Hi everyone, found this forum and was delighted, im having real problems with my car. Bought it 4 weeks ago its a Brava 1.4 1996, two days ago the temp gauge started going up to just below red. Checked engine, pipes are hot engines hot, but the rad is cold and the heater has started blowing cold. PLEASE PLEASE help as cant afford to take it to garage. Many thanks

a cold rad suggests the thermostat is stuck closed, an easily and cheaply fixed problem BUT i think it has already caused head gasket failure because the heaters should still work with the thermostat stuck closed, if they've stopped working im afraid it means the head gasket has blown, most probably when the stuck thermostat caused the engine to overheat. very bad news. have you checked the water level? if it has lost water you can be pretty sure the head gasket has gone. expect it to cost about 200 to get fixed. very bad luck if you got the thermostat sorted as soon as it started to overheat, and didnt let the car get near the red, then it would probably cost you £10 to fix, but once it overheats and the head gasket goes its a much bigger job. lesson to learn here is to watch your temp gauge closely on all cars at all times. if you see it getting very hot you should assume something has gone wrong and turn it off before damage occurs. once you get near the red its usually too late.

Thanks for ur help, damn was hoping it would only be a cheap fix, it didnt quiet get to red and only drove it for about 10 mins when it got to this stage, do u still think the head gasket could be gone? Read forums for hours and thought it might be a air block stopping water getting to radiator, or am i a complete Noob lol

Thanks for ur help, i only drove car for 10 mins at this level and it didnt quite hid red (just before), im a little worried to run the engine to see if heater will heat up just turned on briefly yest morn and off again so not to sure about heater, do u still think its the h/g. I was going to call out AA and see if they could enlighten me and if its something simple hoping that my smile and tears lol will get them to fix it

you are right an airblock does stop the heater working, but if you havent touched the coolant lately and you dont have a coolant leak there is only one other way the air got there, a head gasket leak. obviously i cant be sure you have a head gasket problem, or a stuck thermostat, or air in you pipes.

there are a few checks you can do to see what the situation is. you should get the car warmed up and then try the heaters. if they dont get hot its a bad sign. you must check your coolant level, if it has gone down its not a good sign. you can try to bleed the cooling system with the engine running and warm. if water comes out the bleed screws its a good sign, if bubbling water or steam comes out its not good.

who knows maybe you just have a faulty temp gauge and everything is fine, maybe the heater didnt work because you didnt give the car a chance to warm up before you tried it. maybe your radiator fan doesnt work and thats why it got hot. its impossible to say for definate without seeing the car, but if your heaters dont work when the engine is warmed up and the temp gauge gets up near the max if you leave the engine running then it is very likely that you have head gasket failure. asking the AA for advice is a good idea, you pay for membership so why not use it.

hi thanks once again for ur advice, knowledgable for sure, i have added coolant when i first got it about a month ago as the guy i bought it off hadnt topped it up. At first when i got the car the temp gauge read c all the time unless i was caught in traffic then it would move up slightly. There are no mayo type signs in oil cap and no oil in water, dosent seem to have lost any coolant, i would like to try ur idea of bleading pipes but not sure where to find screws, would be greatful if u could advice, and do u or anyone in this group, know of any decent mechanics in croydon area many many thanks

i'm pleased you havent lost any coolant, thats a very good sign. looks like you've been lucky and noticed the engine overheating before the head gasket was affected, well done. did you manage to get any hot air out of the heaters yet? if you get heat coming out of the heater vents you can assume you dont have air stuck in the cooling system and dont need to bleed it. i dont see how you could have air if the coolant level has not dropped and there is no sign of a leak or head gasket failure. you must check for hot air coming out your air vents before you do anything else.

assuming you do get hot air coming out the vents, i would suspect a stuck thermostat is causing the engine to overheat, although the problem could just as easily be a blockage in the cooling system from a build up of corrosion and slime. if your radiator isnt getting hot it is usuallly due to a stuck thermostat. the thermostat contols the flow of coolant around the system, usually it will open when hot to allow the coolant in the radiator to flow around the whole system, cooling the engine. when its stuck shut the engine overheats while the radiator stays cold. coolant cannot pass through the stuck thermostat.

i would recommend you get the cooling system drained, flushed and refilled, and at the same time have the thermostat tested. you can do all this at home easily, with the help of a haynes manual i'm sure you wil find it an easy job. you can test the thermostat using a cup of boiling water. if it opens in the boiling water its fine. if you get this done at a garage it wont cost the earth, it is part of normal servicing and should be done every 2 years. many people ignore this, thats how problems are caused.

Once again thanks for the advice, I will try the heaters but was wondering if i start the car up to warm it to check heaters will this cause prob with h/g if no how long could i let it run idle for without getting near danger. U've been a great help many many thanks

just watch the temp gauge, as long as it doesnt get more than three quarters of the way to max there is no way you will cause any damage. the heaters should work well before it gets anywhere near that hot. if the car has been running for 4 mins and there is still no heat from the vents you can assume it wont be coming out any time soon

Thanks I shall give that a try and see if the heaters working, I will be calling the AA tomorow morning and hopefully if it is something simple they will repair, once again u've been a great help. Many thanks

jug said:

just watch the temp gauge, as long as it doesnt get more than three quarters of the way to max there is no way you will cause any damage. the heaters should work well before it gets anywhere near that hot. if the car has been running for 4 mins and there is still no heat from the vents you can assume it wont be coming out any time soon

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Well I called the AA out yesterday, as there was no heat coming from heaters either, his first thought was the head gasket, but THANKFULLY it was not that servere. There was a very bad air lock, and now thankfully, its all sorted, thanks very much for your advice, all ended well.

you have to wonder how the air got there in the first place.

jug said:

you have to wonder how the air got there in the first place.

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jaxdavey said:

i have added coolant when i first got it about a month ago as the guy i bought it off hadnt topped it up.

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I'd say that's the probable cause. If it was run down then topped up without the bleed screws being open that is.

good point, that would make sense