Technical Bubbling/water running noises

[FiatPuntoMad]

Hi, i posted on sunday about some odd noises the car is making so would be greatful if someone can help me on that

I forgot to mention the car is making some bubbling / water running noises since we did an engine swap. First thing i checked was that the was no water in the plastic trim under the windscreen. Then bled the coolant system and the noise is still there

Thanks.

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

Also just changed timing belt, water pump, and tensioner if that makes a difference.

 

[Brendan W]

Bleed it again or your head will suffer. These motors are not as straightforward as others to bleed properly. There are lots of guides here about it and different ways of doing it which work or don't for me depending on the humour the car is in. Most reliable for me is to fill the rad to the top of the filler neck , upend a 500ml water bottle of coolant on the neck and blast the air out of the back screw which seems to have a secret stash of air somewhere.

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

Thanks for the reply. Do you mean fill a 500 ml water bottel with coolant and turn it upside into the filler neck, push it in as far as it will go and squeeze the bottle so the collant comes out and blasts through the system? And with just the screw towards the rear open?

Does the screw have to be completely off of just untightened? And I'm guessing this is with the engine off?

Thanks

 

[rustynuts]

the way I did mine was to fill the radiator to the very top and then put my mouth over the filler neck and blow whilst opening each bleed screw in turn a few times (closing before I stopped blowing). Got all the air out and had no gurgling or changes in level two months later so must've worked

 

[Jamie MK2]

mine done it there a while ago, topped it up with coolant, problem solved

 

[colinf1]

the way I did mine was to fill the radiator to the very top and then put my mouth over the filler neck and blow whilst opening each bleed screw in turn a few times (closing before I stopped blowing). Got all the air out and had no gurgling or changes in level two months later so must've worked

Isnt antifreeze/coolant very harmful/poisonous?

 

[rustynuts]

it isn't good for you, no, but by blowing on the filler neck I forced out the air and didn't get any in my mouth. You could get the same affect with other means probably but doing it the way I did was quick and easy

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

Had a go with a water bottle today, started it up fine for a bit but can now hear water running again, also the coolant level had dropped from the max line to below the min line. In a couple of weeks, will this just be because of the air or do i have a leak somewhere? :\

I will have a go tomorrow to blow in it see if that will stop it.

 

[Dcthebear]

Bit of a problem you may not have considered! If the thermostat is closed, the water can't get right round the system. Is the thermostat ok to begin with?

 

[Ziggy122]

as daft as it sounds
The Thermostat has to become fully open to allow the Pockets of air to circulate fully

I have bled mine loads hot and cold, but only way i got air out was to get worst out

Then Drive it a longer distance to circulate the air out
Leaving it on a sloped drive facing up does also help

Ziggy

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

as daft as it sounds
The Thermostat has to become fully open to allow the Pockets of air to circulate fully

I have bled mine loads hot and cold, but only way i got air out was to get worst out

Then Drive it a longer distance to circulate the air out
Leaving it on a sloped drive facing up does also help

Ziggy

Do you mean taking it on a longer distance drive, then bleeding it again?

Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Ziggy122]

Do you mean taking it on a longer distance drive, then bleeding it again?

Thanks for all the suggestions!

well i had gurgaling when i did lots of short runs just as the thermostat started to open up

Went on holiday - a very long run 200+ miles
It hasn't gargled since

Also make sure when bleeding the temperature guage is set to Hot
Fans dont need to be on, but set to hot to allow coolant to flow around the heater matrix

Ziggy

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

well i had gurgaling when i did lots of short runs just as the thermostat started to open up

Went on holiday - a very long run 200+ miles
It hasn't gargled since

Also make sure when bleeding the temperature guage is set to Hot
Fans dont need to be on, but set to hot to allow coolant to flow around the heater matrix

Ziggy

By temperature gauge I'm guessing you mean the heater dial inside the car ?

What would you say is the best way to bleed it ? I'm guessing if I'm going to be blowing into the filler neck the engine has to be cold and engine off ?

 

[howardsam95]

Strange i've been having the same problem, but when taking it out for a while engine management light would come on. Thought id solved it by flushing system through and new coolant, but since today when i started up, it seems to have got more coolant?
I got rid of the water running noise once by bleeding it so going to bleed it again soon. I also read somewhere that having it filled up too much can cause it to not circulate properly.... so i'm going to somehow extract the excess afterwards then take it for a drive. Pretty annoyed because i hope it isn't the gasket, just brought the car less than a month ago so pretty pissed.

My advice to stop the sound though is bleed the system, bleed the system, go for a long 30 mile drive enough for the fan to come on (i kept the fans on the whole time at full heat) and then when i got back coolant hadn't moved. Now i think somehow i got more air in, so going to bleed and do same process again

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

I'm starting to get worried at how much air is in it each time I bleed it. Bled it today through blowing in the tube and a whole load of air came out again! And the coolant level had dropped another inch :/ should I be worried about this ?

 

[rustynuts]

did the level drop because you bled it or following a drive afterwards? If the level dropped just from bleeding then thats a good thing, just top it up and if all the air's out it shouldn't go down.
Bled mine after a headgasket replacement, the first symptoms that the gasket needed doing was gurgling.

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

did the level drop because you bled it or following a drive afterwards? If the level dropped just from bleeding then thats a good thing, just top it up and if all the air's out it shouldn't go down.
Bled mine after a headgasket replacement, the first symptoms that the gasket needed doing was gurgling.

First I heard the gurgling, checked the level and it had dropped from max to below the min line, so I topped it up and bled it.

Was still gurgling and checked it again today the level had dropped about an inch, so bled it again, and topped it up.

 

[rustynuts]

You got all the air out when you bled it?

 

[FiatPuntoMad]

You got all the air out when you bled it?

Not entirly sure tbh, thought I had but maybe not :/