[Dave40]

After 200 miles of trouble free motoring in my 'new' 9000 I did a 12 mile round trip today to be greeted with steam. The source of this was the cap on the coolant header tank.

I let the car cool for a couple of hours, topped up and refitted the cap & set off on another short 10 mile trip. Had to stop after 6 miles as the check radiator illuminated and the temperature guage raced up to hot.

I always carry spare fluids & was able to release the pressure & top up with cold to get me on may way again but within 2 miles was repeating the process to get me to my destination.

Remembering a trick from my F*rd days as a kid I undid the coolant filler cap a half turn which enabled me to do the home journey without stopping. The temperature would climb steadily to just under hot, steam would release and temperature drop back to under half way. This happened twice before home.

It has been suggested that the thermostat is the place to start but I am concerned that I may be looking at a head gasket.

Car has 130k under it's belt and is 2.3 FPT my95. Any words of sense/wisdom & experiences welcome.

 

[Mark in Ireland]

It could be 1 of a few things, first the thermostat might be stuck shut, second the radiator might be silted up, run your hand carefully over the whole area to check for cold spots, and thirdly the head gasket.
I would check the radiator first, then remove the stat then if they are okay go to a local garage and get them to sample the radiator cooling water for hydrocarbons which will give a clear indication of whether the head gasket has gone.
It would be rare if the water pump has failed but a possibility though.

 

[soneway]

hello,

I'd start with the thermostat. run your heater and see if it's easy to heat the inside of the car. Check the hoses to the radiator being too hot to touch or not really all that hot. STAY AWAY from the fans, even after the car is off...

If you can comfortably hold onto a hose and the car is overheating it points to the thermostat. Not too hard to replace, make sure you use a new gasket and also don't tear up the surfaces getting the old one off.

If the hoses are too hot to touch, then suspect a radiator issue.

If the car cools down at a constant freeway speed, not stop and go, then I'd say this is your issue.

Water pump? you should be leaking fluid from it before I'd question it.

 

[Dave40]

RESULT!!!!

It was ONLY the thermostat. BIG relief. Headgasket nightmares forgotten. Thanks to those who replied.

New tiny problem as a result of changing the 'stat is the perished & now broken vacuum pipe which runs from the rocker cover to the inlet manifold. Is this standard stuff & should I be checking other pipes which may be suffering similar degredation & effecting the running of the engine?

 

[ben hall]

Originally posted by Dave40:
[qb]Is this standard stuff & should I be checking other pipes which may be suffering similar degredation & effecting the running of the engine? [/qb][/b]

Glad to hear it was a straightforward fix.
Yes, check all the other vaccuum hoses. They go brittle over time and exposure to heat. Try running your hands along them and bend them. If they don't feel supple, and leave black [expletive deleted] all over your hands then change them. Change them for silicon, it lasts longer and looks cool (different colours are available). Elkparts do it for (I think) £2.50 per metre, and you'll need 3 metres IIRC.

Cheers,

Ben.