Hubble Bubble Toil and Trouble....

**TenaciousC** · Saturday 17th January 2009, 16:36

Hi All,

Just came back from a test drive of my new Powerflex bushes. Pushed the car quite hard. (They were good!) When I got back I noticed a bubbling sound from under the bonnet.

Opened the bonnet to find coolant bubbling away in the expansion bottle. Some was leaking out the top.

Water temperature meter inside read normal (centre).

I squeezed the fat pipe going to the top of the radiator and it appeared to be empty and not hot.

I think this may have been going on for a while, as I often have to top up the coolant.

Is this the characteristics of a faulty thermostat? Strange that the dashboard meter does not read higher. Anyone else experienced similar?

Cheers

C

**wegal** · Saturday 17th January 2009, 17:52

Dodgy stat or blown head gasket are the two normal causes of bubbling water, you may also have an air lock, but why that should just happen i dont know.

Check stat first ..... thats easy and cheap.... if its not that then get the engine compression tested.

**TenaciousC** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 00:47

OH GOD NO! NOT THE HEAD GASKET! That's a job a don't want to repeat in a hurry! I think compression is OK, engine cranks over smoothly. Fingers crossed it's not that.

I just remembered that I didn't see the electric cooling fan on. Also what about the water pump?

Cheers

C

**TenaciousC** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 09:43

THERE IS MAYO ON THE END OF THE DIPSTICK!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!

I checked the thermostat ..... The previous owner had had it removed..... Just the sealing washing remained. Me thinks this is why it was sold.

So I have another cylinder head job in less then a year on two 850 cars which had both done less than 150K miles. One has the question the reliability of these engines. My other cars have all been japanese and all have done far more mileage without any major issues.

I am extremely displeased :-(

C

**TenaciousC** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 10:52

OK sorry for my last rant. Have decided I am not going to do this myself. It's too time consuming. Does anyone know anyone in Warrington area who would do this job (and do it well!)?

**Yosser** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 11:20

Originally Posted by TenaciousC

THERE IS MAYO ON THE END OF THE DIPSTICK!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!

I'm not sure about why the car is boiling over, but emulsification (mayo) in the dipstick tube is quite common in cold weather.

Is there any sign of oil in the coolant?

**TenaciousC** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 13:52

Originally Posted by Yosser

Is there any sign of oil in the coolant?

No sign of oil in the coolant..... but I now know what is causing the problem ... and thank you so much Yosser for pointing out that emulsified oil is normal in these cars. Were it not for that piece of information I would be taking the engine apart unnecessarily -or worse still paying someone to do it!

So the problem was that the cooling system was not pressurizing - Due to a crappy cap on the expansion tank. I recently purchased a scrap expansion tank because the original appeared to be leaking at the side. This would have been causing the same symptoms only less dramatically - which explains why I had to keep topping up the coolant.

It seems the cap was faulty on the new tank. I put cap from the old tank back on and, hey presto! The system pressurized and coolant was able to get to the radiator via the thermostat and temperature sensor (which now activates the radiator fan fine).

So the previously owner (who was obviously employing a dodgy mechanic or was a total loser), solved the problem of a leaky expansion tank by removing the thermostat!

So now with a thermostat and a pressurized system the engine heats to the correct temperature and the needle stays dead centre.... instead of below. So I look forward to improved fuel economy as a result. I am so pleased that the threat of £1000 garage bill has receded.

What of the mayo in the oil??? Is it safe to leave a few months until next oil change is due?

Cheers

C

**Yosser** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 14:02

Originally Posted by TenaciousC

What of the mayo in the oil??? Is it safe to leave a few months until next oil change is due?

I *think* it should be ok, as long as it's just the build up you get in the dipstick tube.

Once the car gets used for a longer trip and/or the ambient temperature increases then it should disappear.

Keep an eye on things just in case

**Tomcat** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 14:09

Glad you got it sorted, there's nothing worse than discovering your pride and joy needs the best part of a grand spending on it to put it right.

**zoomungus** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 19:57

glad it was not your head gasket mate

**nathT5** · Sunday 18th January 2009, 20:13

most of the cars ive had have had mayo on the dipstick and filler cap, i just ignore it now.
these rumors of headgasket failier only came from non-mechanical idiots on the wheeler dealer tv shows.

if it aint broke, dont fix it.