General Air from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

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General Air from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

dh2k

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I am trying to get a 1999 mk1 punto 60S road worthy again but have come across an odd air pumping problem. The car was my wifes and has not been driven for about 4 years now.

When she had it running last it was constantly overheating - I have now changed a completely knackered water pump and thermostat and have got it ticking over and revving well and sounds perfect except for a really odd psst, psst, psst air pressure noise coming from a location above the dipstick but below the oil cap.

The psst, psst, psst sound runs in time with the engine. For example, when the engine is just ticking over it makes the noise (almost sounds pneumatic, like when a bus or HGV stops) but at around 120bpm / twice a second. When the car is revved the sound speeds up inline with the engine/revs.

I want to get this good little runner working and roadworthy again but I am reluctant to spend money on other (smallish) snags it has if the engine is knackered too. I suspect this may be engine damage due to overheating when my wife last drove it - but what are potential problems that occur when a car is driven with a faulty cooling system and the engine overheats.

Its really odd because the car drives with no loss of power.
 
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Vac hose wouldnt pulse but could well be perished. the pss pss is almost certainly the exhaust manifold gasket. The studs will be rusty so be prepared to heat them with a gas welding torch or arc weld to break the corrosion. If you dont do that the studs will shear off and are virtually impossible to replace with the head on the engine.

When the engine overheated did it get a new head gasket? and was the joint face skimmed level? If not you can expect to be doing that job soon.
 
When the engine overheated did it get a new head gasket? and was the joint face skimmed level? If not you can expect to be doing that job soon.


Nothing was done after it overheated; no new head gasket and no levelling - just parked in garage and SORN since.

I believe this model of punto are notorious for new cyl' heads and other £££'s problems at 85,000m+; this model I am working on is at about 75,000m.

I think I may be better to break-it up and scrap the rest - wanted to get it going for at least another years worth of mileage but I am starting to get a little pessimistic. Especially when they're on autotrader for at best £300-400 for better mileage than this one.
 
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Nothing was done after it overheated; no new head gasket and no levelling - just parked in garage and SORN since.

I believe this model of punto are notorious for new cyl' heads and other £££'s problems at 85,000m+; this model I am working on is at about 75,000m.

I think I may be better to break-it up and scrap the rest - wanted to get it going for at least another years worth of mileage but I am starting to get a little pessimistic. Especially when they're on autotrader for at best £300-400 for better mileage than this one.

for the sake of a blowing manifold? (possibly)
it could be as simple as needing torqued up
 
the head gaskets are notorious but TBH its the user's fault & not really the cars. Folks just drive them and never check the fluids until it all goes t*ts up. Small engines with low coolant volumes cant cope with that sort of abuse.

The pss pss wont be the head gasket and as Custard says maybe just some loose bolts.

If the HG's gone, it will be blowing bubbles into the coolant bottle.
 
Re: External coolant leak from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

Here are some pictures of the leak - look at the point of the blade - this is where water (then air when no coolant is in the system) is coming from. To gauge the depth of the picture, the tip of the knife blade is about an inch-and-half above the start of the dipstick entry hole. The leak is coming out from where the tip of the blade is.

When engine is turning over idle it comes out in a mist/jet at about twice a second.

When engine is off I can squeeze the pipes on the coolant system and I can see coolant (water) dribbling from this spot.


By the amount of coolant/air coming out of this I would imagine a hole to be about 2mm in size - or a crack 2mm in size - but this is just an educated guess it is very difficult to see though given its location - but the sound of the leak is a lot worse - sounds terrible really - but any leak is a bad leak so I really want to find out if the engine is goosed without spending money to find out - if possible.:confused:.

Here are some pics:


 
Re: External coolant leak from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

If its pulsing coolant out od the head joint in time with the pistons the head gasket has blown both to the cylinder and to the outside. Probably the outside leak dropped the coolant level, but either way it needs new head gasket.
 
Re: Coolant from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

It's clear this engine has not had the best care in its history. There are still none of the usual signs of head gasket prob's though (minus the suspected 'cracked engine block coolant leak' :eek:) - no creamy oil cap residue, no bubbles in water expansion tank, no 'chocolate-milkshake' dipstick.


In a last exasperated attempt to get this roadworthy I am going to 'cold-weld' the tiny spot with an ample amount of 'JB Weld'.

http://jbweldadhesives.co.uk/auto%20weld.html


Will update shortly...
 
Re: Coolant from engine above dipstick but below oil cap

Elmer say's that stuff is even better than baler twine so its got to do the job :)

Presume radweld failed.
 
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