Xantia TD early sign of Head Gasket failure?

[ecohouse1]

Iposted a couople of weeks ago about mt lower radiator/bottom hose bayonet popping out and the dumping of coolant. I had just assumed it had worked loose over 6 months since I fitted it, but now I am wondering if it was excessive pressure in the cooling system forcing it out when it was not securely clipped in?

It has a full load of new coolant in it now. I bled it all and it burped a bit the first few days and I topped it up to about half way up the "cut out" line. I then added some stop leak and probably over filled as it was near the top by this point.

I opened the cap when at op temp and it spewed everywhere. Top hose had been hard to the feel, but softened after removing the cap. Temp guage sits steadily at 75 but creeps up to 90 in traffic/standing still but never above. Checked for bubble in the coolant but there was only some tiny ones sometimes with a little minor foam, which disapates - revved it when hot and no bubbles although the level goes up & down. Noticed after a drive that some water had been forced out the overflow hose as I have it lying on top of the radiator.

There is no mayonaise andno obv water on the dipstick.

It has a new rad, water pump and thermostat, precisely because I know how important the coolant is to an XUD?

Should I be worried?

I am reluctant to go through a major HG replacement at this stage in case I have "autochondria"!

My local Cit Indy says that he thinks the 1.9TD is bombproof and certainly stronger than the 1.7TD.

Cheers

Alan

[oneday]

sound pretty normal to me the hose will go soft as the cooling system is normaly undr pressure. i had a hose blow off after a garage had replaced the radiator after 2 months. no damage done just replaced the hose filled ware bleed and ran the van for another 80000 miles before selling van still in good order.

[Peter.N.]

Check if you are loosing coolant throught the filler cap or overflow pipe, if not the head gasket is probably OK..

Peter.

[CitroJim]

Another test is to start up from cold and feel the top hose and watch in the expansion tank..

If the top hose goes almost immediately rock-hard or you see little streams of bubbles in the tank then the HG may well be on the way out. Generally though if water loss under normal running is minimal then nothing to worry about.

If you open the cap when the engine is hot and it's very full a good fountain can be perfectly normal...

I also believe another test is to have your local MOT place stick an emissions probe in the tank to see if it can detect any combustion products there. It's believed to work on a petrol motor but not sure about a diesel as CO levels are almost nil anyway...

Fingers crossed everything is OK...

[citronut]

try a new tank cap

[ecohouse1]

Thanks for the advice.

I drive 30 miles today with a plastic bag tied onto the end of the over flow pipe with a lazzy band. A very small amount came out, ie less than 1/4 of an egg cup. Coolant level is steady at the bottom of the cut out.

Notice temp guage always sat at 75 now more like 80 but seems steady at this point, unless pulling up steep hills or idling after a run. I took out the coolant level sensor as it had not registered whne I dumped the coolant after the bottom hose disconnected. Wiped it clean and tried engine on with it out of the header tank and the warning light came on, so hopefully it will warn me of low coolant now.

When I bought the car 15 months ago the prev owner was oblivious to the fact that the header was almost empty due to a scabby radiator and I poured a couple of litres in. Immediately drained flushed and refilled with 40% glycol. Has been fine so far.

A it parnoid as I have a 400 mile drive up over the highlands next weekend! Worried about the HG suddenly letting go and fountains under the bonnet!

Have the 2CV on standby (replaced the clutch cable as the prev one was seized solid) although that would be an ordeal o that length of journey in the cold and dark!!.

Thanks for your words of reassurance citrojim.

Will keep you updated on progress!

Cheers

Alan

[Peter.N.]

Hi Alan

You will always loose a little coolant if you have filled it right up until it finds its own level. A leaking head gasket will not in itself cause the engine to overheat, its only when the pressure build up in the system expels the coolant that it overheats. It is far more likely to loose fluid if you are pushing it hard, so you can try that if you like or just drive gently which will improve the fuel consumption and make everything else last longer.

Peter

[wotwot]

Have a dispatch which used to do the same.
when water is lost it can be a right PITA to clear all the airlocks out when refilling on the ZX the Xantia and the Dispatch,try draning down a couple of litres and then refilling VERY VERY slowly.
And I'm talking a very slow trickle into the header tank, this may work.
Once filled the temp may show slightly higher mine did, and often goes upto 90-95 degrees when in traffic.