(G) Overheating

Hi, this is my first post my wife has a 98 Seicento sporting abarth. on her way to work today she phoned me to say the car was overheating, she had driven about 10 miles, I got to her, looked at the engine and the expansion tank was completely empty there are no obvious signs of hoses split etc, i filled the expansion and begin to drive home, i checked the expansion after 3 miles and it was starting to steam, I waited for it to cool and the expansion was empty again.
any ideas
Paul

Hi, Just a add on to my question, i have just got the car home, refilled the expansion and run the car, there are no knocking sounds, no leaks from any of the pipework, no signs of a split in the radiator, the car run for 15 minutes lost some water, the fan did not come on in this time, the exhaust is smoking slightly with a small amount of water liquid coming out, any ideas
Cheers
Paul

Have you checked for water in the oil?

Hi, Yes i have, the cap seems to be fresh no signs of contamination and smells of oil, the dipstick is the same. when the car was turned off the noise of boiling water was racing around the system making same very strange noises
Cheers
Paul

Hmm....could possibly be the heater matrix?

Headgasket

It could well be but if the HG has gone then wouldn't there be loads of water in the oil? I know some HG failures don't have any signs of mayo, but it sounds like a fair bit of coolant has disappeared...

The gurgling noises may be due to the system having been filled and not bled.

I suggest, fill it and bleed it.

Put it on axle stands, run it up to operating temperature and observe carefully. Most likely place for a leak is the water pump, so look very carefully (especially) around the drivers side of the engine, behind the radiator. But look everywhere. If the heater matrix has burst, expect a very damp passenger side floor.

If no leaks, do a compression test. A blown head gasket is a real possibility.