Technical mk1 overheating, now coolant and white smoke

[salibaba]

Hey all

Last posted with probs after car getting broken into, all sorted with that now, found red key taped under dash, pulled it out, refitted the sensor ring and got a new key cut and coded to a spare blue at timsons all is now imobilised!

Got problems last night tho, on my way home. Came off a roundabout and realised the temp gauge was off the scale pulled in, dunno if the engine stalled as I was stopping or if I just couldnt hear it ( was just of motorway and radio was on ), but turned it all off. Took a walk to let it cool down. when I checked it an hour later opened the radiator cap and looked waaay down , seemed VERY low down. First thing I checked was to see if my radiator had blown but i cant find any leaks of coolant whatsovever. Luckily ive been keeping coolant and water in the boot because im always having to fill it. Managed to get it home after fillin her back up. Noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust as I was reversing to park though.

Ive had problems with overheating and the cabin fans blowing cold but Id put that down to me being a t*t and not checking the coolant enough, hence checking it more often and carrying coolant and water in the car just incase.

Got up this morning checked the haynes, added more coolant and water and tried to bleed the system. Dont think ive got all the air out yet so im letting it cool down for a while before I try again. Checked the system this morning for leaks aswel. cant see any drips/puddles after putting in coolant, gave the pipes a shoogle as well to make sure thay were secure aswel but all seems fine.

Made sure that it wasnt a fan/thermostat problem just by letting the engine run, it seems to be fine. Did notice yesterday that it seems a bit sluggish in 3rd compared to usual at lower speeds, had to drop to 2nd.

Will keep informed but any advise or other thoughts would be welcomed, Seriously though on the haynes manual "expertise scale" im a single spanner person and a bit of a noob scince this is my first car.

UPDATE:

Just went out and checked the coolant tank again, its very low again, explains why i couldnt bleed the system properly ive let so much air out its had to drain the expansion tank of more fluid. topped it back up again but before coming back in I checked under the oil cap, its got gunk on it kinda light brownishy, wiped it off for now. Think Il have to take her into either my local garage I dont like using or the one I always use at my work, but thats 13 mile drive.

 

[Ffoxy]

Time to start checking for Head gasket failure, if it has failed there will be a reason for it to fail also. Maybe the thermostatically controlled radiator cooling fan doesnt work? Or the thermostat has failed... needs looking at but check the condition of the Head gasket first.

 

[KeithT]

Classic head gasket failure symptoms, common Punto problem can just happen but as Ffoxy says check everything works as well as replacing gasket.

 

[salibaba]

cheers for the input guys, from searching the forums a bit im thinking probs the same thing, the fan / thermostat seems to be running fine because it kicks in when the temp gets to about 1/2 mark then cuts back out again when it goes down. It also still runs to cool the engine after its been switched off. Phoned my not so local machanic who I trust more than my local eejit (is it 2 ee's). An honest guy and cheap, he welded my exhast back on and just said, nothing wrong with it it'll still do the job, even after I had told him that it was £20 off a scrap, that I awsnt too bothered if it needed a new exhaust and that it only needed fixed because I hadn't put it on properly in the first place.

Yes my honest mechanic's think it too sounds like the head gasket too but want to see it first just to be sure. so il take it in and see on monday, ive been quoted about £150 + VAT to get it sorted but il be asking him what he is doing for the work aswel.

Ive only just realised this is why the coolant system wont bleed properly, the exhaust gas is probably entering the coolant system and pressurising it aswel.