Water Pouring Out

[gemini]

Apologies that my first post is a problem!

So, picked up my replacement Puma on Friday 1 April (real ironic, right?) no problems with it, runs really well.

Have so far driven less than 100 miles since then - mostly work and back (30 miles round trip). Coming home this evening and realised after abour 4 or 5 miles that 1) heater was blowing cold and 2) temp guage was in the red. Now, I have history with this (with 2 Rovers) so within less than 100 yards I pulled over into a car park and called my b-in-law from whom I'd bought the car. Yes, he IS very honest and honourable and came right out to me.

He poured a lot of water in, started her up and then water started pouring out. Obviously, couldn't see from where. Anyway, he nursed her home stopping just once - about 5 miles on - to top up. My sister & I were following right behind and from then on, we could see (for a while, then it stopped) water coming out. Managed to get home (about another 5m) without any overheating by switching engine off now and again and coasting. Engine still sounded fine.

Put her up on ramps, topped her up, engine on and NOTHING. Not even a drip. Ran it for about 30 minutes off and on, temp guage remaining at the halfway point. We wondered if it was because of the slight incline and dropped down to level. Still nothing.

(Now, at this point I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the aircon that I had regassed at Kwikfit two days earlier...)

So, still level, we switched the aircon on. No drips still BUT engine started going into the red again, pretty quickly.

B-in-law, who knows his stuff, is flummoxed. No leak now, no drips, engine staying cool until that.

Any sensible ideas? Car has done about 97k. Cam belt was done less than 10k ago. We don't think it's the HCV.

[btmaldon]

The favourite to go on the Puma is the Heater Control Valve. You should see two pipes going to it and it sits in the middle/right on top of the bulkhead just behind the engine. These tend to become brittle after a time and need changing regularly as they either break up or the solenoid jams.

Also check the hoses from this to the back of the engine and the hoses to and from the thermostat on the right hand side of the engine as you look at it from the front.

These also have a habit of blowing out the core plugs which are fitted between the spark plugs in the head. However if it were one of these the car would have spluttered to a halt with the leads and plugs getting covered in coolant.

Good luck and let us know how you got on.

[gemini]

Hi there.

Thanks for your note. We discounted the Heater Control (that went on my first Puma).

My b-in-law spent hours online trying to find a reason / solution and also came up with the thermostat seal. That was replaced yesterday, he ran the car for about 20 minutes with no water leaking, no overheating. And then we went for a drive in it and half a mile up the road, indicator crept into the red. Pulled over, let a bit of steam out of the expansion tank, and we carried on. Took it for a 20 mile round trip and seems to be all okay.

I'll keep an eye on both coolant level and temp guage over next couple of weeks, but fingers crossed that's cured it.

The only thing now, bizarrely, is that the aircon which was regassed on Saturday, working on Monday, is now not working. Any ideas?

[btmaldon]

Most likely thing with the aircon working after a top up and then not is that you have a leak in the system. Ive got the same problem with my wifes SportKA where its fine for few weeks and goes.

Older car aircon systems usually start to leak after a while and the only way to find where the leak is, is to put some dye in the system when you top it up. Probably best get a specialist to look at it if you really want to get it working.

[gemini]

I called Kwikfit (who did the job on Saturday) and they said that their equipment may not have detected a tiny leak in the system and I'm taking it back to them this Saturday. Let's hope it works for a bit longer this time or I may get to know them pretty well!

All best.

[daniel1987]

Did they fix the problem for you in the end as I think I've got a similar issue?