Sector-9
1st May 2016, 16:36
Last week I was driving my 45 rather, erm, quickly, and as I approached a roundabout I noticed that the temperature gauge had gone all the way up to the bottom of the red segment (it was actually the steam coming from the bonnet that alerted me) and the fans were running. Only being a mile or so from work I managed to drive it very gently there and the gauge did drop a little by the time I arrived. Unfortunately it seems to have expelled around 4 litres of coolant through the pressure cap (needed two and half kettles full to top back up) in the process.
After work I was able to drive home with no drama, though flooring the throttle did make it start spewing coolant again, though not as much as earlier and the gauge still read normal. Upon getting home I checked the radiator bottom hose and it was cold leading me to believe it was the thermostat - this was replaced back in January for the same fault, though the gauge never went above normal back then. I've tested the thermostat in a saucepan full of water and it did open normally, until the point it exploded and showered hot water all over the cooker, so another one is on order, but I'm beginning to worry I might have bigger problems such as a duff head gasket?
Another thing I've noticed is that since the new thermostat back in Jan, the heater doesn't seem to get as hot now as it should. That could be down to K-seal put in last year to try and cure a leak (which it did for about a fortnight), though I've flushed through the hoses and there seems to be reasonable flow.
To cap it off, the MOT is due in a fortnight and it'll need a hole welding up on the rear of the sill. I'm really considering breaking it up for spares as I don't think scrap value is that much right now.
After work I was able to drive home with no drama, though flooring the throttle did make it start spewing coolant again, though not as much as earlier and the gauge still read normal. Upon getting home I checked the radiator bottom hose and it was cold leading me to believe it was the thermostat - this was replaced back in January for the same fault, though the gauge never went above normal back then. I've tested the thermostat in a saucepan full of water and it did open normally, until the point it exploded and showered hot water all over the cooker, so another one is on order, but I'm beginning to worry I might have bigger problems such as a duff head gasket?
Another thing I've noticed is that since the new thermostat back in Jan, the heater doesn't seem to get as hot now as it should. That could be down to K-seal put in last year to try and cure a leak (which it did for about a fortnight), though I've flushed through the hoses and there seems to be reasonable flow.
To cap it off, the MOT is due in a fortnight and it'll need a hole welding up on the rear of the sill. I'm really considering breaking it up for spares as I don't think scrap value is that much right now.