Technical What is this problem?!

[jrkitching]

For the sake of few quid for new coolant I wouldn't have thought it was worth the trouble trying to save it? Just my opinion - as the hose comes off at a pretty low point I would imagine at least 75% of coolant will go.

The idea is that you syphon out the coolant before undoing anything. With care, and the right equipment, you can get out 99.5% of what you'd have got out by removing the bottom hose (on the 500 and later mk3 Pandas, at least). Depending on how carefully you work, it also makes less mess.

Whether it's worth it depends on your circumstances & attitude, I guess - it probably adds 15mins to the job (which you get back if you then don't need to remove and refix the bottom hose) and saves you about £10 worth of coolant; the economics depend on how close you are to changing the coolant anyway. If there's any significant debris in the system (unlikely on a newish car), you probably should flush it anyway, so this wouldn't then apply.

Not worth it if you're in the trade; but when I used to do this as an impoverished student, it was (the equivalent) of £10 of tax free cash in my pocket.

 

[SB1500]

Well guys, I know I seem impatient, but it's been getting to me about possible thermostat and head gasket issues from this and the fact the whole area is damp / gritty..

Thinking of booking it in with Fiat to fit the part and take a good look around it as they're the only non Fiat Forum source I'd trust to know what it could be - on the off chance its a sign of a bigger problem! To prevent it from boiling/ warping since it's a cooling issue.

As much as I feel I can fit the part, think this is the best course of action as the problem could be elsewhere :bang:

 

[jrkitching]

As much as I feel I can fit the part, think this is the best course of action as the problem could be elsewhere :bang:

I'd suggest you fix what you know is wrong before worrying too much about what might (or might not) be happening elsewhere.

If you replace the pipe, fill up with coolant and it stays at the correct level with the temperature gauge where it's supposed to be, then you can relax and stop worrying.

 

[SB1500]

I'd suggest you fix what you know is wrong before worrying too much about what might (or might not) be happening elsewhere.

If you replace the pipe, fill up with coolant and it stays at the correct level with the temperature gauge where it's supposed to be, then you can relax and stop worrying.

The pipe in question certainly needs replaced, but my concern is that there's another more serious leak and although I'm going to attempt the trouble shooting process I think perhaps Fiat can diagnose it much better than I can without the help of my uncle in person?

Worried that any type of cooling problem / leak can lead the car to overheat with a head gasket issue or worse :-(

 

[irc]

Agree completely... changed pipe on son's Panda. 20 minutes-ish to do. Seems to have solved the (really) slow coolant loss that had been going on for a couple of months.

Fairly easy fix, as long as the heatshield bolts come out OK.
No ramps/jacking etc.
Use new coolant if possible.
Most painful part of whole job was handing over £35 for a piece of pipe.
Give it a go.

 

[SB1500]

Agree completely... changed pipe on son's Panda. 20 minutes-ish to do. Seems to have solved the (really) slow coolant loss that had been going on for a couple of months.

Fairly easy fix, as long as the heatshield bolts come out OK.
No ramps/jacking etc.
Use new coolant if possible.
Most painful part of whole job was handing over £35 for a piece of pipe.
Give it a go.

Did you see a similar type of dampness / fluid sprayed all over the surrounding areas? That's whats worrying me right now.. kind of , how could that pipe possibly be covering all of that area

 

[Trimdoner]

Not worth it if you're in the trade; but when I used to do this as an impoverished student, it was (the equivalent) of £10 of tax free cash in my pocket.

Fully understood - I've been impoverished myself many times. Still only borderline......

 

[Trimdoner]

Did you see a similar type of dampness / fluid sprayed all over the surrounding areas? That's whats worrying me right now.. kind of , how could that pipe possibly be covering all of that area

The pipe on my daughters car was slimy, crumbly and well covered in gritty muck, as if it had been leaking slowly for ages before giving up altogether

 

[SB1500]

The pipe on my daughters car was slimy, crumbly and well covered in gritty muck, as if it had been leaking slowly for ages before giving up altogether

If you've seen the video above, did the wetness around the area seem 'that' bad?

 

[SB1500]

Well so far I'm taking it to Fiat, parting with £75 all in and hoping they'll tell me either:

"that should fix it" or, "this will need looking at further as it's XYZ"

Then, I'll decide if I keep the car or not as its looking like its a more serious leak to my inexperienced eyes rn. :bang:

Even if I do invest in the car, I'll have £600 at the END of September and I really can't see coolant issues being able to wait it out without causing damage that long.

 

[irc]

Didn't see what it looked like before the pipe started seriously leaking but, once removed, it was obvious that it had lots of pinholes and was as thin as tissue paper in places.
Was amazed it had been holding any water in.
I suspect it had only been leaking when hot, as when the car had been unused for a couple of weeks, the coolant level did not drop.
That would also explain why there were no drops of coolant underneath overnight.
When changing the pipe it looked similar to your picture (crusty dried coolant, etc). But wetter, obviously!

 

[SB1500]

I'm going to let Fiat fix it for £75, and they can shed some light on what the problem is.

If they tell me it will cost hundreds then it's time to look for another Panda I'm afraid.

Coupled with the gearbox, rust and other minor impending issues, as well as the only other option being give it to some shady mechanic who will waste weeks at a time pretending to find the cause then not warranting their work I think that's the best plan.

Really hope Fiat come back with decent news!