d-vide

Evening all I hope some one can help me, i have a 1995 STI wagon import and as in my other thread i have now sorted my boosting issues out so thanks for that, i only have this car so being with out it is not good i pulled up at work on tuesday and saw lots of steam from under the bonnet so opened it up and the hose on the back of the plastic header tank ( the one that goes to the turbo ) was leaking right up against the body of the tank ( plastic one ) and also noticed that the top radiator hose was swollen and under a lot of pressure, i still had heat from the vents inside the car and the temp always sits under half way but has never gone above.
So the man who works opposite me checked for possible HG failure by 1. looking at the oil and seemed ok 2. did a test to check if there was combustion gases in the water ( the liquid stayed blue and didnt turn yellow so all good there.
I managed to get the car home and ordered a V3 header tank and new thermostat ( trying to rule out possibility's ) soi fitted them tonight and the rad is still cold and no heat inside the car but the fans are going constantly if i rev the car the water drops down in the header tank and when i let off the revs is spills over like a fountain, i took the thermostat back out and tested it over a kettle and work great put it back in the car and nothing just a stone cold bottom hose, i had the car running for 15 mins with the revs up but the only thing that happens is the fans stay on all the time.
( wow that took quite a long time to write )
just hoping someone else has had the same issue and can help me out.
What else is there to try ?

CHEERS Jody

dj219957

" if i rev the car the water drops down in the header tank and when i let off the revs is spills over like a fountain" this is normal.

if you have no heat now then it sounds to me like you have not filled it up properly and you have a huge air lock.

you must drain it all down and fill it VERY slowly so that it can burp.
do this by disconnecting the top hose and fill the rad side first and then the block side VERY slowly. then report back.

dj219957

fans on all the time could be a different problem.
have you checked for error codes?

d-vide

This may sound stupid but do you mean fill the rad via the top hose time fill the rad then carry on via the header tank.
I will try this tomorrow and let you know. The fans only come on when it reaches just under half way but will just stay running.
Cheers jody

dj219957

yes remove one end of the large top rad hose and fill the rad and then the block slowley. then put back togther and fill remainder slowley via header tanks. works every time. if you fill system via header tank it will glug and airlock.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Fill from the turbo hose slowly using a funnel. I've done it a few times with now trouble at all. Very easy to do! Do a search on here for the method.

d-vide

Thanks for the tips people ( cant wait to get home, fingers crossed )

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

This^^^^ Works every time, but you would be WELL advised to do a search of my posts at least to se the full "how to" as there is a bit more to it. I've posted it this year at least three times. Haven't time to repost now, sorry, supposed to be fitting a ceiling where there isn't one......

d-vide

Right done that with no joy, I felt the heater matrix pipes and the top was hot and the bottom was cold so turned the car off took the pipes of and blew through it and it was clear as anything, so I decided to run the car with the pipes off and see what way the water was flowing and I had water coming out of them both so this would mean that it won't circulate as they are both trying to force water in against itself. I have had to call it a night as I was getting fustrated. Hope someone has had a similar problem and can help keep sort it out.

piehole1983

iTrader: (7)

Has the water pump crapped itself perhaps??

d-vide

And bit bit of an update today, I have jacked the front end up today and tried again ( this is the 7th time of trying to bleed the system ) and had success well I think I have, I know have hot air in the car and the fan cuts in and out plus the thermostat opened but the top rad hose is not soft by any means but I can still just about squeeze it, so I hope this is it the only thing I'm not sure on is the the expansion tank by near side headlight has a small amount of bubbles poping in the tube but apart from that is all seems ok.
Is this a common problem or is this normal.
Cheers jody

dj219957

normal. water boils as it leaves the expansion tank into the bottle by the battery as itr goes from pressurized to atmos.

d-vide

Once again thanks for all that have posted in this thread and helped me out it is much appreciated.

dj219957

post up some pics using photobucket

d-vide

Sorry people another update all was good and once again thanks for all the help, i have taken the car out for a small drive and gave it a little bit brought it back home and felt the top hose and was quite hard to press and the same for the bottom hose ( should the hoses be soft ? ).
I think im just going to just pull the motor out and replace the head gaskets with uprated ones and get the head skimmed for peace of mind.

dj219957

yes the hoses will be hard, its a pressurised system 0.8 or 1.1 bar if you look on the cap.
perfectly normal. you would no if the gaskets were pooped as it would shoot water out by the battery under boost and then overheat.

d-vide

Afternoon everyone i decided to take the engine out again and i was quite right to do this as i just would not stop building pressure and this is what i found.












The car has only done 2500 miles since its rebuild so now gonna get the heads skimmed if they need it and uprate the head gaskets .

this was off the drivers side head.
What recomendations for head gasket should i get the ones on import car parts the uprated ones
( 2 x 1.6mm STi Steel Head Gaskets £117 )