Technical Probably Head Gasket

[toeraguk]

Hi, im new to the forum and wanted to check that my suspicions are accurate:

Im driving a 1998 Punto 60s which has been overheating quickly.
Also, the heater only blows cold, even when the engine is hot.
Finally, even when overheating, the fan doesn't cut in; I've checked all the fuses and everything seems fine there.

I'm guessing its the head gasket, am I right?

Cheers
Toerag

 

[secretmachine]

i'm no expert, but might not be head gasket. i had similar symptoms (though heater was working).

turned out to be a leaky radiator why mine was overheating.
my fan didn't cut in either and it was the switch that needed replacing.

the prob i had with my heater was that it was blowing steam into the cabin, but a couple of bottles of Bars Leak/Radweld into the system seems to have cured the problem.

now i have a 60sx which doesn't overheat and the heater works, and it wasn't head gasket (though that's what the AA man thught it was).

do a quick search for "head gasket" on this forum, there's quite a few threads about it explaining symptoms and things to check.

fingers are crossed for you!

 

[arc]

i'd be looking at the water pump before the HG with those symptons. keep letting it overheat and it'll knacker the HG though

everything you have described sounds like there is either no water, or no water flowing round the system.

Engine overheats because there is no water.
Fan doesn't kick in because the switch for it is in the radiator. No water/flow to the radiator means the radiator doesnt get hot, therefore the fan switch never heats up and comes on.
Heater blowing cold because there is no water/flow to the heater matrix.

 

[CinquePunto]

could even be an airlock?

 

[toeraguk]

cheers fellas

how do I check the water pump?

 

[KeithT]

i'd be looking at the water pump before the HG with those symptons. keep letting it overheat and it'll knacker the HG though

everything you have described sounds like there is either no water, or no water flowing round the system.

Engine overheats because there is no water.
Fan doesn't kick in because the switch for it is in the radiator. No water/flow to the radiator means the radiator doesnt get hot, therefore the fan switch never heats up and comes on.
Heater blowing cold because there is no water/flow to the heater matrix.

Too hot & you'll knacker the head as well. think it must be pump stuck thermostat would still allow heater to work. Pump removal is only real check it's driven by the cambelt.

 

[richcinq]

If the thermostat was stuck it would not allow enough coolant to flow round to cool the engine so I would deff start with that, do you get a big build up of pressure in the coolant system if so its proves the pump is ok bu the thermostat is creating a backlog. Then as said before the only waty to check the pump is to take it out at which point you might as well fit a new one anyway.

 

[RamZ]

Hi, im new to the forum and wanted to check that my suspicions are accurate:

Im driving a 1998 Punto 60s which has been overheating quickly.
Also, the heater only blows cold, even when the engine is hot.
Finally, even when overheating, the fan doesn't cut in; I've checked all the fuses and everything seems fine there.

I'm guessing its the head gasket, am I right?

Cheers
Toerag

I had exact same problems and it turned out to be head gasket!