I own a 1998 Fiat Punto 60 Sx, and the past few weeks that my heating system has been blowing out cold air even after 20mins of driving.
Yesterday the car just decided to cut out on me at a roundabout, and was a bit juddery when restarting and pulling off.
Then this morning, it overheated so that the needle was over the red section of the temp gauge on the dash!
Checked oil, and all was fine, but coolant levels were very low. Tried to change it, and had a bit of a nightmare when I realised that the fluid was supposed to be either blue or red. What was left in mine was almost colourless, with some sludgy brown residue around the sides of the container.
After some research, I was 90% sure I needed the blue coolant, so mixed it up 50/50 with distilled water and poured it in.
Took the car for a little drive and it still overheated - not quite so much as before, but still almost in the red!
Anyone got any ideas as to what this is likely to be? I am fearing head gasket!
I'm planning to take it to a garage first thing tomorrow, but as a 19yr old female who knows nothing about cars, I worring about being ripped off!

humm some of the guys on here will probably be able to help you more than me but if it's over heating then perhaps it might just be the water pump that has failed. (not the one for squirting water onto your windscreen)...

My coolant is a greeny colour btw. It sounds like your was previously not changed for a very long time.

Welcome to the forum btw!

Thank you for getting back so quickly L2wis!
Oooh, that is lovely to hear - I hope that is all it is, as I imagine it's cheaper to fix than a Head Gasket?
I'll be keeping my fingers tightly crossed though, as from reading around a few of the things seem to be HG symptoms.
Thanks again x

Often but not always with a gasket failure the water level goes down and the oil level goes way up as the water gets into the sump and forms a horrible gunky yellow mix. This mix is unmistakable if you lift the oil filler cap and find the whole thing coated in what looks like mayonnaise.

Not a good idea to drive the car until its been checked over. Head gasket itself isn't a huge job to a garage with the right tools..cylinder head has to come off and you may be in for some alloy skimming if the thing overheated but not a job to panic about.

Head gasket failures are a standard issue on older cars... (and some new ones)..particularly if you've over 100k miles up.

I've had a little look under the oil filler cap, and there is no sign of any mayo, which is encouraging!
Could it be an airlock, or as L2wis said, the water pump?
If I am told tomorrow that it is the head gasket, have you any idea how much I should be looking at paying? And will there be any other bits and pieces to replace as part of the job? As I say, I no very little about cars and would therefore be easy to fleece. Not saying all mechanics are like that, but I know there are some!

It's typical that all this comes the day after I book my holiday for this year. Funds to pay for any work are going to be low!

x

Garage can do a very simple test to find if the gasket has gone or is going..there's a test kit to check for combustion residue in the coolant. That shouldn't cost much.

Could well be the water pump. If they have to change that then you are in for a timing belt as well..no bad thing.. Do you know when it was last changed? Its often painted in white on the plastic belt cover (left side of the engine block. BTW how many miles has the car done?

Even when head gasket is gone you don't get the mayo very often, compression test will confirm if it's head gasket! Water pump also shouldn't really make it judder I don't think!
Head gasket someone just been quoted £300 thats in manchester
Average price is around £400

Any white smoke from the exhaust? If so most likely HG

I would refer you to this...more suble than clouds of white steam out the back...

'The most effective and accurate diagnostic test to determine if the cylinder head gasket is leaking combustion gasses is to check for the presence of combustion gasses in the engine coolant. The vehicle is driven to get the engine up to operating temperature. With the engine running a tool is used to draw fumes from the cooling system through a chemical that checks for the presence of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in the cooling system. Carbon monoxide will only be present if the head gasket has failed or the cylinder head itself is cracked. The chemical starts off blue in color but turns green or yellow in the presence of Carbon monoxide. This test is known as a “Block Check”.

It should be noted that a simple compression test will not necessarily confirm a failed gasket / cylinder head with sufficient accuracy given the usual variation in cylinder head pressure readings unless the head has failed to a massive degree.

Another method is to check using the gas analyzer that the shop uses to check your vehicles emissions. When this machine is used, the presence of Hydrocarbon (HC) gasses escaping from the coolant will be measured and if the HC reading is over 50 ppm, then the headgasket is leaking.


Suggest you have these checked over..

• Radiator- Look for partial or complete restriction of coolant flow and leaking.
• Thermostat- Look for a stuck closed thermostat.
• Coolant leak- Look for a leaking hose, seal, heater core, water pump or radiator.
• Cooling fan- Look for broken belt on manual fans and frozen / inoperative motor on electric fans.
• Water pump- Internally worn or broken impeller and leakage.

Did you follow the guide for bleeding the cooling system when you topped it up? (opening the vent on the rad then the one for the matrix).

Does sound like HG to me though. While they are doing the HG get them to do thermostat (a common fault that causes HG failure) and make sure the head is skimmed. If you can afford it I would also have new water pump and a new timing belt kit used (unless it looks new).

Symptoms sound very much like the MK2 of mine. Juddering/cutting out.

hey rachel did you ever find out what was going on with your punto?

If the timing belt is unknown always fit a new one - they all *look* ok until they fail.