

Don't want to get your hopes up but it's worth investigating

Hedgywrx

Nah i can apreciate that mate jus dont wanna change hg to find it was sumut silly like that lol am guna rip her apart when im home n go from there

toneh

iTrader: (1)

Best way mate , look at the basics and simple stuff first , before fearing the worse , but look very closely because my leak was tiny , also like others have said , check rad for cracks , all the other hoses ect

Good luck

Hedgywrx

Thanks mate, just fitted a stat and filled up water through the pipe from the header tank going to the turbo ran car for 30mins and all seems fine fan kicked in etc etc rad got hot as it should my only concern is that i get one or 2 bubbles now and again from the expansion bottle by battery, i havnt taken the car for a spin as im blocked in by another car till the morning but all seemed ok

Hedgywrx

Cars been fine since i fitted new stat, ive driven it about 100miles since fitting it and i heard the swirling of water behind the dash again :-s i took it for a blast and gave it some boost and pulled over and had a look at the expansion tank n it was bubling quit abit.. i cant tell if the rad is leaking coz were the overflow pipe is on the expansion tank as its placed near the rad bottom hose.. the car hasnt overheated yet and am still geting hot air out the heaters i just think in a day or 2 if she is loosing water out the expansion or rad shes guna overheat again :-s any ideas? Ive bought a new rad and should b here by 2morrow so il fit that and c what happens if not then i think its guna b hg.. i took it for a sniff test and was told head gasket is fine though so not really sure what else could be causing the bubbling in expansion tank unless i have overfilled it and its just pushing the excess water out :-s x

Loonie

i had a water leak on my 98 classic and it turned out to be the headers i think its called,underneath the inlet manny. cast piping supplys water from one side of block to other had a pin hole in it