Technical Overheating Problem, Require Help!

[belchlord]

Hi, Im looking for some help regarding an overheating problem with my punto.

I drove it to work yesterday and i noticed the heater was only blowing in cold air, I just ignored it and thought it strange. About 20 minutes later i noticed the engine temp has rising up past the 75% mark and was climbing steadily.

I got it into the car park just as the red temp warning light came on. I cursed the gods and went about my days work...

After work i started the car it was puffing a little which i have noticed it going in the past few days (it needs a serviers, i reckon a new set of plugs for a start will see the end of the puffing) and i started to drive it home, i told myself I'd pull in as soon as it over heats and let it cool and take the drive home in this manner. However, the car did not over heat and was blowing hot air from the heater as it usually does. I got all the way home on the motorway with engine temperture at normal.

When i pulled left into my estate i noticed the heat had stopped and and the temp was rising, I pulled up outside my house and watched it climb. Turned off the ignition and opened the bonnet. Coolant seemd fine, nothing out of the ordinary. I let the car cool down and a friend at work had said the problem sounded like the head gasket or an air lock in the cooling system.

Now that i think of it, there has been a gurgling noise coming from the car over the past few months when i'd start it up. My brother had said it sounds like an air lock at the time (again i thought nothing major of it, the car still worked)

Has any body got any idea what the over heating problem might be other than, the Head Gasket going or an Air Lock in the system? The car is a 00 Punto ELX.

Cheers
Mike

 

[soxlade]

Is your cooling fan kicking in as usual? They make a surprising amount of difference and if they're not then it may be only a fuse required to fix the thing. this is especially true if you driving in traffic and doing lots of stop-start

Have you noticed any leaks or dribbles? If the head gasket has gone I would expect to see liquid somewhere on the block. If your coolant level hasn't dropped at all, I would doubt it is the head gasket or air in the system - generally if air can get into a sealed system, water will tend to get out esp if under pressure

I am assuming that you've checked the water level and all is okay?

Just musings, hope they help

 

[hangten]

My Punto (Mk1 SX) had a similar problem that was caused by a stuck (closed) thermostat. I replaced the thermostat & it cured the problem but some months later I had a head gasket failure that I believe was as a result of an overheating episode during the time the t/stat was stuck.

Prior to the head gasket "going" the car was using water and also made a slight gurgling noise (no evidence of head gasket failure during this time though, such as "mayonaise" in the oil or oil filler cap). It also made a whistling noise as air/water vapour escaped from the radiator cap safety valve.

It is worth checking if there is air in the system. This can be bled via the bleed valves in the cooling system.

Hope this is of assistance

Richard

 

[belchlord]

oh i forgot to mention before i left work i check the coolant as well. the car was totally cold and the coolant level was down below min so i topped it up. Before i left work. (should have mentioned that) And theres no stuff leaking on the block i was told to look out for white stuff i even took the oil cap off and everything seemed fine in there.

 

[stevob]

check the water for signs of oil mixed in with it, if there is thats a sure sign of a head gasket faliure. mine went not so long ago and it was overheating aswell. Get it checked out soon cos lots of damage can be caused

 

[Ned]

99% that your headgasket has failed allowing coolant into the combustion chamber this will come out the exhaust as steam, get the "Block tested" this is a chemical test that checks the vapours coming from the coolant when hot, if the gasket has failed the testing chemical will change colour indicating combustion gases in the coolant, the longer you leave it the BIGger the bill!

 

[belchlord]

There was no visual sign of the gasket gone. We replaced the Thermostat due to the fact the engine was overheating to red and then going down as we would turn a corner or hit a speed ramp. If the head was gone, I was told it would be more of a constant thing and not as erratic. The new thermostat is in and i took it out for a short 10 minute drive once i heated it up to normal. She drove fine and did'nt over heat at all, I want to take it out for a bit more of a spin later just to make sure its behaving properly.

Thanks for all the help hopefully i wont have to post again!

 

[xrxr]

I just had the same problem.
Cold heater and overheating. For months I got by just oppening the expansion bottle to get rid of a susspected airlock.
That stopped working and ive just had to replace head gasket and water pump.
Now im left with a leaky heater matrix that puts fumes into the car

 

[GhostWKD]

put the old thermostat in a pot filled with water then put the pot to boil, if it was a faulty thermostat it wont respond at all, however if the thermostat was ok then it'll pop open, so if it does pop open then there is something else wrong other than the thermostat, hope this helps

 

[belchlord]

yeah we did the thermostat in the bowl tactic and it did'nt seem to budge an inch. So fingers crossed.

 

[kittykat]

my boyfriend's punto did that and then the head gasket bluew and had to pay much for a new one!