Ford Fiesta major problem

[mk488uk]

Hi all,

This is my 1st post on the forum. I have been looking at this for a few months now and decided it was time to join, mainly to see if I could get some help.

As you are all aware the past month has been !Removed! freezing! I past my test in October last year and got my 1st car. a p reg ford fiesta. I must admit I am absolutely clueless when it comes to cars, other then checking my oil and filling up with petrol at the local petrol station im pretty stupid. But I am hoping with time this gets better.

I went to my car last Friday after not using it for 3 days. Engine started fine. Started scraping ice of my windows and noticed a weird sound coming from the engine like a tapping noise. Opened the bonnet and my timing belt was smoking underneath and I could smell rubber burning. Turned the car of left it for 3 days as my dad had a look and reckons there was ice on it so it wasn’t connecting properly?? Anyway had another look on Sunday and my engine coolant was completely frozen? After numerous internet searches I have found out this is because I have not been putting anti freeze in with the water. Which I now know that was a bad idea. But nobody told me to put it in and I just assumed water was ok.

After looking around on the internet im still unsure what to do. The car park is about 50 feet away from the house so I can not get any heater to the car. I really don’t know what to do and I need my car to get to work

I need some ideas about what I can do and what sort of damage it will do in the long run. The local garage is about a 5 minute drive away.

Please help :( I really don’t know what to do and im getting a bit stressed out over it now!!

Hope you can help.

Thanks

Mark

one more thing the belt is no longer smoking and the car has started 1st time with no issues

[stef123]

hello and welcome to the forum :)

the belt you reffer to, are you sure its the timing belt? if this was stuck some how i would expect it to snap or knock the timing out.

I think the belt you seen the smoke coming from is the auxilliary belt, drives the alternator, water pump etc. and if you car has no anti freeze in it, the coolant freezes which in turn will freeze the water pump and the belt will be rubbing against this very hard as it cant turn and results in the smoke you seen.

unless it warms up outside quite soon, i cant really see anyway that you can replace the coolant.

what engines does your car have? i think they might have timing chains for your year...

[mk488uk]

hi thanks for the quick replay

my engine is a 1.25 zetec. the belt is on the left hand side of the engine if you are stading in front of the car. when i turned it on even when it was smoking it was still going around fine.

[stef123]

hi thanks for the quick replay

my engine is a 1.25 zetec. the belt is on the left hand side of the engine if you are stading in front of the car. when i turned it on even when it was smoking it was still going around fine.

just to clarify, your car does actually have a timing belt.

if the belt is clearly visible then its the auxilliary belt. it should be a ribbed belt. the timing belt will be a toothed belt.

[mk488uk]

ok thanks.

if i could get a hair dryer on the coolant would this work? or failing that if i just have to wait for a couple of weeks for the weather to heat up what damage do you think it may of done?

[stef123]

ok thanks.

if i could get a hair dryer on the coolant would this work? or failing that if i just have to wait for a couple of weeks for the weather to heat up what damage do you think it may of done?

a hair dryer might work, although personally i would maybe try to heat the expansion tank first (unless its already melted) and then drain it and fill it with nothing but antifreeze. that would hopefully then start to work its way into the system and melt some of the ice. but thats only an idea...

It would be very difficult to say what damage it may have caused but whatever you do, do not run the engine until you are sure the coolant has all melted!! the last thing you want to do is cook the engine!

[mk488uk]

ok thanks. is the expansion tank where i normally put the coolant in?

[stef123]

ok thanks. is the expansion tank where i normally put the coolant in?

yes thats the one.

im not sure exactly what coolant your car should take but once its all melted, i stronly suggest you either change it or have it changed.

let us know how you get on. you might be there a while with the good old hair dryer though

While you are there, inspect the belt for signs of wear/cracking. it may have been damaged, especially if it was smoking.

[Jonny87]

If you come away from this without having ruined the engine you are very lucky indeed.

I agree with what stef said regarding what you should do, but if the water froze inside your engine as well as in the tank then you could have untold problems. GL

[calmcdermott]

My boyfriends car did this, he didnt find out till he was on the motorway and had to pull into the service station with the red over heating light on, he bought some anti-freeze and poured it into the coollant, coz it is heavier than the water it went straight through the system and 'melted' the ice, he waited for about half an hour then his car was fine again, not a problem since.

[FMC]

Welcome :)

Hairdryer won;t help to melt any ice in the engine.

It's going to need DAYS of warm temperature to thaw out completely. Only then will you be able to tell if it's completely knackered or not i reckon :(

Do you have AA/RAC cover?? I'd try giving them a ring in the first instance and ask what they advise doing. Get a mechanic (AA or otherwise) to look at it asap.

And put this down to experience..

By the way, just becasue "nobody told you" something needs doing regarding car maintenance doesn't mean it doesn't need to be done ;) My advice to you is look through the owner's manual and read about maintenance or get yourself a Haynes manual (try Halfords) and learn about the basics :)

GL!

[stef123]

if you can leave the hairdryer blasting on the engine for a long enough period of time just to take the chill off, i reckon it will work. failing that maybe a heat gun?

[mk488uk]

hi

thanks for all the replys! the weather is warming up a little bit now and is out of the minus anyway :) im going to try and flush the system once it all thaws out. im thinking maybe to remove the expansion tank and let it thaw out in the hosue then reconnect it and flush the system out with anti freeze. my uncle mentioned that when ice gets in the engine and thaws out there are 4 little bungs on the side of the engine that can pop out as a safety measure. i have looked and there is nothing on the floor underneath the car and it has not been drove since the icy conditions sop this has not happened. fingers crossed it might be ok. hopefully the guy before me put some anti freeze in!

lesson most definatly learnt

i will let you all know how i get on

:)