Hello all,

We have a 2007 Ford Fiesta Zetec S (1.6 TDCI).

Today I started it up no trouble, parked it on the drive and shut off the engine (all in all a 30 second drive). 20 mins later I tried to start her up again and she struggled a lot, and finally sputtered out some life.

We took it for a spin to the shops as we needed some essentials and thought we would have a look under the bonnet to check for abnormalities, turns out the coolant (very bright pink in colour) can be seen bubbling accross the top of the coolant bottle (in the corner where the black pipe is leading out of) when the engine is revved above 2000rpm. I haven't ever noticed this before but then again we have never tested it like that before. There is also a whining noise but I think that may just be the turbo.

Considering the car is a diesel, the coolant is very pink (not brown) and there is no leak or overheating problems, could this actually be the head gasket or could it be something a lot less daunting?

Many thanks in advance for any help.

I have uploaded a video of the issue to the file hosting site tinyupload:

http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=78214627203073076986

3 hours ago, snodge182 said:

turns out the coolant (very bright pink in colour) can be seen bubbling accross the top of the coolant bottle (in the corner where the black pipe is leading out of)

The colour is correct for Ford long life anti-freeze. It should be a bright pinky-orangey colour.

I have not tried the rev test, as it needs two people, but I suspect it may be correct. Looking at the pipework, the vent pipe shorts out the thermostat, so with the stat closed there can be quite a strong flow back to the reservoir.

If gas is being forced through the CH gasket into the coolant, then gas and some coolant will be forced out of the vent cap on the reservoir. My Hillman Imp used to make rude noises as gas burped out of the radiator cap from that cause. If the coolant level is not dropping, then it is unlikely you have a CH problem.

Difficulty starting a diesel is most often cased by a bit of air getting into the fuel lines. If it persists, change the fuel filter first. Then look for any other problems, like cracks, in the fuel supply line from the tank to the high pressure diesel pump. But never interfere with any of the high pressure (metal) fuel pipes unless you absolutely know there is a problem, and know how to work on these critical pipes & fittings.

 

13 hours ago, Tdci-Peter said:

The colour is correct for Ford long life anti-freeze. It should be a bright pinky-orangey colour.

I have not tried the rev test, as it needs two people, but I suspect it may be correct. Looking at the pipework, the vent pipe shorts out the thermostat, so with the stat closed there can be quite a strong flow back to the reservoir.

If gas is being forced through the CH gasket into the coolant, then gas and some coolant will be forced out of the vent cap on the reservoir. My Hillman Imp used to make rude noises as gas burped out of the radiator cap from that cause. If the coolant level is not dropping, then it is unlikely you have a CH problem.

Difficulty starting a diesel is most often cased by a bit of air getting into the fuel lines. If it persists, change the fuel filter first. Then look for any other problems, like cracks, in the fuel supply line from the tank to the high pressure diesel pump. But never interfere with any of the high pressure (metal) fuel pipes unless you absolutely know there is a problem, and know how to work on these critical pipes & fittings.

 

Thank you Tdci-Peter,

So the bubbling is quite normal for these cars and isn't any indication of a problem/fault?

Also, is there any way to test to see if there is a fault within the cooling/water system?

It doesn’t sound to me like there is any obvious indication of a problem. There is a test that checks the coolant for combustion gas which it would contain if head gasket gone but I understand it is not so reliable a test for diesel compared to petrol, I think I read. Keep an eye on coolant level . And check oil is not getting coolant in it (oil going creamy grey)

4 hours ago, isetta said:

It doesn’t sound to me like there is any obvious indication of a problem. There is a test that checks the coolant for combustion gas which it would contain if head gasket gone but I understand it is not so reliable a test for diesel compared to petrol, I think I read. Keep an eye on coolant level . And check oil is not getting coolant in it (oil going creamy grey)

Thank you isetta, I tried to check the oil cap but couldn't get the blasted thing off. I'm going to see if I can use a spanner to help unscrew the cap.

Coolant reservoir cap was the same but I managed to use a rag to help get grip on it, the oil cap doesn't have a lot of access in comparison though 😞

So I have just taken the oil cap off and it all looks perfect in there, I haven't had the car long but it looks like new oil in there.

My assumption so far is that either the fuel filter or the glow plugs need changing for the difficulty starting up.

 

On the odd occasion, usually when I start it up a couple seconds after turning the engine off the "Engine System Fault" light comes on. To make it go away I shut down the engine and wait a minute or two before starting it up again and its gone. Could this be related to the difficulty I had starting it yesterday?

It has started up first try today and all other times I've used it I've never had any trouble starting, it was just that one time yesterday it didn't want to start and was sputtering :S

2 hours ago, snodge182 said:

So I have just taken the oil cap off and it all looks perfect in there, I haven't had the car long but it looks like new oil in there.

My assumption so far is that either the fuel filter or the glow plugs need changing for the difficulty starting up.

 

On the odd occasion, usually when I start it up a couple seconds after turning the engine off the "Engine System Fault" light comes on.

If one of the warning lights comes on, you need to get a diagnostic tool hooked up to read the codes. It is the only way to start to find out what is wrong. These tools are cheap and widely available. Though the best one, especially for some of the more obscure faults that can be behind the Engine System Fault lamp, is Forscan. Costs about £20 to £30 for the ELM327 adapter and an App, or free download for Windows.

It could be a low fuel pressure warning, which could be caused by a clogged filter or leaks in the fuel system. But there are loads of other possibilities.

In the picture below, the hose you noted at the reservoir is the vent from the thermostat, which goes to the cylinder block before the thermostat valve, so air bleeds out when filling. So with the stat closed and revving the engine, the water pump will push water back through this hose, which then returns down to the radiator, as I expected. So there is no evidence I can see for CH problems.

Pic is from https://ford.7zap.com/en/car/54/no/16/1552/15408/66989/

If your coolant is bubbling, I've seen the short vid, it's an indication that your head gasket has failed across one of the waterways to an exhaust valve and the difficult starting suggests that an amount of coolant is getting onto one of the pistons into the bore. Take the cap off the expansion bottle when the engine is cold and if there is a sort of 'rainbow' film on the top of the coolant, that is oil. If you leave it long enough before investigating it further you will find that the coolant mixing with the engine oil will eventually create a creamy foam in the rocker cover, you would see that as it would be sticking to the underside of the filler cap. If none of the above you have back pressure issues in the cooling system. 

On 5/2/2020 at 10:13 PM, Tdci-Peter said:

If one of the warning lights comes on, you need to get a diagnostic tool hooked up to read the codes. It is the only way to start to find out what is wrong. These tools are cheap and widely available. Though the best one, especially for some of the more obscure faults that can be behind the Engine System Fault lamp, is Forscan. Costs about £20 to £30 for the ELM327 adapter and an App, or free download for Windows.

It could be a low fuel pressure warning, which could be caused by a clogged filter or leaks in the fuel system. But there are loads of other possibilities.

In the picture below, the hose you noted at the reservoir is the vent from the thermostat, which goes to the cylinder block before the thermostat valve, so air bleeds out when filling. So with the stat closed and revving the engine, the water pump will push water back through this hose, which then returns down to the radiator, as I expected. So there is no evidence I can see for CH problems.

Pic is from https://ford.7zap.com/en/car/54/no/16/1552/15408/66989/

Thank you Tdci-Peter, that really helps. It's good to know that more than anything this is most probably the engine functioning correctly.

Thank you also Milkman, I'll do the check on the rainbow coolant surface and see if anything shows up, just in case.

This is such a relief, I thought the car was giving up on me or something!