As I was cruising down the A2 tonight (6.00pm) at a leisurly 80mph I heard a thump from the front ..... followed by a nice cloud of steam from the driver side of the bonnett [:0]
The temperature rose to 110 and the self diagnostics lamp illuminated [:(]
I drove the remaining 2 miles home at 40mph with the occasional cloud of steam and arrived home with a horrible dry burning smell in the car. I raised the bonnet to find that the pipe had 'blown off' the front vent, and the top of the inside bonnet was wet.
I'm giving it a couple of hour to cool down before I fix the pipe back on and cross my fingers!!!! Before I do this, can anyone possibly give me any suggestions as to what has caused this and whether it sounds serious?
Lots of STEAM!!!
Moderator: RichardW
-
ZXturbo_Aura
- Posts: 148
- Joined: 10 Oct 2003, 02:56
- Location: United Kingdom
- My Cars:
-
philhoward
It has been known for the pressure cap on the expansion bottle to get stuck and not relieve pressure...My dad's Xantia actually burst its radiator, due to no pressure relief.
He had the cap tested at Citroen. Their pressure tester only went to 35psi (over 2bar) and it still didn't give...
If you've got away without completely stuffing the head (warped, cracked) i'd be VERY surprised. First step will be to take the head off and get it checked out (includes crack testing and pressure checking) at a good machine shop. Budget for a new/good second hand head, at least...
He had the cap tested at Citroen. Their pressure tester only went to 35psi (over 2bar) and it still didn't give...
If you've got away without completely stuffing the head (warped, cracked) i'd be VERY surprised. First step will be to take the head off and get it checked out (includes crack testing and pressure checking) at a good machine shop. Budget for a new/good second hand head, at least...
I fixed the hose back on, and on chatting to my friend we decided to open up the hot air and have the engine running whilst topping up the coolant reservoir to avoid air pockets. Once it was topped to the correct level I used the little pump bit on the hose until it was giving resistance. Just took it for a 5 mile drive with no probs!
I hope I have done the right thing, most of what I done was from advice from this site so thanks to all!!! I will certainly get the pressure cap tested on Saturday phil, thanks for your info, think I am lucky on this one
I hope I have done the right thing, most of what I done was from advice from this site so thanks to all!!! I will certainly get the pressure cap tested on Saturday phil, thanks for your info, think I am lucky on this one
-
philhoward
Pump? Pump? The only pump I know of is the DIESEL priming pump (top left hand side as you look at the engine).
To bleed the coolant system, you need to use the bleeding points (look like tyre valve caps), and the water going in to be higher than this point (which the header tank is not). If you do it with the engine running, you MAY be able to force the air out by means of the pressure generated by the water pump.
To bleed the coolant system, you need to use the bleeding points (look like tyre valve caps), and the water going in to be higher than this point (which the header tank is not). If you do it with the engine running, you MAY be able to force the air out by means of the pressure generated by the water pump.
-
philhoward
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by tonyb1</i>
As I was cruising down the A2 tonight (6.00pm) at a leisurly 80mph I heard a thump from the front ..... followed by a nice cloud of steam from the driver side of the bonnett [:0]
The temperature rose to 110 and the self diagnostics lamp illuminated [:(]
I drove the remaining 2 miles home at 40mph with the occasional cloud of steam and arrived home with a horrible dry burning smell in the car. I raised the bonnet to find that the pipe had 'blown off' the front vent, and the top of the inside bonnet was wet.
I'm giving it a couple of hour to cool down before I fix the pipe back on and cross my fingers!!!! Before I do this, can anyone possibly give me any suggestions as to what has caused this and whether it sounds serious?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Sounds horrendously expensive unless you've been very lucky indeed. My gratuitous advise would be to stop (STOP!) when steam appears, always. You may have driven for 2 miles with no coolant at all in the block and head. This can completely wreck not just the head but what it bolts onto!!!
Also buy a manual, and study for a while what goes where. Oh, and carry a torch.
Good luck with it.
JohnW
As I was cruising down the A2 tonight (6.00pm) at a leisurly 80mph I heard a thump from the front ..... followed by a nice cloud of steam from the driver side of the bonnett [:0]
The temperature rose to 110 and the self diagnostics lamp illuminated [:(]
I drove the remaining 2 miles home at 40mph with the occasional cloud of steam and arrived home with a horrible dry burning smell in the car. I raised the bonnet to find that the pipe had 'blown off' the front vent, and the top of the inside bonnet was wet.
I'm giving it a couple of hour to cool down before I fix the pipe back on and cross my fingers!!!! Before I do this, can anyone possibly give me any suggestions as to what has caused this and whether it sounds serious?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Sounds horrendously expensive unless you've been very lucky indeed. My gratuitous advise would be to stop (STOP!) when steam appears, always. You may have driven for 2 miles with no coolant at all in the block and head. This can completely wreck not just the head but what it bolts onto!!!
Also buy a manual, and study for a while what goes where. Oh, and carry a torch.
Good luck with it.
JohnW