Fiesta 1.5 diesel losing water

[jeepster]

Hi all, my partner has a 1.5 diesel 2014 reg, we bought it about a month ago, its high mileage at 70k,

when we went to view it had a few minor scratches but had a full service history

i was concerned about the cam belt so the dealer agreed to change the belt and water pump.

 

i drove the car home and haven't driven it since but my partner has used it on a daily basis and has covered around 300 miles in about 6 weeks

anyhow, when she got back last night she said the engine cooling fan had been on constantly on her 10 mile journey home, i went out and looked at the car and the coolant had dropped by about 2 inches since i checked it last around 4 weeks ago.

I topped up the coolant, this morning i went to check the car and it appears to have lost approx 1cm of coolant, when i took it for a drive it was fine whilst it was cold but as soon as it reached temperature the cooler fan came on, i also notice some smoke from the exhaust when accelerating which it didn't do when it was cold.

there is no oil in the water or water in the oil.

Could the loss of cool and and the smoking be related. i am hoping that the coolant loss is something to do with the cam belt change

I have called the dealer and he has asked us to take it back to him, but I thought i would ask the questions on here first.

I cant believe that when i called the dealer he said he only gives 28 days warranty but he will look at it for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ticktock]

I'd say that the smoke and water are connected. As the engine heats up the metal expands and that may be enough to allow water to creep through a minute crack. What colour smoke is it? If blue then oil is getting burnt, if white then water is getting into the combustion chamber creating white smoke.

[isetta]

It could be as described above.

or it could be that the water pump replacement was not done very well and is leaking (hard to see with the timing belt covers in place).

on my 1.6tdci which is very similar engine I had a gradual intermittent water leak which was from the thermostat cover. That is on the gearbox end of the engine towards the top and is plastic. The modern use of plastic for such parts annoys me because the plastic can warp and hence leak. In the old days such a part would be metal and they never seemed to deform.  I could not find the leak until I put Radweld in it. Radweld worked intermittently but it was helpful as the red staining from the radweld leaking enabled me to spot where the leak was

[jeepster]

hi, thanks for the input, i am just looking for advice before we return it to the dealers, i dont think its head gasket because i drove it  this morning on a fast a road at about 70 mph for about 10 miles, when i got back the fan was running, but there was no bubbling in the expansion tank and the rad hoses weren't rock hard.

also it didn't lose any water, last night when it was standing it lost about 1cm from the expansion tank.

i need to ring my local indy and see if they can do a sniff test, i am going to top up the coolant again tonight and check what the level is in the morning.

when i checked the coolant yesterday the filler cap separated into 2 pieces. i have heard that these caps cause problems,

 

 

 

[dave_k]

Has the water pump been replaced for certain? Or do you just have his word? If it has, was it a genuine ford? The cheap rubbish from motor factors are generally poor quality, you could be getting it changed again soon...

[isetta]

In relation to dake_k reply above.

Yes, I am always telling people this. So many people replace the water pump whenever the timing belt is done. I know that it can make sense due to the amount of work involved in changing the water pump at a later date. but the original ford pump might carry on working (and not leaking) longer than a cheap replacement, so using a cheap replacement can be worse than not changing the water pump

[Mark93]

9 hours ago, jeepster said:

I cant believe that when i called the dealer he said he only gives 28 days warranty but he will look at it for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sure with any car you buy comes with a standard 3 month guarantee unless it from a dodgy car sales place? My first car I didn't buy any extended warranties or anything on it as I do all my own work on my car and the clutch went after like 2 months and 29 days or something. I thought I'd give the dealer a call and see what sort of drive away warranty I had on it and they said 3 months! I was over the moon! I was within by like a day or 2 and it saved me having to do it myself

An even still any parts they have fitted should come with a 12 month guarantee?

[jeepster]

Quote

hi all, well the car dealer has stamped the service booklet, and has given me the receipt for the replacement parts, I cant see why he would lie, I bought one of those head gasket tester kits and it gave a negative result, but I am  taking  it to our local garage next week and they can do a proper test for us, then its back to the garage where we bought it from as its lost about 2cm of coolant since last Saturday. I have had a look around the engine and cant see any leaks, but there isn't a lot of space in the engine bay.

It may well be the head gasket, if it is then the garage will have to fix it or at least cover the labour costs

I

[Luke4efc]

If it's within 30 days of owning it throw the keys back to the dealer and get a refund. If not then they have to fix it within 6 months of purchase. It's up to them to prove the fault has developed since you've bought it, not the other way around as most think.

It's under the Consumer Rights Act brought in 2015. This website voes into it quite well http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/the-second-hand--car-i-bought-has-a-problem-what-are-my-rights

It's not just backstreet dealers that try it on with you. I've been through this with Arnold Clarke.