Hi everyone!
I hope i don't tire you with this post as it is a bit long but here it goes...
For the last two months I've had a lot of issues with my car overheating.
It all started one day when i turned the A/C on and drove a ten minute drive (in town). When i arrived at my destination i could hear gurgling and there was a lot of water coming out the expansion tank.
I let it cool down and re-bled the system and drove back home without the A/C. No problems whatsoever.
The car was ok as long i did not use the A/C or carry any additional weight.
After a few days, the car would overheat (always kept an eye on the gauge an never got it into the red) under any circumstance. Normal city driving, motorway and back roads.
It would leak water from the expansion tank cap so i replaced it. Issue solved for a few days then it continued to overheat whenever it felt like it.
Next i replaced the radiator with a used one i have from a spares car.. Didn't think about it at the time but the spare car i have was off the road to to a blown head gasket and one of the reasons was a blocked radiator!
Nevertheless, the car was ok for about a week or two.. then it started again so i replaced the thermostat.. again another stupid move as i did not get an original thermostat.. all was well for a few more days then guess what...
While on a trip to the beach, a ~45 minute drive from home the car overheated again.
I let it cool down, topped up the water and continued.. this must of happened about 4 or 5 times until i arrived. While at the beach, instead of relaxing i was inspecting the expansion caps (had the original one in the back of the car) and noticed that my old one had a piece of rust (from my original radiator) lodged in the valve seal and was keeping the valve open. I cleaned it and replaced the cap and it brought me home without any overheating or leaking issues.
The a few days later while driving in town in the evening (Sunday), the car started overheating again.. this time though, no water was leaking an no extreme pressure in the radiator hoses.. Let it cool down and managed to get back home.
Monday morning i went to my parts supplier and bough a brand new viscous. installed it and the car was good as new.
BUT 3 days later the car started overheating again!!!
So i went back and bough a second hand recored radiator and installed that. Drove for 5 minutes and the car overheated again!
Went back to my supplier and bough a new thermostat and a new expansion tank cap. installed them and it's been a week now driving in all conditions with ambient temperatures reaching 40oC and the temp gauge hasn't moved from where it should be. I don't even hear the A/C fan kicking in now!
Fingers crossed, my issues are solved now. The only thing left to change in case it overheats again, is the water pump. I hope i won't need to though.
So, to keep in mind if it happens to me again, or any of you have any overheating issues, the following parts should be repaired or changed.
1. Expansion tank cap
2. Fan Viscous unit
3. Thermostat
4. Radiator - Make sure it's not blocked or buy a new one/re-core it
5. Water Pump
If anyone needs any help or there is something i don't clearly state in this post, feel free to ask me!
Over and out!
I hope i don't tire you with this post as it is a bit long but here it goes...
For the last two months I've had a lot of issues with my car overheating.
It all started one day when i turned the A/C on and drove a ten minute drive (in town). When i arrived at my destination i could hear gurgling and there was a lot of water coming out the expansion tank.
I let it cool down and re-bled the system and drove back home without the A/C. No problems whatsoever.
The car was ok as long i did not use the A/C or carry any additional weight.
After a few days, the car would overheat (always kept an eye on the gauge an never got it into the red) under any circumstance. Normal city driving, motorway and back roads.
It would leak water from the expansion tank cap so i replaced it. Issue solved for a few days then it continued to overheat whenever it felt like it.
Next i replaced the radiator with a used one i have from a spares car.. Didn't think about it at the time but the spare car i have was off the road to to a blown head gasket and one of the reasons was a blocked radiator!
Nevertheless, the car was ok for about a week or two.. then it started again so i replaced the thermostat.. again another stupid move as i did not get an original thermostat.. all was well for a few more days then guess what...
While on a trip to the beach, a ~45 minute drive from home the car overheated again.
I let it cool down, topped up the water and continued.. this must of happened about 4 or 5 times until i arrived. While at the beach, instead of relaxing i was inspecting the expansion caps (had the original one in the back of the car) and noticed that my old one had a piece of rust (from my original radiator) lodged in the valve seal and was keeping the valve open. I cleaned it and replaced the cap and it brought me home without any overheating or leaking issues.
The a few days later while driving in town in the evening (Sunday), the car started overheating again.. this time though, no water was leaking an no extreme pressure in the radiator hoses.. Let it cool down and managed to get back home.
Monday morning i went to my parts supplier and bough a brand new viscous. installed it and the car was good as new.
BUT 3 days later the car started overheating again!!!
So i went back and bough a second hand recored radiator and installed that. Drove for 5 minutes and the car overheated again!
Went back to my supplier and bough a new thermostat and a new expansion tank cap. installed them and it's been a week now driving in all conditions with ambient temperatures reaching 40oC and the temp gauge hasn't moved from where it should be. I don't even hear the A/C fan kicking in now!
Fingers crossed, my issues are solved now. The only thing left to change in case it overheats again, is the water pump. I hope i won't need to though.
So, to keep in mind if it happens to me again, or any of you have any overheating issues, the following parts should be repaired or changed.
1. Expansion tank cap
2. Fan Viscous unit
3. Thermostat
4. Radiator - Make sure it's not blocked or buy a new one/re-core it
5. Water Pump
If anyone needs any help or there is something i don't clearly state in this post, feel free to ask me!
Over and out!
