(T) 1998 punto 60s coolant problem

Hi guys,

i inherited a 98 punto 60 s.

i was driving it the other day and the heating stopped working. i knew from previous experience that this was a bad sign ( old cinquento)

anyway no temperature warning lights came on but i pulled over anyway.
i heard that the punto has problems with air locking in the heating matrix. so when i went to bleed the coolant system i discovered there was no coolant in the car. so i topped it up with coolant.

now i opened the bleed screw on the radiator and filled it up to the suggested level on the coolant resivoir. the heating came back on after running it for a few minutes. but there was signs of white smoke coming from the exhaust.

but i left it as i had not got time to investigate it further. so when i came back to it there was no coolant in the system again. and i cant see whee the leak is.

so i suppose my queries are....

if no temperature warning came on was the engine alright for running with no coolant for a that small amount of time?

does the white smoke signify damage to the head gasket?

is the any other bleed screws in the coolant system that i need to open to re fill the system properly?

is there any other possible faults causing my coolant to dissapera other than a leak?

sorry for all the questions just annoying me as the car was "serviced" before i got it and it was running fine for the last 2 weeks i had it.

P.s extra info. there seems to be staining on the inside of the coolant resevoir. like rust. is this from the coolant system?

Thanks in advance
Martin

If the System is full Bled The full of coolant
For it to just Disappear with no signs of a Leak Anywhere
But lots of white smoke out the exhaust, then i'd be sad to say it looks like the head gasket has gone

And Unknown substances in the radiator probably means it hasn't been changed as part of its regular servicing, IF the Headgasket has gone, then you'll be already replacing the Radiator fluid
Might be worth doing a flush to clean it out before finally clearing it all out

Ziggy

There is not a massive amount of white smoke .its been raining here so iys hard to tell on the ground where the leak is .

Surely some warning light would have come on ....... But who is to say they are working either

usually with the headgasket you get many tell tale signs

Like mayo Oil cap
Running Rough / Mis-firing
Loose of radiator fluid
White Steam out back

I'd be giving it a really good bleed - and adjust fluid level and then see where the water is going if its going anywhere

A good way to tell if water is been drunk - is make a note of where water level is - let engine run - after a while switch it off - let it cool and see if the fluid level has dropped

If its dropped when engine is running = a leak when running (pressures up) or HG is drinking it

If the fluid has dropped overnight - its a leak most likely somewhere else
like heater matrix - or a hose thats split

Ziggy

i was messing around with it this morning. i bled it. ran it .cooled it. bled it topped it up and basically i am waiting to see what happens now.

there is no mayo in the cap but it is running rough and there is a lot more steam ( not smelling like smoke) out the back.

could i fix this myself? i am fairly handy and providing the head does not need to be skimmed is it doable as a DIY job?

Also in your opinion what could have lead to this? faulty thermostat. as i was reading some guides here about bleeding the system and it said run the engine til the fan came on. the fan never came on in my case and i was reluctant to keep running the engine with a known coolant fault. so perhaps either the fan or thermostat could be gone too?

So long as the car has not overheated the head may not need to be skimmed.
Personally i think it's a DIY job as im going to be doing it to mine this christmas

If you are doing it your self you can get a stright edge or streight ruler and make it rest from corner to corner, if you see light under neith any part of the ruler/stright edge other than the clyinders then it will need to be skimmed - you would therefore send the head away to be professionally skimmed

Hope this helps

sounds good.

is there any online guides on how to do it or what tools i would need?

i know about the timing belt and the old tipex trick.


you got a rough cost on the parts? anything else needs replacing once i have that off. i might as well do other maintanaince

1.1 (iirc) and 1.2 8v's are Non Interferance engines

So basically they dont mash the valves into the pistons

And there are 2 clear timing marks (see the guides section) regarding timing it back up

Running Rough (water mixing into fuel = No Sparkie) and Lots of white steam out back = HG by the looks of it

These engines are best todo a HG with as little can go wrong
Enjoy the fun

Ziggy

cheers ziggy. thats good to know.

cant seem to find that guide......

just bled my system, it will go down again, as when it cools it sucks the coolant in, exact same happened to mine, but now you done what you said, let it cool and filled it again, it should be ok i have a feeling... but wait and see!

i will check the level in the morning.

however there is quite a lot of smoke/steam coming from exhaust pipe so i would be reluctant in running it further.

i think i will proceed with a head gasket replacement.
i am going to check the plugs for discolouration first.

i got the haynes manual for the car. looks straight forward and comprehensive.
just need a torque wrench.

if anyone has any hints and tips they would be much appreciated.