Technical Sound of water sloshing around when turning

[Theleman]

Hi All

Hope everyone is keeping well. I haven't been doing much on the car due to other things going on.

But the Panda 1.1 keeps driving albeit with EML still on.

Only thing I have done is attaching the AIR filter cover to the Carburetor like hole securely, because last time I noticed it was detached, and the Panda has been driven like that for a while. There were hint of petrol smell in the car, and mpg was really poor.

Now petrol smell in the car has gone, and MPG has improved especially for motorway driving. It managed to do 500 miles with one full tank. It was the best mpg I have seen.

And when I check the coolant, it was a bit low side. I couldn't see the level of coolant from the reservoir actually due to clouded casing. I torched into the hole and just could roughly guess the level.

I poured in some coolant into the reservoir, and the level rose to MAX.

But then I am hearing noise of water sloshing when driving and especially when cornering from the dash board. It's like the Panda is carrying a large bucket of water in front, and water is getting sloshed all over.

She still drives fine, temp gauge is just under the centre, and mpg seems normal too.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[DaveMcT]

You are 100% right to check the coolant as any drop in level will blow the head gasket. If the level has been low you will need to bleed the system. The Forum search will give you "How To" info.

Have you checked the heater intake below the windscreen? It has soft plastic plugs to allow trapped (rain) water to drain out but they can clog up with dirt. Open the bonnet and look behind engine, below windscreen.

 

[buttonsandzips]

It's pretty much always this! Eventually you end up with wet feet. A stuff piece of wire, like a metal coat hanger is handy for this, poke it down in the hole, release the rotting leaves and the water will flow out!

 

[varesecrazy]

It's pretty much always this! Eventually you end up with wet feet. A stuff piece of wire, like a metal coat hanger is handy for this, poke it down in the hole, release the rotting leaves and the water will flow out!

If its a 1.1..

You can squeeze the duckbills yourself.

Odd though..as rain has been light of late.

 

[DaveMcT]

Odd though..as rain has been light of late.

Hence me saying all that guff about coolant leaks. Maybe its been through a car wash.

On mine the duck bills were so hard, they fell out when I tried to clean them. They now just hang there until I can be bothered to fit new ones.

 

[Theleman]

It's good to know that it is not something serious

I recall that duck bill thing under the wind screen in the bonnet. It did leak liquids into the drive way this spring, and I was wondering about that too.

Need to get an old wire coat hanger out, and stretch into straight wire. Only problem might be is that recently all the coat hangers I have seen in the wardrobe were made of plastic.

 

[varesecrazy]

It's good to know that it is not something serious

I recall that duck bill thing under the wind screen in the bonnet. It did leak liquids into the drive way this spring, and I was wondering about that too.

Need to get an old wire coat hanger out, and stretch into straight wire. Only problem might be is that recently all the coat hangers I have seen in the wardrobe were made of plastic.

Just squeeze it..!!

Thats the whole point of its design..

 

[Johnbee]

I keep a thin flexible bamboo cane in the boot, for pushing the rotten leaves through the duck bills every few months.

 

[BreakerBarDanny]

I've had a similar problem with my old 1.1L 169, after not using the heater throughout the summer, an airpocket had developed in the (my memory is a bit fuzzy) heater core (might be an upturned U-bend like in the 100HP), as soon as I purged the air from the heater core, problem seemed to stop.

Sounds kinda similar since the air would purge itself, making a sploshing sound while driving and drop my coolant level in the reservoir, causing the temp gauge to go to red.

 

[Theleman]

I opened the bonnet, and located the rubber duck bill just below wind screen. It was looking bloated with some stuff in it. When I squeezed, water started pouring down from it. It was a lot of water gushing down for a half a minute at least.

When I tried to squeeze again, the rubber duck bill fell off. I looked into inside, and it was filled with black stuff gunky and horrible. I took it to the outside tap, and put it in bucket to make it loosen so it could be cleaned out.

So we drove the Panda without the duckbill, and I forgot about it until this evening. I will need to clean it put it back where it was before? Not sure how to put it back.

My Panda is showing no sign of heating up on the temp gauge in dashboard. It is always just under the centre, and if the car is standstill and engine running for a while, then temp gauge goes up to right on the centre.

 

[DaveMcT]

Sounds like you have it sorted.

The duckbill on mine is resting in the drain hole because I just cant get the grommet slot to sit properly. It's been fine for 10,000 miles.

 

[Theleman]

Yeah, as I said, I don't know how to put the detached duck bill back on. It is needing a through clean first after a couple of days of soak in the bucket.

And then, I was thinking of putting it back, where it was hung in the bonnet, but I was quite not sure if it will stay on there, as it looks the duck bill is so loose texture rubber. I couldn't imagine how it has resided there for last 10 years.

As you say, maybe the Panda doesn't need the duck bill to run around next 10 years. I hope so. That would save me from cleaning it.

Unless somebody comes up with advice that no without it, it will kill the Panda because blah blah ...

 

[varesecrazy]

Its to loosely seal the cabin air intake from enginebay fumes.

I managed to drop mine back into the hole.. from above.. inside the scuttle.

 

[portland_bill]

Mine had gone inflexible, so I bought new ones. They are a loose fit in their holes. If you squeeze them, they can be pushed up into their locations and then allowed to just sit. Their purpose, as well as to try to keep engine bay fumes out of the heater, is to help the water drain away from the bulkhead insulation, to avoid dampness and deterioration.

 

[Theleman]

Would you say that I better wash and clean it off, and put it back to where it was before?

Is it an essential item to be there for the car's health?

 

[DaveMcT]

The drain holes are essential.

The duck bills prevent engine fumes getting into the cabin. Carbon monoxode is not good for anyone. I cant find a supplier but shop4parts are always helpful.

The stuff in the rubbers is just mud - wash it out with soap. Job done.

 

[Theleman]

I shall wash clean and dry it, and push it back to where it was then.
Thanks for your info & advice.

 

[portland_bill]

Would you say that I better wash and clean it off, and put it back to where it was before?

Is it an essential item to be there for the car's health?

Vehicle manufacturers, and Fiat especially, do not like to spend money unnecessarily. If Fiat put these there, they need to be there. Otherwise they'd have saved 20p per vehicle.

 

[Theleman]

Yesterday, I got this carbon fume alarm from our kitchen, put a new battery in it, and took it to the Panda. I drove the Panda with the alarm on the dashboard, to see if it will detect any fumes.

But it didn't go off, but I wasn't convinced whether there is no fumes coming into the car, or the alarm is faulty. It certainly beeps with flashes, when pressed the test button.

Maybe they should include these fume detectors in the car in case?

 

[DaveMcT]

I removed one of my duck bills to clean it. It now simply sits in the hole because I could not get the flange in place. I have no engine smells ever.