Technical Cinquecento overheating-Cooling diagram arrows

[tsiptsi999]

I have recently bought a Cinquecento Sporting 1.1 and I am having overheating issues. I have not found any cream in the oil, or oil in the coolant, but I found residues at the bottom of the expansion tank. Any idea where these residues come from?
The ventilator is working. I discovered a leak in the heater matrix return hose, but I will change the thermostat , the ventilator switch, the expansion tank cap, the heater matrix inlet hose assembly and the radiator bottom hose assembly (water pump suction side) just to be sure that everything I ok.
First, I found this cooling diagram from the Seicento workshop manual:



I believe the arrows are wrong. Below is the corrected (by me) diagram as the arrows must point to the water pump suction and out of the engine water outlets:



The leak I found is a little curious. The old heater matrix return hose is cut in two pieces which are connected via a piece of copper pipe of smaller diameter. One of these connections is dripping.
The other curious thing in my Cinquecento’s cooling circuit is that the connections of the heater matrix are reversed as you can see below (upper connector to pump suction and bottom connector to engine outlet:



I believe that this was a mistake of the previous mechanic that also did the copper pipe connections. Can the Cinquecento owners confirm that my heater matrix connections are wrong?

So, to conclude my questions:
1. Where do the residues come from?
2. Are copper pipe additions in the cooling circuit allowed?
3. Are the arrows of the corrected cooling diagram correct?
4. Should I reverse the connections of my heater matrix?

Thanks very much in advance for reading this and possibly answering.

 

[rallycinq]

The residue can be the insides of your engine. If the correct corrosion inhibitors have not been used, particles of corrosion will pass through the cooling system.

The Cinq is air blend, the Sei is water blend so you don't have a cock. The heater matrix is just a small radiator, it doesn't matter to it which way the water flows.

The copper pipe is a common bodge, if a pipe has gone porous, its a cheap fix. If the correct size worm drive clips are used it can be successful.

Does the car show signs of overheating before its had a chance to get warm? You can have a headgasket break between the water way and the cylinder leading to the combustion process pressurising the cooling system.

Does the fan turn smoothly?

Is the fan fuse intact?

Does the radiator get hot all over, or just down one side?

Cheers

D

 

[tsiptsi999]

After some tests I made, I found soapy cream on the oil cap, so I am sending the car to the dealer for a headgasket break repair.
Do you think I should repair the headgasket or should I buy a used engine instead?

 

[rallycinq]

After some tests I made, I found soapy cream on the oil cap, so I am sending the car to the dealer for a headgasket break repair.
Do you think I should repair the headgasket or should I buy a used engine instead?

You need to make sure that its actually the head gasket that has failed.

Cheers

D

 

[arc]

The Cinq is air blend, the Sei is water blend so you don't have a cock

*giggle*

The copper pipe thing, as said, is a bodge. There is meant to be a bleed valve there, I suspect someone broke the plastic screw so replaced it with copper.

There's another bleed valve to the left of the radiator, if you're viewing the engine whilst stood in front of it. The pipe comes up through the inner wing, behind the headlight.

You should check the things rallycinq has suggested, I'd also get hold of the rad top hose (from the thermostat housing) and feel it as the engine warms. It should suddenly get very warm as the stat opens.

How long does it take from cold start to overheat, what does the temperature gauge say. Be careful, if you let it get too hot then you will warp the head / blow the head gasket.

 

[tsiptsi999]

It was the cylinder head gasket (see photos) and there was corrosion on the cylinder head top which was repaired by filling it with welding electrode and then machined to make the surface flat. That is not a good repair and I am now searching to find a used engine in better condition than mine and I will keep mine for some spare parts.



I think the damage was caused by a bad stuck thermostat (see photo). I also changed the water pump which was also in bad shape, the spark plugs, and off course the oil and cooling fluid.

We will see how it goes.