imp

Hi,

My cabin heater was acting weird over the last week or so (almost not working most of the time to be precise), and today, when driving to work it pretty much died altogether - zero heat.

At the same time, the oil temperature gauge started to rise almost reaching the red zone. Radiator fans audible in the cabin.

I stopped the car, popped the hood - and the coolant overflow tank was COMPLETELY FULL.

Waited for 15 minutes, tank returned to half-full (around MAX mark) and drove the remaining distance. Same story - temp gauge almost in the red zone, fans on, no heat in cabin.

What do you make of it? Trip to a mechanic is in cards for later today - just want to choose between dealership and an affordable garage... Depending on the likely severity.

Thanks!

Gingervitis526

iTrader: (19)

You have air in your cooling system would be my guess. Check the bottom of this page out for instructions on how to bleed the system. http://crackaddict.com/~flynn/howtos...amco.howto.htm

Gingervitis526

iTrader: (19)

Oh and thats the coolant temp gauge youre looking at, not oil temp (unless you have an aftermarket oil temp gauge as well)

imp

Interesting lead - the bleeding process looks similar to regular use of the car (idle -> rev -> potential refill -> idle -> rev). Considering that the level of coolant is already pretty high (a bit over max and reaching to the cap after using the car for a while), wouldn't it point to a thermostat or pump failure?
Or is the trick in popping the radiator cap?

BTW - thanks for point out meaning of the gauge

Gingervitis526

iTrader: (19)

If youre sure you got all of the air out of the system then it could be one of the other 2 problems, but I know these systems are hard to bleed so you could still have air in there somewhere. I'd wait for the experts to chime in before you go replacing parts though.

imp

Just want to make sure I do this right:

1) Refill up to the neck - pour coolant directly into the radiatior? Would it bring the level in the overflow tank above MAX?
2) Refill reservoir tank to MAX level line with coolant. - what if it's already above MAX?
3) Repeat the above steps of running the engine and let cool cycles - should any of the steps be done with the radiator cap off or the bleeder valve off?

hwcustoms

iTrader: (40)

When you start the car cold can you see coolant when you remove the rad cap?

Ronin82

iTrader: (4)

Bad Thermostat? or bad fan shroud???

bardabe

iTrader: (5)

over heating + no cabin heat usually means blown head gasket, remove radiator cap when car is cold and start it up. see if you can hear / feel compression coming out of the radiator car

-Juan

binder

iTrader: (8)

get a spill free funnel and bleed it.

imp

Just checked the level of fluid in the radiator - not visible, so next step is to refill and bleed.
Then check for bubbles on an open radiator cap and running engine to verify blown head gasket. Not sure what is the 'sound' of compression
Then potentially a leak test.

Overflow tank is already 1cm above max.

Will keep you posted of progress.

0jiggy0

iTrader: (13)

I'm thinking thermostat.

imp

OK, update: managed to put 1l of coolant into the radiator. Idle for 10 minutes, then couple of 15s rev's up to 3000. Tried cabin heat - works like a charm now.
Also checked if the upper radiator hose is soft or stiff (possible with a blown gasket) - but it was soft.

2 hours later, removed the radiator cap to put some more coolant in and continue bleeding, but to my surprise, a bit spilled out under pressure and after leaving it open for a minute it was still full up to the neck. Closed the radiator cap.

Will check tomorrow if it is still full. Then I'll check for bubbles under the cap on a running engine. If test is passed - next step is to drive around for a few days and keep track of coolant level in the radiator. If it falls visibly -> pressure leak test.

binder

iTrader: (8)

when you let it warm up did you check the lower rad hose to make sure it's heating up? if not then your tstat isn't opening.

also, when you heat it up all the way, keep the cap in place and let it cool all the way down to ambient temp without opening the cooling system at all. Check the coolant level in your overflow then. it should be back to normal. If it stays high then that's a bad sign.

JAM3Z

iTrader: (17)

yes you definitely have air in your cooling system. Burb your system, top it off and you'll be back on the road.

imp

Will do that tomorrow - lower hose is a bit hard to reach without jack stands.

Well, I've checked it today after the 10-15 min warm up (so not sure if this qualifies as 'up all the way') and the level in the overflow tank was normal (which in my case is 1cm above MAX). Will heat it up further (30 min) tomorrow and check again.

Based on my description in the previous post - does that qualify or should I play with the bleeder valve close to the battery as well?

binder

iTrader: (8)

spill free funnel will remove all problems with bleeding it. I didn't spill a drop of coolant bleeding with it. It was well worth the 20$ it cost.

And the lower rad hose is easy to get to. I'm lowered and have just under 4" ground clearance. Lay on the ground, reach your hand up the drivers side of the car and grab the hose. Real simple. You don't have to see it, you just have to feel it.

imp

Hmm, for now looks like the single refill did the trick.

After a 25 min heat up and further 25 min drive today:
- cabin heat works fine
- engine did not overheat one bit
- coolant level in the radiator (up till the cap) and overflow tank (1cm above MAX) stayed at the same level
- upper rad hose remained soft (still couldn't reach the bottom hose due to the undertray)
EDIT: my bad - when I referred to the upper rad hose, I was actually looking at the lower one (I thought the lower one is under the radiator, just above the undertray).. So based on this description both upper (next to the power steering fluid) and lower (opposite side behind the left rad fan) hoses are warming up after 30 min of engine operation - good news I guess... just need to check the real upper hose for softness again
- there were no bubbles or unusual noise coming from the radiator
- there is no antifreeze smell from the exhaust, nor funny color on the oil dip stick

Not sure if I should get the system checked for leaks immediately or keep a close eye on the level of coolant over the coming days first... For now looks like thermostat and water pump are taken out of the equation as potential root causes (unless I'm missing something).

vthao

iTrader: (3)

Grats on getting things working again. If the problem ever persists:

1. You do NOT have air in your system
2. Your thermostat is bad - it's probably stuck close which will not allow water to travel, thus causing your motor to overheat and preventing the warm water to travel, giving you the inconsistency in cabin heat.

Best of luck

Gingervitis526

iTrader: (19)

Glad to hear you got it working again without having to buy new parts