ZX: overheating: help still needed!

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TomH
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ZX: overheating: help still needed!

Post by TomH »

Just drove home from work, and on the roundabout before home noticed a sudden really horrible smell...hard to describe, sort of sulphur like perhaps. Looked at the temperature guage and it had shot up to right near the top (115-120). Luckily only a couple of hundred metres for home as it's a bit worrying... but my journey home is only 3 miles and had not been used all day so it should have have got so hot surely. Any diagnosis? I should check levels when its cooled down.
ZX 1.9D '94M 103k
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rabenson
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Post by rabenson »

could be a stuck thermostat
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noz
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Post by noz »

Although not necessarily related, but the 'strong sulphur' smell sounds like an overcharging battery to me. What temperature was the battery casing when you stopped?
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

erm, I don't know if it was sulphur really though...probably a bad word to use! I can't describe the smell... it left a bad taste in the mouth and felt it in my lungs!!
And it was sudden as I went round the roundabout. I have noticed that when I go round corners/roundabouts I feel the heat from the heater more than when straight recently.
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

topped up the radiator which was pretty low! so on the way to work this morning the temp guage didn't move at all, rooted to the bottom which isn't normal either!
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Post by Brian Oblivion »

Sounds a bit like the classic Peugeot/Citroen Triangle of horror radiator/gasket/matrix syndrome!!
I had similar problems with a 306 diesel, first an eye watering smell, followed by the temp gauge going wild... eventually leading to a burst matrix & head gasket - three times I had the matrix/gasket replaced over 80k before a mechanic (a French Renault mechanic incidentally!)saw the problem was a stuffed radiator. One new (s/h actually) radiator and hey presto no problems for the next 60k miles.
Sometimes the temp will be at zero then off the scale. I'd recommend you desist driving it until the problems bottomed out.
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Post by James.UK »

Hi Tom, Sorry you have problems, from what I've read on these threads, once the ZX engine has overheated it creates air pockets in the cooling system, and from then on, just adding water to the header tank or radiator wont help much!
If you want to risk driving it without finding the cause of the problem you must, at the very least, bleed and refill the system completely.. But running any engine that has a serious fault is clearly running a high risk of causing even more damage to it..
Sounds like you have to do all the usual checks after you bleed and refill with coolant, is the radiator getting warm all over? any leaks anywhere? pipes? matrix? rad? any air bubbles in the appearing in the rad after you run the engine for a few secs? Unfortunatlely it looks as though brian is right.. >"radiator/gasket/matrix syndrome!!"<
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

To be honest I know little very about the cooling system etc... I've never done anything under the bonnet myself apart from check levels/ top up etc
It did have a new gasket in December when the cylinder head had to come off and be sent away to remove a broken glow plug, but I've done less than 2000 miles since then.
Have to get myself a Haynes and look at the radiator then!
I'll see how it behaves later!
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Post by James.UK »

Don't bother with Haynes.. Get a copy of the workshop manual by Russek its far better. :-) btw. plzz put your car details in your 'profile' saves time, and prevents any confusion arising. :-)
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

OK it did it again under testing to see it if was a one-off or not. Temp guage keeps on going up and up but the radiator is cold and the fans don't come on...eh?
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Post by AndersDK »

Tom -
Either you have an air lock in the cooling system
- or the thermostat is stuck closed (this happens !)
The thermostat is located within the housing from which the large top hose runs to the radiator.
Try the air lock problem :
Have car steep nose up - this will make any air easier finds it way to the radiator/pressure tank vent cap.
Then start engine and let idle - giving it some light rev's now and then.
Of course - if the temp STILL raise fatal - stop the test.
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Post by James.UK »

Tom, do as Anders sugests, but also open the matrix bleed cap, you will find it to the left of your master cylinder, next to the plastic thing you put your brake fluid in. Its a short pipe sticking out with a screw cap on top, undo the cap, (try not to burn your lil pinkies [:o)]) and allow the air to escape, when its just fluid escaping screw the cap back on again, and continue with Anders test.. [:)]
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

Cheers for the replies [:)]
I reckon it could be a stuck thermostat then. Although coolant was overflowing from the header tank overflow where I'd slightly over-filled it.
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TomH
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Post by TomH »

right, I have replaced the thermostat and bled, flushed and refilled the cooling system. Let the car idle for a while, but never got above 80 on the temp guage. However upon taking it out for a test drive it was fine until I started giving it some higher revs which it didn't like at all and the temperature shot up again so I had to abandon it. (still no cooling fans or hot radiator.)
I also noticed that there is some oil bubbling and steaming/smoking out of a couple of places on the cylinder head (don't know what parts exactly by name, sorry!) which I wondered if it is related, plus a slight tapping noise I don't think I noticed before at higher revs (unless that is my imagination!)
head gasket? Image
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Post by CITMAN »

Remember that the work in which the garage did on your engine i.e. removing the head, should be still under warranty. A head gasket should last longer than four months. Sounds like bad workmanship.
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