Hi there,

After a months of running my Punto Mk2 2003 1.2 Active I used ot hear a gurgling sound from the passenger side, however the car heated up no probs. A few weeks ago I came back from holiday and the car began to overheat with no hot air coming from the vents. I pulled over and checked that the coolant had dropped and I was correct. The RAC cam and did a quick fix on the problem and checked the HG and said it seemed undamaged and fine, just a leak in the rad.

The car was working fine until yesterday when it again leaked coolant and blew cool air again. I ordered a new Rad but want to know if there could be a HG issue here.

Thanks Fiat brethren!

Also - just to ask - can I drive 3.5 miles to the mechanic without causing HG damage if there is an airlock? I totally suck at even doing the most simple tasks like bleeding the damn radiator!!

Top up the coolant and drive to mechanic avoiding traffic jams.

Only a compression test will show if the HG has been fubared.

Thanks!

But is it likely to have any problem with the airlock (if there is any) and am I doing the right thing by replacing the radiator? I'm thinking could it be a pump issue or even a problem with the heat matrix?

Unless you've had work done on the cooling system recently it's most likely a headgasket issue.

Coolant pressurisation test will show the leak. But compression test first (or pressurisation test can show HG issues). It's going to depend on what your mechanic has to hand.

But, unless you can bleed the system, you've no way of removing the air lock. (Which could be the result of a simple leak or HG failure.)

Thanks for that.

However, I have topped up the coolant header tank, tried to bleed the system but still cold air blows. Is it still cool to drive it for 15 min to the mechanic? It seems to heat up really quick (according to the Temp indicator) but still cold air blows and I hear gurgling sounds!

As long as it's not going right to the top of the guage, you should be OK. Try to avoid traffic jams.