Skvnger

Hi Guys,

Firstly sorry to post this in here, I've tried searching for days and haven't found an issue like mine.

My car has been giving me hell for the past couple of weeks, It drives completely fine when driving normally (until earlier), then when you give it some gas it 3rd upwards the temp needle begins to rise till just over centre then as soon as you stop it drops bad down to normal, until earlier i was going up a hill not too steep and was stuck behind a learner and the gauge rose to the middle once again.

I have also noticed the fan seems to be staying on longer than it used to before.

Ive tired changing the coolant to no avail but i haven't lost a drop before or after the change.

Any ideas? I'm thinking water pump or thermostat? but was looking for advice first.

Thanks in advance!

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

If the needle moves at all, the engine is in deadly peril. No, I'm not exagerating or joking. The coolant seals can fail at 220F, the needle starts moving at 235F. Do the math.
Note: not "will fail", but "can fail". You can get lucky a few times, but it's russian roulette with your engine. You won't be lucky forever.

That being said, something pretty major has failed, probably the radiator at a guess from the reaction of the needle to more power. But replacing everything is relatively inexpensive and if one part failed, the rest are probably not far behind. And it's nearly the same steps to replace any one piece of the coolant system as another.

Skvnger

Im completely aware of the coolant seals failing, I'm beginning to think that could be the issue? i have a civic where the head gasket failed and was having the same heating up issues, could a coolant seal cause this issue?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

It's technically possible, but you should also be spitting coolant smoke out the tailpipes at that point. It's more likely that something is just clogged/restricted, and a radiator, coolant bottle, water lines, and thermostat replacement would solve it. In the US, it's ~$500-$600 in parts, plus labor, but it's simple to do. I don't know what UK accessibility to those parts would be (other than the high dealership markups), or the prices.

0VER9K

I ran into the same situation last summer and the first symptom was that the fans would stay on for a longer time like you mentioned. I would start by maybe replacing the coolant reservoir cap and also check to see if there isn't an air pocket in your heater core. I believe there is a post here somewhere that explains how to check for the 2nd thing.

However, this does sound like you're in the need of a new radiator. At least, that was the fix for mine.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

A quick check, make sure nothing in stuffed in front of the radiator, plastic bag, debris, leaves,

I agree, it sounds like you are way down on cooling capacity.

You could also check thermostat. If it was jammed, broken, or plugged, it would diminish flow and the best radiator in the world will not help if no hot water gets to it.

Also, check the lower radiator hose at higher RPM. Is it collapsing from the suction...

Skvnger

Thanks for the advice guys, will be checking over the car at the weekend. I did notice that what appears to be bubbles/condensation at the top of the expansion tank.

Theres no bubbles in the coolant while the car is running, but these dark marks still appear on the inside on the very top of the tank. could this give any clues as to what could be the issue?

It also seems like the fan runs on the car all the time once it has reached operating temp?

Skvnger

Finally got round to resolving this issue, the thermostat stuck closed so was only getting the flow through the small bypass pin. swapped the thermostat over and no issues so far.