Hi all could somebody help me I have just purchased a 2014 Transit Connect ltd with 52,000 on the clock and full service history. I noticed the water level on min today and the engine was cold so I opened the expansion tank lid and there was a lot of pressure in it and then the water level bubbled up and came back up to max. There is black soot mixed in with the coolant too. There is no cream or water in the oil it does not overheat at all and drives fantastic?? Could it be my thermostat? 

HI .i never got to the bottom of my problem and neither did two garages so i sold it cheap i had had enough . the new thermostat made not one jot of difference both garages tested the coolant for hydro carbons both tests were negative i strongly believe it had something to do with the EGR cooler but the lack of hydro carbons in the coolant who knows i replaced it with a vw transporter t5 and have never looked back . sorry i could not of been more help if you you solve it let us all know it would be interesting to find out

Thank you for your reply. I took it to Ford and they said possible head gasket failure and wanted £600 just to open it up and check! I am taking it to another garage Wednesday for them to check. I will keep everyone posted soon as I know. 

Quick update my van has been with a Ford specialist for 7 weeks now and they have replaced the head gasket and skimmed the head, new water pump, cam belt, fuel filter but now they can’t resolve an overboosting issue which puts the van straight into limp mode and the van never had this problem when it went in.  Can anyone help? It’s a 2014 transit connect Ltd 115bhp covered only 54,000.