Technical water leak and air bubbling in water tank

[desypete]

i have had a hell of a time with my punto this week my car over heated as i forgot to put the cap back on the water tank steam was pouring out i had to get the car towed home as water was pouring out from the water pump as well
since fixing the water pump there now is a small hole in i think is a pressure plug and water is coming from there and the car is arkward starting now
when it starts after a while the water in the water tank starts to bubble when i turn it off you can hear a loud hissing noise comeing from the engine

anyone know what it is i will fix the leak later on with some of that metal putty that goes hard but how come the water in the tank is bubbling i dont like this and fear theres too much presure

any help would be great i have been hopeing its not the head as i am on a tight buget and would proberly have to scrap the car

 

[desypete]

as a footnote i have been reading on one of the other threads about bleeding the system can someone tell me how this is done please ?

thanks again

 

[Rich_65402]

just to set you straight its called a header tank... and water does not go in there, coolant does...

 

[desypete]

so where would you put water then ? mind you i have put coolent in with the water in the past but theres no point putting coolent in there at the moment as it just pours out

can anyone help with my original question please thanks

 

[desypete]

thanks for your help guys

 

[arc]

with the engine cold, if you take the cap off the header/expansion tank and then start the engine - does it bubble? Do the bubbles smell like exhaust?

A punto that is loosing coolant, overheating, bubbling the expansion tank and difficult to start sounds like a blown head gasket to me - but need to check a few things to confirm.

 

[Strada]

You may of created an air lock in the system by leaving the cap off in which case should be easy to rectify.

 

[arc]

an airlock wouldnt cause starting problems tho eh

 

[Strada]

an airlock wouldnt cause starting problems tho eh

Ahh, I did'nt see that bit. Mmm, what does he mean by 'awkward' I wonder?

 

[desypete]

in responce and thanks guys for your answers

it will not turn over right away it takes some time before it starts once it starts it seems to tick over nicely i have repaired a water leak coming from the water pump but there is another serious one coming from just under the tensionor of the belt on the caseing i dont know if its a plug that has rusted or certainly with the over heating that happend before i set to work has proberly caused a lot of damage

i have a feeling i will have to scrap it as if it is the head gone as well its going to cost to much to repair
shame really as its been a good car and nothing else wrong with it other than this water leak and if the head has gone or not

i wonder if i could tackle a head gasket myself ? is it differcult ?

 

[Mdeko]

You may aswell have a go yourself if you are scrapping it anyway. Can get the parts for £60-100 and do yourself in a day or 2 (plus the time getting the head skimmed) with a haynes manual.

At a garage your looking at around £250-350 for the head gasket to be changed, depends where you go.

 

[desypete]

well i have bled the thing a few times now and its helped it starting a lot better but the pressure builds up in the header tank water starts to come out even with the lid on
i let the pressure out let it settle and started it again with less fluid in the header it runs like a dream just chugs once or twice till it starts

there was a sound of air escapeing coming from the engine the other day but its not there now since bleeding that is


plugs have been taken out there fine and no moisture anywhere
the oil is fine no discolour

there is a water leak somewhere but unable to pin point it i fixed the pump and a hole and water is finding other areas

i just dont understand how come it runs so well yet builds up so much pressure

thanks for your help guys