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Overheating

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Hi,

Whilst letting my 1.7TD run idle for 15mins + at the coolant expansion tank it starts overheating and letting of steam.

Whilst driving for any period of time, the car is running good and I don't experience any of the above problems.

What could the overheating problem on idle be??
 
What temp is the guage showing? does the fan kick in?
 
Cars will heat up if running stationary and your fan should kick in to cool the temp down but that would be normal. Note: it will heat up quicker if your thermostat is stuck shut even when warm. However, you said it was letting off steam?? What exactly is it doing?

At a random guess - pressure that it being made in the system produced from a lock in the coolant system due to crap or thermostat??
 
I just replaced the thermostat last week and the temprature rises to its normal operating temp of 92. Not sure if the fan is kicking in.

Steam is coming from expansion coolant tank.
 
maybe an airlock in the system then? if its not going in the red it should be ok, bearing in mind even warm water looks like its givin off steam in this crap weather we are having!!
 
I'll maybe run the engine again on idle and see if the fan kicks in. Also see what the temprature goes to.

I'll also check around the coolant tank at this time. I have been losing coolant (albeit not a great deal, but I do have to top it up every now and again with prestone)

My carpet footwell (drivers side) is wet but I'm not certain this is the heater matrix.
 
Forgot to mention, I had this situation regarding steam coming from coolant tank in the summer time so l think this would rule out the bad weather at this time
 
my fan comes in at 95, but if it hasnt kicked in towards the red turn it off, not sure bout the footwell, sounds like the matrix, but then dodgy door seal, outside water can cause this.

As for the steam, is there pressure in the header tank when its cold? does it run rough when first started?
 
I'll check if there is pressure in the header tank in the morning but I don't think there is but saying there was what would this mean??? Car runs ok when first started?

When there was steam coming from the coolant tank in the summer I am sure there was a leakage from it as I had to refill it but I don't seem to see any leakage at normal temprature.
 
Running hot, losing coolant, steam etc is sometimes a sign of headgasket going, is the oil under the cap white? like mayonaise? If it is could be another sign of the H.G going, as the coolant is mixing with the oil via the broken gasket.
 
I thought you were going to mention the head gasket, I have checked the oil and no mayo.

During the summer I had this strange noise (like a rushing noise of water from front of dash) but have never heard anything like this since.
 
Thats normally another sign, i had the rushing water noise, mayo etc and my gasket had gone, but that is worst case scenario. Best to check for an airlock, and make sure your fan kicks in tomoro.
 
What is a airlock and how do you rectify this?

Saying the head gasket was on its way out is this a big job to replace bearing in mind water has contaminated oil at present.

I know hypothecthical questions but just looking for a indication of how big a job if turns out to be HG.
 
Parts are cheap, but its a time consuming job. Cost you about £50 to do yourself, prob anywhere from £200-£400 depending on garage. Best to do cam belt, water pump and thermostat at the same time, while the engine is apart. When i did my radiator i got one, drained all my coolant, topped back up again v.slowly, let it get up to temp and checked again, its been ok since.
If there is no oil contamination, top it right up, check it periodically to see exactly how much water you are losing. Best to check your fan and everything tomoro and go from there.
 
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If there is no oil contamination, top it right up, check it periodically to see exactly how much water you are losing. Best to check your fan and everything tomoro and go from there.
 
I opened the coolant expansion tank this morning and here was a very slight hiss (not long and very faint).

I will check if the fan kicks in tomorrow.
 
I'll maybe run the engine again on idle and see if the fan kicks in. Also see what the temprature goes to.

I'll also check around the coolant tank at this time. I have been losing coolant (albeit not a great deal, but I do have to top it up every now and again with prestone)

My carpet footwell (drivers side) is wet but I'm not certain this is the heater matrix.

I had the same problem on my car and thought it was the heater matrix... found out it was under the scuttle panel where the pollen filter is it was letting water in and made the sponge wet inside the footwells right at the back where the heater matrix is. It also dripped onto the heater matrix from time to time which made the windows steam up.
 
sounds like water pump to me ! car's driving engine is cooling fine car on idle water pump isent pumping water around and its just boiling that water then when you move again its circulating water around broken impellas off the water pump possible cause had a punto with simmiler issues failing that take the thermostat out see iff it steams with no themostat in but the car will take ages to warm up, also do your heaters get warm or hot !

cause off broken impellers on a waterpump is normaly no anti freeze,
 
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