Horrid radiator water

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 29 Oct 2005, 16:18

I was going to sell my BX but it looks like ive got some work to do first- The oil usage seems to have stopped being so dramatic but I have another problem. The water in the radiator is orange and has left a hard orange stain down the side of the filler neck on the radiator. I spoke to a Citroen specialist about it and he says its either the fan not coming on or a head gasket problem. I just dont understand how this could cause the water to turn orange and full of bits when only a week ago a checked it and it was all fine. I have never heard the fan come on but as it a recent radiator I just assumed it never got hot enough. In my old BX 14 the fan would be audable and I monitord the temperature of the car by feeling how hot the heaters were-they were very hot in that car but never get as hot in this one so I assumed the temperature was always low. The only thing I can think of that could have caused hight temp to occur recently is, if that fan is not working, then when I towed my GS up to Newcastle it could have got very hot- I had the heater on full with a window open to be safe but the heater was hotter than I have ever experienced in this car. Obviously my first job is to flush the cooling sytem and to test all the fan connections and temperature sensor ect. Im just hoping its not the head gasket- If it is then ill change it but I was wondering if simply changing the gasket and retorquing the head bolts would be enough and whether or not it needs specialist atention? Regards, Adam

Stinkwheel · Post by **Stinkwheel** » 29 Oct 2005, 20:12

Sounds an odd one adam,

By the description of the water its rust thats in there.

That in itself does not mean your Head Gasket is gone, do you have the usual oil in water or vica versa?

Did your overtemp light come on ata ll whilst towing? If it did in a BX it often means your too late too avoid damage.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 29 Oct 2005, 20:17

yes, that does seem to suggest 'rust'

bxbodger · Post by **bxbodger** » 29 Oct 2005, 20:33

If its got hot air coming from the heater, then at least your not losing water!!

but, is it a diesel?

If so, they do get a lot hotter when towing- I noticed this after I put the temp gauge in, but my fan still comes on extremely rarely-only in very hot weather with the trailer overloaded and half a ton of ballast in the boot, so its probably behaving normally.

Its probably just rust thats dislodged from somewhere- I can't see how overheating can make the coolant turn orange......anyway, if you're going to sell it just drain, flush, and refill-and, as they say in Rome, buyer beware!!!!

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 29 Oct 2005, 20:41

Sounds like its boiled and freed all those years of sludge from deep in the engine. In itself not very pretty but harmless.

Over about 25 MPH the fan won't make any difference, the airflow through the radiator will be greater than the fan can provide.

If its not loosing water, bubbling etc (all symptoms of a failed head gasket) a flush may be all that it needs.

its worth getting it hot and seeing if the radiator is uniformly hot - from top to bottom. This is a cross-flow radiator and it will sludge up from the bottom and cools on the top part only. Take it out and flush it thoroughly from both ends and hope that that clears the sludge.

alan s · Post by **alan s** » 30 Oct 2005, 01:43

Some of those "stop leak" solutions often end up looking like an expresso coffee after a while too.
I'd be giving it a good flush and fresh coolant and see what happens.

Alan S

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 30 Oct 2005, 03:04

Cheers guys- Ive just used it to do a 80 mile round trip for work and it still performs as it should. I dipped my finger in the water straight after and it was only warm not hot. It was a browny orange, dirty, and a bit foamy. I observed what happens when the engine is running with filler cap off- as you rev the engine by moving the throttle in the engine bay the water level drops down in the rad- I take it thats normal behavior really. Also it is a diesel I forgot to say that at the start. Ill test the fan electrical system to be safe though I think. There is no sign of oil contamination- In fact that looks and feels good still and its 2000 miles since I changed it. The water doesnt smell too much- Its very very slightly oily feeling to touch but id imagine thats just normal as the old cars coolant was a bit like that.I know the head and gasket was changed on this car before I bought it so I would imagine thats OK.

Cheers again for you pointers. Ill be giving it all a good going over this Sunday.

Regards, Adam

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 30 Oct 2005, 13:58

Great news- I flushed the system, refilled with battery water and antifreez, bled it, and then took it for a long hard drive- no froth, no bits and lovely hot heaters! Think the froth before must have been caused by air in the system as that happened until I bled it fully.

Stinkwheel · Post by **Stinkwheel** » 30 Oct 2005, 18:17

good to hear it Adam,

Nice when something goes smoothly for a change

adamskibx · Post by **adamskibx** » 30 Oct 2005, 19:19

Yep I was chuffed by that result. Another worry is the rear arm bearings- A Cit specialist thought the rear wheels looked like they tow in but the arm bearing were replaced at about 11000 miles I think so I dont see why they would have gone again- There is no play in the arm as I have tried pushing and pulling on the wheel etcand no groans or odd handling. Think ill take it with a pinch of salt.