Hello,

Again after my terrible mistake yesterday of allowing the petrol station to check my coolant levels and oil levels, I noticed when i turn off my car and open the bonnet I hear a gurgling noise in the engine coolant system together with bubbles in the coolant tank. Is this normal? Or did they mess it up or something.

Engine coolant level appears normal as do temperatures - the fan barely turns on anyway as my fast driving allows the engine to cool with air ! = ) (although its very blurred so cannot see properly, I check by seeing the coolant level when the engine is cold and seeing that the coolant is up to halfway in the coolant tank - the idiots in the petrol station opened the coolant tank when the car was boiling hot!)

Probably needs bled.

D

Take a piece of card to dip the level or ideally use some thin plastic pipe (like on a fish tank) dip it in and place your finger over the other end and withdraw it now hold against the side of the kank for a true level. Only do this when totally cold.
If you do need to move the been screw use extreme caution and only move it totally cold.

rallycinq said:

Probably needs bled.

D

Click to expand...

i think opening it when cold will sort it out.

ahmett said:

i think opening it when cold will sort it out.

Click to expand...

Or you could bleed it...

D

Mine did this right before the thermostat housing fell off - bled it and helped a bit, but air kept getting in which suggested a problem. You might want to have a look at where the coolant pipe feeds into the engine block - there's a small pipe with a plastic end/ring round it. Might be easier to do this with the battery out.

Noxide said:

Mine did this right before the thermostat housing fell off - bled it and helped a bit, but air kept getting in which suggested a problem. You might want to have a look at where the coolant pipe feeds into the engine block - there's a small pipe with a plastic end/ring round it. Might be easier to do this with the battery out.

Click to expand...

ok, the sound isn't there anymore. i think it's because air went in when they opened the tank when the engine was warm. will make sure never to get the car checked when at a petrol station!

I have this whenever I put new radiators in. With a completely empty system you get airvin it. The gurgling is the air moving around. I take the cap off, run the engine and hit the gas and it pushes the air round the system and expels it. Check your levels and it should be ok.

typecastboy said:

I have this whenever I put new radiators in. With a completely empty system you get airvin it. The gurgling is the air moving around. I take the cap off, run the engine and hit the gas and it pushes the air round the system and expels it. Check your levels and it should be ok.

Click to expand...

yes it expelled some fluid than stabilized and now it seems fine. no more gurgling noise. i topped up a bit of coolant to see what happens and if it stays stable after this, i will know what level the coolant should be at = )

the coolant bottle is completely cloudy, i can't see a thing. i can only tell if there is coolant buy opening the cap and looking inside. when i change the timing belt/water pump and coolant next time, i will buy a new coolant bottle as they aren't particularly expensive.

ahmett said:

I will buy a new coolant bottle as they aren't particularly expensive.

Click to expand...

Here in the UK the expansion bottle is integral to the radiator(on the 1.2 at least) a new radiator would be required, I use the tube off my Mazda screen wash bottle level indicator, to dip the expansion/water level in the Fiat.

Yes, every one I have done here in the UK to my surprise when I did the first one the radiator and the "coolant bottle" are all the same unit. It's a bad design. Even with a new one it's impossible to see. It's OK if the front bumper is off, but that's a bit drastic action just to see your coolant level!