Technical Hot engine

[BrandiSavage]

Hi, new here, I have a fiat lounge, recently while driving with the window wide open, I've felt wafts of heat, I thought it was the brakes as I knew they needed changing, got them changed, still I could feel heat, so looked under the bonnet, no warning lights came on the dash to say overheating, I noticed some pink staining on the engine. I have had to top the coolant up a couple of times recently, but thought it could be due to hot weather. Should I be concerned?

 

[ZaphodB]

I noticed some pink staining on the engine. I have had to top the coolant up a couple of times recently.

Well you've almost certainly got a leak then , haven't you

Got a photo?.... or what area were the stains?
How much did you have to top up ?

recently while driving with the window wide open, I've felt wafts of heat, still I could feel heat

Is it more you could smell coolant and steam perhaps ?

 

[BrandiSavage]

Well you've almost certainly got a leak then , haven't you

Got a photo?.... or what area were the stains?
How much did you have to top up ?

Is it more you could smell coolant and steam perhaps ?

 

[BrandiSavage]

This morning it looks wet, not where the pipes are but on the second picture

 

[ZaphodB]

Can quite work out which part this is, but there's a big split/crack in it surely?

How much have you been topping up?

 

[BrandiSavage]

Can quite work out which part this is, but there's a big split/crack in it surely?

How much have you been topping up?



View attachment 472252

I've not been topping up much, say 2 litres in 2 months, but I'm scared to drive it now, so am trying to contact a fiat garage. They're not answering the phone yet. The photos are the best I could do as it's not at the top of the engine

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

I've not been topping up much, say 2 litres in 2 months, but I'm scared to drive it now, so am trying to contact a fiat garage. They're not answering the phone yet. The photos are the best I could do as it's not at the top of the engine

That's a typical picture of a coolant leak. The water evaporates leaving the crystalline antifreeze deposits you see there. It looks like a leak where the hose joins the engine and, if so, is the sort of thing almost any competent workshop will be able to repair especially if your engine is the 1.2 litre 4 cylinder FIRE engine. Probably best to get it sorted soon though as, although very robust and long lived if maintained well, they are prone to blowing head gaskets if they overheat - which will happen if coolant level is allowed to drop too much. Topping up, as you are wisely doing, will avoid this as long as the leak doesn't get more serious. So it needs sorted quickly.

If the leak involves the water pump you are better to get a Fiat specialist to do it as it will involve disturbing the timing belt - again I'm talking about the 4 cylinder engine here, not the 2 cylinder twin air which is an engine I'm not familiar with. If it needs the water pump done you're as well to get them to do a new cambelt at the same time as most of the labour involved is the same for both tasks.

 

[steveras57]

You dont say what engine you have and how old the car is so assuming its a 1.2 engine do the following check.
Find the outlet pipe from the thermostat to the heater matrix -hold the hose at the thermostat end and wiggle /push pull on it!.
On the original fitment unit the pipe is PLASTIC and heat cycling and age causes it to fracture! can be a hairline crack but eventually it fails catastrophically if yours breaks off in your hand then think yourself lucky it didn't fail whilst you were driving ! replace it with an aftermarket one with a METAL pipe its a permanent fix! bleed the system carefully, and all should be well.
If you find the pipe and fixing to be sound then i would recommend having the system pressure tested to trace the source of the leak!.
good luck!.

 

[John202020]

I cannot understate how critical it is to not run low on coolant it's essential, it's not allowed to be low, the smell it's hot is concerning, don't rely on a over heat warning, if possible stop driving until an expert can assess the car?

 

[varesecrazy]

Looks like the thermostat..

With bonnet up stand at side of car.. Battery in front of you

Look just behind the battery / end of engine

Your coolant leak is 95% certain from there

Part Is less than £25

 

[BrandiSavage]

That's a typical picture of a coolant leak. The water evaporates leaving the crystalline antifreeze deposits you see there. It looks like a leak where the hose joins the engine and, if so, is the sort of thing almost any competent workshop will be able to repair especially if your engine is the 1.2 litre 4 cylinder FIRE engine. Probably best to get it sorted soon though as, although very robust and long lived if maintained well, they are prone to blowing head gaskets if they overheat - which will happen if coolant level is allowed to drop too much. Topping up, as you are wisely doing, will avoid this as long as the leak doesn't get more serious. So it needs sorted quickly.

If the leak involves the water pump you are better to get a Fiat specialist to do it as it will involve disturbing the timing belt - again I'm talking about the 4 cylinder engine here, not the 2 cylinder twin air which is an engine I'm not familiar with. If it needs the water pump done you're as well to get them to do a new cambelt at the same time as most of the labour involved is the same for both tasks.

Thanks so much, I'm taking it to a garage this week, I mentioned paraflu coolant, the mechanic said, it will just either need a red or blue coolant not paraflu?

 

[steveras57]

Thanks so much, I'm taking it to a garage this week, I mentioned paraflu coolant, the mechanic said, it will just either need a red or blue coolant not paraflu?

paraflu not widely used these days blue antifreeze is ethylene glyco based last about a year! red/pink/orange is a better long life coolant and last about three years! of course it depends whats already in your car but if it turns out the repair means draining the coolant then replacing it with the later is a good idea!.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

paraflu not widely used these days blue antifreeze is ethylene glyco based last about a year! red/pink/orange is a better long life coolant and last about three years! of course it depends whats already in your car but if it turns out the repair means draining the coolant then replacing it with the later is a good idea!.

Older types of antifreeze - Bluecol may be a name you remember - were silicate based and required renewing every year to be fully effective. Many left it for two though. Newer are the OAT (Organic Acid Technology) products which are far superior an usually have a recommended life around Five years. The older silicate products tended to be either blue or green whereas the newer OAT products are typically red although the stuff in my Scala is purple. The colour is just a dye so you really can't be 100% certain that any colour is definitely one type or the other. I'm pretty sure Honda have an OAT coolant which is a bluey green? and I've seen a Trade brand - TradeTec - sold by my local Factor which is definitely an OAT but green in colour. Becky is currently running with a Generic red OAT coolant bought from a trade outlet. If you buy from a factor or somewhere like Halfords then all you need is your reg no or maybe VIN to get the right stuff. In the past I've always bought concentrate and mixed it 50/50 with distilled or deionised water. However I'm now buying ready mixed as I'm not using anything like so much. Also it's getting harder to find distilled water whereas ready mix is guaranteed to use a suitable water product. Tap water is not a particularly good idea due to it invariably containing contaminants - minerals, etc - which can cause all sorts of problems in engines which have alloy components like water pumps and cylinder heads in direct contact with the coolant. Deionised, although I've used it and never had problems, has the potential to leech metals away by robbing ions. so, for me, it's either distilled water mixed with concentrate or ready mix.

By the way, regarding Hondas. If it's got blue coolant and you want to top up, personally, I'd only use Honda branded coolant. However many older ones will have been refilled with red OAT after repairs and if I found one like that I'd be happy to use a generic OAT coolant. The blue stuff worries me just a little as I've not yet found a Honda tech who can tell me definitively what it is - one told me it's "safe" out to seven years though?

By the way. The reason to change the coolant at recommended intervals is not, as many believe, because it looses it's anti freezing properties but rather that it looses it's anti corrosion abilities. This is very important indeed in modern engines where different metals are found in touch with the coolant. Cast iron engine blocks, aluminium cylinder heads and other combinations of iron based stuff (steels) and alloys, mostly of aluminium, where electrolytic action leeches, usually the aluminium, away. If you've ever taken ally heads off an engine with a cast iron block when it's been run for long periods with no antifreeze or system protector it's frightening how much the waterways in the head are leached away. I've seen them so bad there's really not enough metal left for the head gasket to effect a reliable seal!

 

[BrandiSavage]

paraflu not widely used these days blue antifreeze is ethylene glyco based last about a year! red/pink/orange is a better long life coolant and last about three years! of course it depends whats already in your car but if it turns out the repair means draining the coolant then replacing it with the later is a good idea!.

OK. So if it lasts about 3 years, does this mean it needs to be flushed and changed every 3 years? I've owned several cars and have never drained and replaced, just topped up. Thanks

 

[varesecrazy]

OK. So if it lasts about 3 years, does this mean it needs to be flushed and changed every 3 years? I've owned several cars and have never drained and replaced, just topped up. Thanks

Ideally.. Yes

But many cars with garage service history will not

Same as Gearbox oil..
It Has got a life expectancy.. But doesn't "go off suddenly like milk"