cooling system

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

for the last 2 weeks the engine seems to be having difficulties getting to the operating temperature. i am saying fair enough its winter now but this one is a bit of a piss taker . here is a basic crap drawing of the temp gauge

i am doing the same 7 miles journey to work and before the temp neddle was going up to the blue line by the time i park the car up after 7 miles ,but now tonight even after the 6th mile it was still just a mm over the red line (non ragging area). the distance between the red and blue lines are actually further than my drawing so apologies on that , at that point i stopped the car with the engine idling to let it heat up a bit ,in 5 secs it went from that low point to just below the blue line ,now thats understandble thinking that the car is not taking cold air from the road on a stand still plus the water pump turns much slower etc.
but still cant figure out why it wont heat up ????

also the thermostat is brand new and it is a 89 degrees celcius one

the other annoying thing is the pressure in the system ,i turn the engine off and leave it for a day and when i get back there is still pressure when i squeeze the pipes ,than when i try to open the tank cap the water level rises to over maximum which means its sucking more air in to the feckin system ?????

my over all conclusion is that there is air in the system that moves around giving false temp readings
am i right or alternatively can someone tell me what the ferk is going on please ?

thank you Smile

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

the stat should be blocking off the flow to the rad so when the cars moving it shouldn't cool down until it opens.

Theres still air stuck in the car when you release the pressure the air pocket expands thats why the level raises.

The system should hold pressure for a day at least. Mine holds pressure for a week unless the headgasket decides to bleed some off.

Chances are like 99% of them heat transfers a problem due to crap build up in the system.

When they were new they heated up in no time.

Retroholic Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 5685

I noticed mine doesn't get up to temp unless i get stuck in traffic, it sits about half way between your blue and red line

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

its should sit at the blue (1st line) when at normal running temp.

the fan will kick in around the 2nd black line.

Chet does yours even have a stat in it?

Retroholic Joined: 12 Feb 2004 Posts: 5685

Well the heater works fine so i assume so, i'd expect the heater to be crap if there wasn't.

I put it down to air in the system

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

right than ,how am i gonna get this feckin air out ?

can i use the pressure in the system to help me get the air out by opening the bleed screw instead of the tank cap ,so that the air goes out (i doubt it ) and the water level in the tank drops so that i can top it up with water ?

also chris what do you think about drilling a tiny hole on the stat ????? in order to help remove air pockets ?

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

lol so you have been openign the cap instead of the bleed screw and you wonder why airsw in there? lol.

a tiny hole is ok to do. But tbh its not needed if the system is ok.

mine isn;t cos th eheadgaskets gone thus I have problems, chances are yours is the same.

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

no mofo i have not been opening the cap while the engine is running ,i know that would suck the air straight in to the system . i was opening it when the system was cold as you do when you have to top the water up Laughing

and i filled the system properly with the bleed screw open until water escapes from it while filling .

i seem to have an unusual problem with the system ,like a feckered bleed screw may be ??? sucking air in during running ,will try the bleed screw from the 1.8 rt ,in fact i might as well save for a new radiator

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

ok whatever.

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

ATTITUDE EHH ???? fine

i just went down there and saw a little drop of water by the bleed screw ,its deffo not airtight !!!!

got my bleed screw of the 1.8 rt ,the ruber ring on this is much wider than the one on the chamade, took the screw off topped the water level up with antifreeze water mixture untill it urges from the bleed screw hole put the new screw on cap on the tank
start up idle for 10 mins hardly reached the blue line ,took it for a spin the temp drops again on the gauge . came back let it idle a few more mins and the fan kicks in at blue line (feck)

the water level was still at max when i killed the engine ,its cooling down now i am expecting the water level to drop down a wee bit

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

probably got a low temp stat and switch.

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

stat is defo a 89degree one ,i bought it brand new

however the switch ,i dont know Rolling Eyes

it was there
would the switch on my 1.8 rt be the same by any chance???

Forum Moderator Joined: 02 Mar 2004 Posts: 19978

yeah it should be.

FCS Event Manager Joined: 04 Jan 2005 Posts: 3680

lol cant even get the bleed screw to turn on mine, its well stuck!

i flushed mine down the local bp garage, using thier water pump thingie heh, first flushed the heater matrix by itself, then took off the top hose off the rad and flushed that thru by aiming the hose down one of the expansion tank hoses put the top hose back on whilst the water was running and then made sure water was at the top of both expansion tank hoses when connecting them back to the tank whilst i had water running in to it.

arse about tit way of doing it but it seems to have worked, the temp on my hatch is where its meant to be and the heater is nice and hot Smile

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

my heater is running like a sauna mate ,no problems there ,its just the temp gauge seems to be playing up

may be having a false reading somehow as the fan takes orders from the switch rather then the temp sender hence its probably kicking in where its meant to be but the gauge shows it lower Rolling Eyes

Spammer Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 5717

after the bleed screw swap yesterday all seems to be fine the water level is steady and the pressure was gone after cooling the car down for 12 hours

the heat still feels a bit low though ,it might be due to winter and all