Hi following up from my last post about water leak
my problem is loss of water my car runs well otherwise (it is an 899cc)
have checked the oil in engine this is clean
checked rocker cover cap this had mayo (i dont use car much and it was last driven in november apart from mot in january) so not sure if this is due to condensation etc.?
checked water which is rusty as it has been topped up so much do to leaking smells of something (not to sure what)
car seems to run fine from cold start and runs really well untill water is low if not checked (injection light comes on tickover goes high and runs poorly even though it is still not showing overheating on gauge), add water goes back to normal runs fine.
takes ages to warm up if left ticking over, no heat comes from internal heater until you rev the engine and then water gauge goes down fairly quickly as the water circulates, leave to tick over again and it cools down inside car (has the water pump hadditt or has previous owner taken out thermostat, or is it broken)
checked for radiator bleed screws i have one down by headlight but not in hoses going to internal rad, should one be there
does anybody think these could be a head gasket problem ?
only large amounts of water comes from drivers side sill when reversing from drive but the carpets are dry car is parked bonnett pointing downwards
any advise opininons etc welcomed and thanks to everybody that replied to last post
cheers HR

Hi,
There's only supposed to be one bleed screw on the 899cc, down by the drivers side head light. Apparently there seems to be a problem with the pump flow on 899cc engines as other people have mentioned similar symptoms in other threads. My 899cc seems to be ok but the system is very clean as the rad was changed in 2002 and must have been flushed and filled with the correct 50/50 antifreeze/water as its still a clean blue colour. You could try flushing the system and refilling with fresh water and antifreeze and see if this improves the flow of water around the cooling system.

Thanks
Paul T

It is the pump that is suspect. Both of my 899s did exactly what you are describing, as though the pump will not circulate at low revs. The water in the head gets hot but that hot water doesn't get to the matrix until you rev it and the water in the head is replaced by the cold water hence the temp gauge falling. Replace the pump asap.

Cheers

D