heeeeelp!

hi once again!

got a p38 2.5dt! my head was cracked so changed the engine put in a 2.5td from a omega. went in fine changed the usual stuff ie sump etc, filled it up with coolant did all my check no leaks, engine temp sat 12 oclock sweet! so i let it run for a hour or so. then went for my first drive fine for half a mile then up went the temp to the red sh.......t. opened bonnet pipes rock solid head gasket? head again? surely not?
drained the coolant started it up sat at 12 another drive same again, looked into deeper it seems to be getting airlocked top of rad hot, bottom cold, rad isnt blocked, dont seem to be getting circulation i think.
totally stuck no idea what to do
are these hard to bleed?

please help

sorry me again!

new water pump, rad is new thermostat is working can feel it open.

two things i would look at first, stat and water pump..

thats that then, not sure on the bleeding on doosel, but on petrol can be a fooooker..

Hello mate let the car cool down and try again, check the pipes either side of the water pump once up and running to see if the pipes are getting hot??if one side is cool then you know the pump is not working,,, these can be a pain to get right , also check usual things to ensure head gasket is not gone ,,, do you know history of this engine at all????? Rob

yeah?

done all the tricks i know on a hill, jacked up expansion tank of car, do think its airlock dammed if can get rid of it, whats the issue on the petrol maybe its simular

are the top/bottom hoses new or not??

thanks zx7r,

no! just know its from a omega and was running fine, answer to your question pipes are hot both sides, doesnt get hard when idleing but the expansion tank cap was off but water not bubbling at all.

no old ones!

do you think there poris and sucking air in even though they dont leak? heard of that before, why is bottom of rad cold and top really hot

no mayonaise on rocker cover and oil sump what other signs bar that do i need to look at, no bubbles in expansion tank

Iknow bm's were a pain to bleed. . have you got the heater on full blast and on hot whilst bleeding???? also try remove pipe that goes into the inside of the car to help bleed the system.....(bit of a pain)... .. also as j said check the stat... or remover it .... buy the sounds of it it just needs bleeding correctly ....

hendoaaron said:

no old ones!

do you think there poris and sucking air in even though they dont leak? heard of that before, why is bottom of rad cold and top really hot

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i was thinking that one of the hoses has de-laminated inside,are they solid rubber or wrapped rubber hoses,i know they are not solid right through:doh:,just made of solid rubber. are you sure the rad is brand new,or is it a recon one.are you sure that the thermostat is in place,or could it have been removed??.

Take out the thermostat and try running without it. If it does not overheat fit a new one. I have never in all my time heard of a thermostat you can feel opening.

Hi,

You said that the rad is new. The diesel rad is a twin pass i.e. coolant enters at the top, goes down to the bottom, across and then up the other side and out at the top (imagine a "U" shape).

In order for it to do this there is a plastic baffle inside the radiator top plastic tank midway between the hose spigots. On some cheap aftermarket rads this baffle can be missing. The effect is that the coolant enters one side at the top, and just goes straight across and out the other side without going down to the bottom and up again.

The only way to check is to take the rad out and get a marble and drop it into the spigot. Tip up the rad and if it comes out of the spigot on the other side, there is no baffle in there and the rad is scrap. If it doesn't come out then it's found the baffle, rad is good. Tip the rad back and the marble will come back out.

Without the baffle there is virtually no cooling as the lazy coolant can't be arsed to go down and up through the aluminium matrix and just pops back out the other side of the top tank instead.

Hope that makes sense !

wammers said:

Take out the thermostat and try running without it. If it does not overheat fit a new one. I have never in all my time heard of a thermostat you can feel opening.

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i think he means he can feel the hot water coming through the system,not the actual stat opening.

gemsdad said:

i think he means he can feel the hot water coming through the system,not the actual stat opening.

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Yep that's a good point. Back to the headache pills.:doh: But same advice still applies.