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1.3 Multijet Diesel - Engine oil in coolant...

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1.3 Multijet Diesel - Engine oil in coolant...

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ShortFatBloke

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Last Thursday, just as I turned down the road where I live, the engine temperature shot up and the red warning light came on - I turned the heater up full and limped the last 200m home.

When I came to look in the radiator reservoir, it was FULL of engine oil - the very nice man from the AA said that he thought that the oil cooler valve had leaked and dumped all of oil into the radiator system. The mechanic in the garage also mentioned that he had seen this on a 1.3 Multijet engine in a Fiat Dublo (mine's a Grande Punto).

Any opinions/comments welcome.

SFB
 
Probably sussed by now but the clue is in the water temperature shooting up.

Almost certainly the head gasket has blown - usually because at some time previously, the coolant level has been allowed to get too low.

People ignore the basic checks and these are the results.
 
I have just joined the forum and was interested to see this post because it is exactly what happened to my 1.3multijet Doblo van last year as I drove into my drive. The fault was traced to a failed oil pump but when this was replaced and the engine tested water started leaking from the radiator. This was then replaced and on re-testing water started coming out of the water pump. Three components failing at 35,000miles! I was not impressed.

I am a careful driver and make regular vehicle checks as recommended. My question is why didn't the water temperature gauge rise much earlier - it only moved when there was no water in the system and similarly why didn't the oil pressure light come on? I believe the problem developed over 2-3 days because during that period I remember pulling up at traffic lights and noticing a burnt diesel smell. It was not clear to me at the time that it was my vehicle and all warning lights were fine.

This summer I had another catastrophic engine failure - the high pressure duel pump went and had to be replaced. I'm afraid it gets worse because the car is now very difficult to start from cold. It smokes and the fuel consumption has dropped by 15%. The garage said there was a single glow plug failure but we replaced all four. The problem persists.

I have no faith in this engine and am appauled by the poor reliability of the ancilliaries. Help!
 
It will need a proper check to see if it is the head gasket. Alfa's were prone to the oil cooler leaking oil into the water, causing a similar effect. Could well be that, which is a much cheaper fix.

I hope this is the case anyway.
 
lawrencekelly said:
I have just joined the forum and was interested to see this post because it is exactly what happened to my 1.3multijet Doblo van last year as I drove into my drive. The fault was traced to a failed oil pump but when this was replaced and the engine tested water started leaking from the radiator. This was then replaced and on re-testing water started coming out of the water pump. Three components failing at 35,000miles! I was not impressed.

I am a careful driver and make regular vehicle checks as recommended. My question is why didn't the water temperature gauge rise much earlier - it only moved when there was no water in the system and similarly why didn't the oil pressure light come on? I believe the problem developed over 2-3 days because during that period I remember pulling up at traffic lights and noticing a burnt diesel smell. It was not clear to me at the time that it was my vehicle and all warning lights were fine.

This summer I had another catastrophic engine failure - the high pressure duel pump went and had to be replaced. I'm afraid it gets worse because the car is now very difficult to start from cold. It smokes and the fuel consumption has dropped by 15%. The garage said there was a single glow plug failure but we replaced all four. The problem persists.

I have no faith in this engine and am appauled by the poor reliability of the ancilliaries. Help!
Click to expand...

hi my punto grande 1.3 mjet has same issue i cant see any oil in my cooler but garage reckons that exhaust gases are leaking into coolant and causing hard starts when my engine is cold. is your problem rectified . what was the fault and how much did it cost you.
 
I had sam problems on 1.3 mjtd.. Oil cooler is the issue in my case (2 times). Please check oil cooler for leaks.
 
karn said:
hi my punto grande 1.3 mjet has same issue i cant see any oil in my cooler but garage reckons that exhaust gases are leaking into coolant and causing hard starts when my engine is cold. is your problem rectified . what was the fault and how much did it cost you.
Click to expand...

If exhaust gasses are leaking ito the coolant (a compression test will confirm) then you need the head skimmed and a new head gasket (etc.)

How much it'll cost will depend on where you live (etc.).

Please, don't tack onto other people's threads -- it makes it much less likely that your question will be answered and is a breach of etiquette.
 
I have the same problem, I have oil in the water resevoir, I have been told it is either oil pump or oil cooler. Does anyone know the cause of it?
 
lawrencekelly said:
I have just joined the forum and was interested to see this post because it is exactly what happened to my 1.3multijet Doblo van last year as I drove into my drive. The fault was traced to a failed oil pump but when this was replaced and the engine tested water started leaking from the radiator. This was then replaced and on re-testing water started coming out of the water pump. Three components failing at 35,000miles! I was not impressed.

I am a careful driver and make regular vehicle checks as recommended. My question is why didn't the water temperature gauge rise much earlier - it only moved when there was no water in the system and similarly why didn't the oil pressure light come on? I believe the problem developed over 2-3 days because during that period I remember pulling up at traffic lights and noticing a burnt diesel smell. It was not clear to me at the time that it was my vehicle and all warning lights were fine.

This summer I had another catastrophic engine failure - the high pressure duel pump went and had to be replaced. I'm afraid it gets worse because the car is now very difficult to start from cold. It smokes and the fuel consumption has dropped by 15%. The garage said there was a single glow plug failure but we replaced all four. The problem persists.

I have no faith in this engine and am appauled by the poor reliability of the ancilliaries. Help!
Click to expand...
Yet more problems with the multijet engine we hear of.

So far:
Cam-chain in 1.3 multijet has abnormally short life less than 40,000 in some cases!

Water ingress via air filter in 1.3 panda multijet. Result extensive damage to cylinder head and connecting rods!

ECU immobiliser problems and key failure

Cylinder heads tend to blown

Oil leaks

Fuel leaks from fuel filter cap

Etc etc

First and Last fiat I'm getting! Next time its back to VW or Peugeot the latter who are renowned for making a beautiful and bloody good quality Diesel engine!

Suppose you get what you pay for but multijet is a false economy and will cost you more in the long run with garage bills etc!
 
Last edited:
MountainRunner said:
Yet more problems with the multijet engine we hear of.

So far:
Cam-chain in 1.3 multijet has abnormally short life less than 40,000 in some cases!

Water ingress via air filter in 1.3 panda multijet. Result extensive damage to cylinder head and connecting rods!

ECU immobiliser problems and key failure

Cylinder heads tend to blown

Oil leaks

Fuel leaks from fuel filter cap

Etc etc

First and Last fiat I'm getting! Next time its back to VW or Peugeot the latter who are renowned for making a beautiful and bloody good quality Diesel engine!

Suppose you get what you pay for but multijet is a false economy and will cost you more in the long run with garage bills etc!
Click to expand...

hello again,
if you cared to look - this is FIVE years old, so no it's not ANOTHER failure,
look in the panda section.. the issues you've highlighted are few + far between,

PUG.. wasn't aware they made a decent engine under 1600cc, :confused:
the HDi's were o.k. - to a point.. but like all modern stuff - complexity isn't always the best way to add reliability ;)

charlie
 
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