Coolant, Oil, Optimax and Idling

D.Slatford · Unread post by **D.Slatford** » 10 Oct 2002, 02:18

Another month and another lot of xantia problems (95 2.0i 8v). Noticed the other day a disturbing watery sound when revving the engine - like a bathtub of water being spun up. I remembered this on my old AX - it was a lack of coolant, somehow causing this noise. And again this is the case - the radiator seems to have corroded and developed leaks all along the bottom. Is this typical of a car seven years old? Seems a bit premature to me. But why hadn't the temperature gauge shot up? It didn't give any abnormal readings. I've also noticed very recently the oil level's dropped from max to min - less than two months ago it had a huge 72,000 mile service and certainly left with a full load of oil. Is the sudden drop somehow connected to a lack of coolant (my AX had actually ran out of oil when I discovered the coolant was low), and recently, a very small but noticable lack of torque? I've been using optimax for the last few hundred miles, I WAS very impressed with the increased torque at lower speeds/higher gears, but lately that's less so, the car seems to be finding everything a bit more of a struggle.
Also, it idles rather roughly sometimes, I think more when cold. A couple of times recently, it's not started at all - engine turned over, idled poorly, then died, once causing me to leave it overnight in a carpark only to find it started immediately next day! That's not happened for a few weeks now, but it does sometimes behave as if, when idling, it's about to conk out, but just comes round again. Othertimes it idles very smoothly. What could this be?
Oh, additionally - does radweld actually work? If so, how?

I'd really like to have this thing last out a journey from yorkshire to london and back this weekend - would prefer not to travel in my mates little nova

--
dan.
Edited by - D.Slatford on 09 Oct 2002 21:44:44

rickity · Unread post by **rickity** » 10 Oct 2002, 04:16

I once used radweld and it worked a treat to seal up a small radiator leak , interesting side effect, it also sealed up the thermostat causing some interesting expolsive type noises as the water found away around it. took thermostat out and carried on ok, but ensured i did a real repair job sooner than later.

humpy · Unread post by **humpy** » 14 Oct 2002, 01:03

French rads and heater matrices seem to fail easily and often, I'm impressed your one lasted seven years. Radweld may bung up your leaky radiator but more likely it'll bung up small waterways in the head etc as well. Gauge may not have gone up because the water may not yet be over heating or there isn't enough water to cover the gauge in the radiator and you're getting a false reading. The latter is more likely, a false reading, false cofidence, yet your head has overheated and blown the gasket, hence loss of oil. Do you have any 'cheese' on the bottom of the oil refiller cap? Or oily deposit in the water?

D.Slatford · Unread post by **D.Slatford** » 15 Oct 2002, 04:01

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The latter is more likely, a false reading, false cofidence, yet your head has overheated and blown the gasket, hence loss of oil. Do you have any 'cheese' on the bottom of the oil refiller cap? Or oily deposit in the water?
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Hmm, there's nothing really under the oil filler cap, although the coolant water was/is still pretty murky looking. Then again, it's probably not been flushed out for years/ever. Wouldn't there be any more obvious signs of head gasket breakage?
Getting a bit sick of this car now, it's begun to cost me a fortune >: I discover now too that after a new balljoint and new droplink, there's ANOTHER knocking sound starting up from front passanger side, a new alarm unit hasn't fixed the alarm, and a new keypad didn't fix the immobiliser which I have to leave disabled or it rarely accepts any code (so probably a buggered ECU). sigh.
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dan