Hello, I am new to the forum, my names Dan, im from Maidenhead, UK.

I have an Uno 1300 sx (1989).

I love the car and has only done around 50k miles However it does have a few issues, i hope somone can help me!

1. The Car overheats very quickly and the fan blowers wont blow warm air at all, the rad fan dosen't come on at all ( i think this could possibly be the thermostat unit?)

2.The car will not idle without any choke, this has gradualy got worse and worse over time, i noticed a pipe going from the dizzy cap to the back of the carb was broken so i replaced it but the problem is still there, i have absolutly no idea what this might be?!:bang:

Many thanks, in advance

DannyK

Welcome!!!

I don’t think the thermostat controls the circulation to the heater matrix, just the radiator to the front of the car.

My first Uno would not blow hot air out at times.. But I used to fill it up with water (again) as the head gasket was badly gone. Was a good indicator of when there was no water left in the system.

For you though, It sounds more like your water pump may have packed in not sure if it's driven off the same belt as the alternator line the 1301 Turbo check the fanbelt (if it’s fallen off), If not, the water level (when cold!!) and if the water level is OK I’d put my money on the pump

Thank you for getting back to me so soon!

Dosent sound to good as i have to keep filling the water bottle back up all the time, so may be head gasket failure?

There is no sludge in either the bottle or the inside of the rocker cover (from looking into the oil filler hole)

could be the HG

Depends it the where the water is leaking to (internal or external).

Chas is the real SX expert and I'm sure he will be along soon to add another to his collection err I mean help :devil:

the head gasket isn't a reason to give up on the car!! Wish I'd a known that all them years ago :bang:

Hi DannyK,

I love the avatar pic!
And also, thanks for letting us know where you are - sadly I can't pop over for a look

There are many factors that are probably all combining to give the symptoms you have. I think you are right, the head gasket is probably blown - if you have to top up the water so much yet there is no sign of a leak, that's the head gasket. It's usual not to have sludge in the cooling system - the coolant goes straight into the cylinders and doesn't mix with the oil. As I wrote on another thread, another place for leaks is the inlet manifold gasket (the coolant runs through the inlet manifold and can get into the ports if the gasket leaks).

It's not the end of the world by any means - you could replace the headgasket in a weekend, though it's usually best to get the head surface skimmed.

I guess that the heater valve may be stuck-closed too. Even if the lever on the valve moves, often the valve itself does not. The only way to know for sure is to take it off (put a plastic bowl in the driver's footwell, then undo the two 10mm nuts and release the cable - valve should come off the heater matrix). If I'm wrong, well, at least you get to give the heater a flush.

I think it is more likely that the heater valve is stuck than it is that the water pump has failed. That would be really unknown for this engine type. HOWEVER, you should make sure the drivebelt is tight and not slipping.

-Alex

Ok, thank you for your help.

Are you sujesting that the heater valve would cause the car to overheat?

The car seems to heat up within 5 mins of driving, and i mean up to 90 degrees and its about 7degrees outside and raining!

Dannyk15 said:

Are you sujesting that the heater valve would cause the car to overheat?

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No, sorry, I wasn't

I was suggesting that the heater not working may be a separate issue to the thermostat or the head gasket.

However, I have just re-read your post and realised something that catches many a new Uno owner out. The centre grid-shaped vents blow only cold air, ever. Heated air comes only from the footwell vents or the windscreen demist vents. And then, only when the airflow lever is at the thick end of the white scale, plus the heat lever at the thick end of the red scale. That's for the Mk1, which I'm guessing yours is since it's an SX and not a SXie?

Warming up to 90 degrees would normally be good news, but maybe not that quickly, and especially not if you're losing coolant that quickly as well.

In short, I have no quick fixes But hopefully you now know a little more about what to check when you get to the task of making the heater work. While you are replacing the head gasket, it's a good time to replace the cambelt as well - should get you a few years peace-of-mind.

-Alex

Dannyk15 said:

The car seems to heat up within 5 mins of driving, and i mean up to 90 degrees and its about 7degrees outside and raining!

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I'm afraid to say that sounds like a failed head gasket to me. The boiling point of water is raised when it's under pressure, and with a leak the pressure and boiling point will be lowered and there is more chance the engine will continue to overheat. Also, with coolant being lost the coolant capacity will be reduced giving a greater chance of hot spots forming. A reduce coolant level can also cause the temperature to rise quicker than normal.

Do NOT scrap your 70SX though! A head gasket change is not a major job and the 70SX's are becoming very rare. They're also a cracking Uno to drive and an alternative for Uno fans that cannot afford to buy/ run/ maintain a turbo. Sadly with 3 mk1 Unos on my drive already including 2 x 70SX's I couldn't offer to buy it off you even if I wanted to

1986Uno45S; said:

with 3 mk1 Unos on my drive already including 2 x 70SX's I couldn't offer to buy it off you even if I wanted to

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liar you always got room for a little one on your drive

Louie Bee said:

For you though, It sounds more like your water pump may have packed in not sure if it's driven off the same belt as the alternator line the 1301 Turbo check the fanbelt (if it’s fallen off)

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It is driven off the same alternator belt as the turbo, with the water pump at the back of the block near the exhaust manifold. A real pain to change the water pump but not too bad for changing the belt.

Only the FIRE engined Unos had a water pump driven off the cambelt btw

Jai said:

liar you always got room for a little one on your drive

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Only if I block two of my cars in, which also means my sister and visitors can't park on the drive when they come round. Plus I don't have time to work on the cars I've got as it is so taking any more on isn't a wise thing to do! Besides, you've only got two Unos (not including the parts you've got that will build another three ) so it's about time you got another to keep up with everyone :devil:

I'd have one of your spare SX's Chas

I didnt realise that it was a rare car?!

The reason i am loosing coolant looks to be a failed water pump gasket as steam is coming out of it! The car does not seem to smoke at all, would it if the h/g had gone?

Also i have removed the thermostat housing earleir, tried putting it in some very hot water to see if there was any movement, but there wasn't....could it be that this is the issue (as i look into the housing i can see the spring and the 'rod' (so looks closed to me???).

Should'nt the fan cut in still if it was the dreaded H/G? It just seems as though the coolant isnt circulating.

Dannyk15 said:

The reason i am loosing coolant looks to be a failed water pump gasket as steam is coming out of it! The car does not seem to smoke at all, would it if the h/g had gone?

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To be sure the HG is good, or bad
Get a compression tester
pop the spark plugs out and do a series of two sets of compression tests on each cylinder
One with coolant [water] in the engine block [wet]
Second with no coolant in the engine [dry]
Significant differences in the pressure reading between cylinders or between wet and dry shows h/g has gone

Dannyk15 said:

Also i have removed the thermostat housing earleir, tried putting it in some very hot water to see if there was any movement, but there wasn't....could it be that this is the issue (as i look into the housing i can see the spring and the 'rod' (so looks closed to me???)

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How hot did you get the water?
I usually get an old saucepan, water and the stat in it, put it on a stove to bring the water to the boil and see when the stat opens, stat should be open before the water boils
[ My Missus prefers me to do this with a camp stove rather than in the kitchen ]

Dannyk15 said:

Should'nt the fan cut in still if it was the dreaded H/G? It just seems as though the coolant isnt circulating.

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If your stat is GooSeD then the hot water in the engine will not get to the rad switch
Also if you're loosing coolant the level can end up below that of the switch in the rad so the fan doesn't come on.

one quick check you can do for coolant circulation is when it shows as 'HOT' on the temp gauge feel the top and bottom rubber hoses between rad and engine
If they are relatively cool, rather than burning hot to the touch, your coolant is not circulating
This could be due to a GooSed Water Pump OR a jammed shut stat

OR once I had a top hose split internally on an old ford sierra
The inner section of the hose split away from the outer, where it has the canvas/fabric embedded in the rubber, and inner section ballooned inwards therefore creating a total blockage of the coolant circulation
Took me flipping ages to diagnose that one