new member may have problems

[kbekl]

from a cool engine, take the rad cap off. start the engine. should see the water flowing. dont forget, the water pump is attached to the viscous fan at the front of the engine-is that leaking? I dont think these engines are self purging, so to clear air locks, i assume you squeeze the pipes with rad cap off while warming up untill the water bubbles to the brim, then put the rad cap on and tight.this shoudl clear any air in the system then the system should take care of itself by purging into the overflow if needs be..

when you bought it, was it recently serviced? if so, did they do the coolant? id certainly take heed of briggies advice-head gaskets. if they have gone, and you keep driving it, your gonan screw it up. blown head gasket isnt bad unless its been run and run and the block is warped/cracked. soemthing to think about.

as for the noise, you sure its not the viscous fan? does it go away after so long?

the noise is only their for a second or 2 then its gone so could be the fan

their is no water leaking from the pump area, also their has been a bit of work done around the fan like alternator and also the pump i think

are the head gaskets a simple job on these td lumps or are they a pitta

 

[kbekl]

right had a look at the thermostat and that seems to be working ok, filled the rad to the brim and squeased the pipes till the rad didntr want any more water, but on starting the pipes were pressurised to the point of when opening the rad cap the water was bubbling out and the bubbles were appearing in the header

so think its the worse case senario the head gasket has failed

what is this going to cost labour wise how long a job is it ?

also is it worth changing the cambelt when this is done ?

 

[kbekl]

right just got off the phone from the old owner and they said about 2 mths ago it had a new pump in place but he was not getting any warm/hot air in the cabin so the garage that fitted it left an airlock in place, he took the car back to them and they were supposed to remove the airlock but again after the visit stll did not get any wam/hot air in the cabin

unsure if this is of any use

 

[solarman216]

If you are looking for a head gasket job, Swifty is the man and as cheap as you will get, downside we are South coast, Rick

 

[clivvy]

its a tough one, SOUNDS head gasket, but not at any serious level yet, are you actually losing water? are you having to top up the water? as its only been a week, i suppose thats going to be hard to tell. anyway, as far as I know, its not a major job, but Rick might be able to correct me on this (the chap who's just mentioned Swifty). the problem her eis that abit of work has already been done to solve a problem of no heat, i mean, are you getting heat now? because whats to say its not the heater matrix, as that takes water from the system too, could be an air lock there.

could be the whole system needs draiing, which should have been done when the water pump was fitted (if they removed the thermostat), as you say, no mayo under the oil cap yet, presumably no water in the oil, and if it all runs ok when driving normally then it could be something else, something simple.

when Petes head gasket went, he was losing water over a long period of time, but his temp gauge would rise and fall, rising too high when flooring it, and would return to normal at lower speeds, Rick found the gasket to be at fault after testing the thermostat and a host of other bits and bobs...

 

[briggie]

its a tough one, SOUNDS head gasket, but not at any serious level yet, are you actually losing water? are you having to top up the water? as its only been a week, i suppose thats going to be hard to tell. anyway, as far as I know, its not a major job, but Rick might be able to correct me on this (the chap who's just mentioned Swifty). the problem her eis that abit of work has already been done to solve a problem of no heat, i mean, are you getting heat now? because whats to say its not the heater matrix, as that takes water from the system too, could be an air lock there.

could be the whole system needs draiing, which should have been done when the water pump was fitted (if they removed the thermostat), as you say, no mayo under the oil cap yet, presumably no water in the oil, and if it all runs ok when driving normally then it could be something else, something simple.

when Petes head gasket went, he was losing water over a long period of time, but his temp gauge would rise and fall, rising too high when flooring it, and would return to normal at lower speeds, Rick found the gasket to be at fault after testing the thermostat and a host of other bits and bobs...

i didnt get mayo on my filler cap either clive , ... the thing is gas or air is getting into the cooling system ....either through a air lock , or from a leaking head gasket , when he fills it does he wait untill all the gurgling has gone before adding more ?...also , how much ( if any ) coolant is being topped up and over what period ? ...... just a few questions that need answering before a definative diagnosis can be found

 

[kbekl]

right i have topped uptoday and had to put in 1ltr but this is down to having a small leak at the base

i have got heat in the cabin as i check this also the matrix (which i guess is on the top of the rocker) gets hot both sides,

the leak is down to the pressure i belive as if i remove the pressure from the system their is no leak

the bubbling is constant when the enigine is running and continues when the engine is stopped until the pressure is down to the point where the rad cap dont release it, also after a few hours of the dripping stopping their is still pressure in the rad as when i remove the cap it all hisses.


should i have run the engine with less water in it so that it dont over flow when ticking over ?

i have not had to top off the water befor but i have had the car for about 11 days

 

[briggie]

if its any help , here is the section of the workshop manual which deals with the cooling system .

http://bebrs.pie-dabas.net/Webs/Terrano/R20/lc.pdf

 

[kbekl]

cheers briggie, just done a cold test, the pressure builds slowly when cold and quickly once heated slightly.

i have noted a foam forming on the top of the expansion tanks water a thin film type, but with the rad cap off their is definalty foam being created from somewhere not a lot mind but they are along the same time as the larger bubbles

the first pipe to get warm is the flow pipe into the engine (lower pipe) with the top radiator paipe staying cold, then the heater matrix heats up both pipes and then the top pipe heats up slowly if thid makes sence

right now when it comes to running of the car it dont seem any different to when i first bought it but this could have been happening then and this is the first 4x4 i have owned as such

the exhaust is a little bit sooty but not wet at all and no splatters on the road

 

[briggie]

cheers briggie, just done a cold test, the pressure builds slowly when cold and quickly once heated slightly.

i have noted a foam forming on the top of the expansion tanks water a thin film type, but with the rad cap off their is definalty foam being created from somewhere not a lot mind but they are along the same time as the larger bubbles

the first pipe to get warm is the flow pipe into the engine (lower pipe) with the top radiator paipe staying cold, then the heater matrix heats up both pipes and then the top pipe heats up slowly if thid makes sence

right now when it comes to running of the car it dont seem any different to when i first bought it but this could have been happening then and this is the first 4x4 i have owned as such

the exhaust is a little bit sooty but not wet at all and no splatters on the road

for what its worth , i still suspect head gasket , but im sure someone more knowlegable will be along shortly to discount my suspicions

 

[rayf3262]

for the sake of a tenner I would give a dose of K-Seal a go, at least it might buy you some time until you can get the job done properly.

Its good stuff.....
http://www.k-seal.co.uk/

cheers briggie, just done a cold test, the pressure builds slowly when cold and quickly once heated slightly.

i have noted a foam forming on the top of the expansion tanks water a thin film type, but with the rad cap off their is definalty foam being created from somewhere not a lot mind but they are along the same time as the larger bubbles

the first pipe to get warm is the flow pipe into the engine (lower pipe) with the top radiator paipe staying cold, then the heater matrix heats up both pipes and then the top pipe heats up slowly if thid makes sence

right now when it comes to running of the car it dont seem any different to when i first bought it but this could have been happening then and this is the first 4x4 i have owned as such

the exhaust is a little bit sooty but not wet at all and no splatters on the road

 

[clivvy]

forget the sooty exhaust. unless you have PLUMES of smoke trailing out the back, dont worry, 4x4's generally puff out black smoke on hard acceleration, shouldnt have any when idling.

this water thing is doing my head! im with briggie on this though, it sounds so similar to his situation apart from he had to top up 6litres, to your one!

what I want to know is, did the former owners and garage have any reason to SUSPECT head gasket? simple, get onto the owner and ask, and ask for the garage who did the previous work and ring them. sounds to me like they were trying to resolve this very issue by replacing the pump, so I agree that the issue has been present before you bought it.

 

[kbekl]

for the sake of a tenner I would give a dose of K-Seal a go, at least it might buy you some time until you can get the job done properly.

Its good stuff.....
http://www.k-seal.co.uk/

with this stuff going into the cooling system and the air being forced into the coolant would this not make it seal the system

 

[kbekl]

forget the sooty exhaust. unless you have PLUMES of smoke trailing out the back, dont worry, 4x4's generally puff out black smoke on hard acceleration, shouldnt have any when idling.

this water thing is doing my head! im with briggie on this though, it sounds so similar to his situation apart from he had to top up 6litres, to your one!

what I want to know is, did the former owners and garage have any reason to SUSPECT head gasket? simple, get onto the owner and ask, and ask for the garage who did the previous work and ring them. sounds to me like they were trying to resolve this very issue by replacing the pump, so I agree that the issue has been present before you bought it.

well the former owner has had the mav for 7 years and has always had everything done, its had a new exhaust in jan and all the other work 2 mths ago, their was no mention of the head gasket to him when they looked at it, also his brother works for Nissan and he is looking into it for me to see if i could be something else.

their is no smoke at idle only a small amount at the start and heavy footing time

their does seem to be a gas/light smoke (how can i put it a bit like you would get of a kettle that has just started to heat up but a bit bluer) when the level in the rad is rising, is their a chance the head gasket goes around the outlet manifold and it is exhaust gasses that's causing the bubbles ??? or is that not possible ?

 

[briggie]

well the former owner has had the mav for 7 years and has always had everything done, its had a new exhaust in jan and all the other work 2 mths ago, their was no mention of the head gasket to him when they looked at it, also his brother works for Nissan and he is looking into it for me to see if i could be something else.

their is no smoke at idle only a small amount at the start and heavy footing time

their does seem to be a gas/light smoke (how can i put it a bit like you would get of a kettle that has just started to heat up but a bit bluer) when the level in the rad is rising, is their a chance the head gasket goes around the outlet manifold and it is exhaust gasses that's causing the bubbles ??? or is that not possible ?

rick ( solarman 216 ) will know better , but im sure something like that happened to mine

 

[rayf3262]

That's the general idea... it is called k-SEAL.. it will not impede the water flow in the cooling system though.

with this stuff going into the cooling system and the air being forced into the coolant would this not make it seal the system

 

[kbekl]

That's the general idea... it is called k-SEAL.. it will not impede the water flow in the cooling system though.

don't think i made the right comment lol

i meant to say woould the gas thats coming into the coolant just blow the seal off ? i understand it would work for the water going into the engine but i have gas getting into the coolant with no water in the engine

 

[kbekl]

That's the general idea... it is called k-SEAL.. it will not impede the water flow in the cooling system though.

don't think i made the right comment lol

i meant to say would the gas that's coming into the coolant just blow the seal off ? i understand it would work for the water going into the engine but i have gas getting into the coolant with no water in the engine

 

[rayf3262]

It may take a while but it should work. At some point when the engine is not running the pressure in the cooling system will exceed that elsewhere so the product will migrate into the offending leak area and eventually seal, just don't take the rad cap off until its cooled down.
Hey, its only 10 quids worth! or less if you buy it on ebay etc.. and it wont do any harm....

don't think i made the right comment lol

i meant to say would the gas that's coming into the coolant just blow the seal off ? i understand it would work for the water going into the engine but i have gas getting into the coolant with no water in the engine

 

[briggie]

depends how long you are gonna keep it i suppose:nenau