Technical Water leak

[blu73]

get yourself a haynes, buy a head gasket kit, don't get a really cheap head gasket though - eurocarcare.net or shop4parts will both give you a good quality gasket set.

Changing the head gasket is one of them jobs which seems like a really big deal but its pretty simple job even for beginner and is well covered in the haynes. For a first time i would set aside 1 day to take it all apart and get the head taken to a local place to be skimmed and then another day to put it all back together.

did you do the test dry and then wet? did you write down the results?

 

[sitch76]

I just had a garage do the test to be honest, so not sure how they did it, I just need to decide if it's worth doing or not, I may give K-Seal a go and see how long that lasts, this car was always suppose to be a cheap run around but then a headgasket kit from what I have seen is only around £50, hmmmm decisions....

 

[blu73]

don't put k-seal in it. total waste of money, do more harm than good.

http://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Details&ProdID=803&sku=31363

buy that and a haynes, you need a decent torque wrench and an angle gauge, other than that is all normal tools, some spanners, sockets and screwdrivers etc.

 

[fingers99]

:yeahthat:

Sealants tend to do irreversible damage to the radiator, heater matrix and water passages.

 

[sitch76]

hmmmmm bugger I only just checked this thread again and I have literally just finished the K-Seal adding, will have to wait and see now, I found a kit on eBay that came with new bolts and a new thermostat so may give that a go will have to think about it, will see if I can find a guide of some sort on here to doing the head gasket or elsewhere on the net, I do have the Haynes but I prefer guides from other people

 

[fingers99]

Flush it out now, before it sets.

 

[sitch76]

A bit too late, just been out there checking it all over and car reached half way temp point, fan kicked in and at this point it would normally have been bubbling out of the bottle but nothing was bubbling out, as soon as it has cooled down, I will flush though, don't want to release cap at the moment, been burnt before doing that

It does appear to have worked from it not bubbling out but there is a question as to how much damage it may have caused, as when I put the interior heater on it wasn't that hot, so guess the matrix is possibly blocked, it was hot but not as hot.

I will flush when cooled down fully.

 

[flisko]

Don't forget to drain all the coolant and refill with anti freeze (bleed the system with the heater turned on full).

whats the purpose of heater on full while bleeding, if i may ask

 

[flisko]

level should not be above max when at operating temp and not below min when cold. So you have either overfilled it or the cap stopped working properly. I'd just replace it for the sake of a few quid for a new cap. Being a pressurized system it will water will just expand and boil over without a cap or if the pressure release valve is stuck open.

are u sure about that?

checked mine a few times when car was at operating temp and antifreeze level was always above max, drops to max when cold

 

[fingers99]

whats the purpose of heater on full while bleeding, if i may ask

On a Punto it probably doesn't make any odds. I think on that car the heater is operated by flaps, rather than a cock. On cock systems, you need to bleed with the cock open = heater on full or you're likely to simply introduce any air in the heater matrix into the cooling system.

If in doubt, it does no harm to put the heater on.

 

[fingers99]

checked mine a few times when car was at operating temp and antifreeze level was always above max, drops to max when cold

Point is, you shouldn't top it up to max when cold.

 

[flisko]

when are u supposed to top it up then

 

[blu73]

well as i see it the max line is.... well... the max line, and the min line the min line. The level should be between the two at all times. Which essentially means it should be at or just below the max line when the cooling fan cuts in. But so long as its not overly topped up, right up near the cap you will prob be ok though. And clearly it needs to be filled cold as its a pressurized system, take the cap off when warm or hot and the level shoots up as the water expands and if your unlucky you get quite burnt too.

when refilling after coolant change i would top the tank upto the brim and then bleed and keep letting it out bleed valve until level is cm or so under max line. then let it run and warm upm check level, let it cool right down and then check level again. Top up as required and then check a week or so later that level hasn't changed.

 

[flisko]

well as i see it the max line is.... well... the max line, and the min line the min line. The level should be between the two at all times. Which essentially means it should be at or just below the max line when the cooling fan cuts in. But so long as its not overly topped up, right up near the cap you will prob be ok though. And clearly it needs to be filled cold as its a pressurized system, take the cap off when warm or hot and the level shoots up as the water expands and if your unlucky you get quite burnt too.

when refilling after coolant change i would top the tank upto the brim and then bleed and keep letting it out bleed valve until level is cm or so under max line. then let it run and warm upm check level, let it cool right down and then check level again. Top up as required and then check a week or so later that level hasn't changed.

i see, doesnt antifreeze burst out only if head gasket is bad

 

[blu73]

no, its a sealed system thus as it gets hot it becomes pressurized. So if you remove the cap at operating temp all the coolant expands fast and shoots out. Raising pressure rises the boiling point of liquids so when they suddenly aren't under pressure they turn into gas and this is why you get loads of steam when the cap blows off

 

[fingers99]

It has been pointed out that you can't brew a decent cup of tea on Everest because lower air pressure means water boils at a much lower temperature, thus buggering up the infusion.

 

[blu73]

well scratch that off life goal list then, can't not be having tea!!!