Gentlemen and ladies,
It's been a while since I've been on here, combination of ridiculous amount of work recently and the peace of mind having such a reliable old gal of a truck. How are you all doing? Sadly, I think my T2's having a dig at me right now for the lack of TLC over the past few months.
The other day I noticed after about 3-4 miles that the temp gauge had moved three quarters of the way up to the red area instead of it's usual 1/4 of the way mark. I stopped and popped the bonnet, but it all seemed fairly okay appart from the expansion tank was full and possibly overflowing slightly, but hey, the engine was saying that it was hot so I guess that's what it is for sort of.
Got back in and the temp had dropped a bit so nursed it back home without any issue.
Next morning, she was hard to get started, eventually popped into life with a big cloud of smoke (mix of black and white I think) a bit like she usually does in the winter when I forget to thin the veg oil enough. Drove in the 3 mile journey to work, no worries, but then it barely warms up much over that distance.
Took her back home at lunchtime and the temp gage didn't move all the way home at all, but should have shown that the engine was warm at the very least. Opened up the bonnet and the expansion tank had a small amount in it, but there was air bubbling through. Also, there was no heat from the heater either, which made me think there was air in the system. Thinking that she'd not be that warm yet and the fact that the top of the rad wasn't that hot, I killed the engine and loosened the rad cap to create a short but spectacular water feature! Ho hum, there may have been air in the system, there certainly was now!
So, topped up gently, knocking the pipes and then left running over lunch with the odd top up to make sure all the air got out. Heater was on full and by the end of it, blasting out hot air. Temp gauge back in the normal position. Drove back to work, everything was hunky dory. On the way back, no temp gauge, no heat from the heater until just before my street when the temp gauge jumped to halfway mark instantly. Forgot to check heater at that point. Expansion tank full to over flowing again.
Tried last night taking out the thermostat and that definitely seems to be stuck closed, so had a run about without any stat. Engine was warm, but heating barely and expansion tank way full again. I could tell when I stopped that the water pipes from the rad were under pressure as I couldn't squeeze them at all so it looks like the coolant is getting pressurised some how.
Oil filler and dip stick both are showing lovely black oil, no signs of emulsion there and no obvious loss of power, but did have trouble starting for a bit last night and ended up with a cloud of white smoke (water getting into a cylinder maybe?).
Any suggestions or ideas? If it's the gasket, what sort of price is it usually to get fixed? Difficult job for doing at home? The old gal's a second car, but it's amazing how you get used to having her around and I prefer driving the T2 to the wife's Mazda 5!
Cheers,
Craig.
It's been a while since I've been on here, combination of ridiculous amount of work recently and the peace of mind having such a reliable old gal of a truck. How are you all doing? Sadly, I think my T2's having a dig at me right now for the lack of TLC over the past few months.
The other day I noticed after about 3-4 miles that the temp gauge had moved three quarters of the way up to the red area instead of it's usual 1/4 of the way mark. I stopped and popped the bonnet, but it all seemed fairly okay appart from the expansion tank was full and possibly overflowing slightly, but hey, the engine was saying that it was hot so I guess that's what it is for sort of.
Got back in and the temp had dropped a bit so nursed it back home without any issue.
Next morning, she was hard to get started, eventually popped into life with a big cloud of smoke (mix of black and white I think) a bit like she usually does in the winter when I forget to thin the veg oil enough. Drove in the 3 mile journey to work, no worries, but then it barely warms up much over that distance.
Took her back home at lunchtime and the temp gage didn't move all the way home at all, but should have shown that the engine was warm at the very least. Opened up the bonnet and the expansion tank had a small amount in it, but there was air bubbling through. Also, there was no heat from the heater either, which made me think there was air in the system. Thinking that she'd not be that warm yet and the fact that the top of the rad wasn't that hot, I killed the engine and loosened the rad cap to create a short but spectacular water feature! Ho hum, there may have been air in the system, there certainly was now!
So, topped up gently, knocking the pipes and then left running over lunch with the odd top up to make sure all the air got out. Heater was on full and by the end of it, blasting out hot air. Temp gauge back in the normal position. Drove back to work, everything was hunky dory. On the way back, no temp gauge, no heat from the heater until just before my street when the temp gauge jumped to halfway mark instantly. Forgot to check heater at that point. Expansion tank full to over flowing again.
Tried last night taking out the thermostat and that definitely seems to be stuck closed, so had a run about without any stat. Engine was warm, but heating barely and expansion tank way full again. I could tell when I stopped that the water pipes from the rad were under pressure as I couldn't squeeze them at all so it looks like the coolant is getting pressurised some how.
Oil filler and dip stick both are showing lovely black oil, no signs of emulsion there and no obvious loss of power, but did have trouble starting for a bit last night and ended up with a cloud of white smoke (water getting into a cylinder maybe?).
Any suggestions or ideas? If it's the gasket, what sort of price is it usually to get fixed? Difficult job for doing at home? The old gal's a second car, but it's amazing how you get used to having her around and I prefer driving the T2 to the wife's Mazda 5!
Cheers,
Craig.
