simcor Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 Well just as I thought things were going well, noticed fan was on, did a regen earlier today so unlikely to be that, then noticed the whiff of coolant. Header tank almost empty but still showing normal on temp gauge. Had a quick look but it was dark so can't see anything, no obvious pools of coolant under car, so i have a leak somewhere no sure how big but guess what i am doing tomorrow. Fan stopped after a few minutes of parking up. I hate cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Think my radiator is knackered, can't see where it is leaking but there is a steady drip running off the crossmember under the radiator which must be getting worse while driving and expelling the coolant a lot faster. The temperature gauge as per most cars is useless, showing not even at normal at the half way point yet the dash computer shows engine temp at 120º double the reading of the gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dee_82 Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Dude, sorry to hear that, your really not having much luck at the moment. Trip to a scrappy perhaps? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 You're almost as unlucky as I am! That really sucks. :( The dash gauges in new cars are rubbish tbh, they stay at 'normal' so as not to worry the driver until it's dangerously high, but by then it's too late! Pressurised coolant doesn't boil until like 135c (depending on strength/age etc), but if you've got a leak and lost pressure that becomes irrelevant. Is there not a low level light on these? My fans were on almost all day yesterday, only ever hear them during regens usually, should probably check level on mine, forgot about it last night! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Got a new rad from car factors for £81.99 plus vat, only place I could get one from today, eurocarparts had one for £50 quid odd but none in stock and I need it today cause I need the car Monday for work, just annoying I have been off for the last two weeks on annual leave and it decides to do it last night. Looks a pig to get the radiator out to be honest. Headlights are out, grill off and coolant drained and hose coming from the block I assume the thermostat housing to the radiator off and intercooler top hose off so far. No I am not having much luck at all lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Careful with the grill, you probably already know but the key latch can fall apart on removal so I've read - the reason I battled with my rad fans instead of removing grill first, not much choice for the rad though. I don't want to come on here tomorrow and find that your bad luck continues with a bonnet stuck closed lol. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Not bad a bit over an hour since I started and radiator is out and fan assembly removed too, lots of bits removed to make the job as easy as I can. Not a job for the faint hearted to be fair, don't try this at home unless you are sure you can manage it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Just wish my ZTT was a runner as at least I would have a spare car lol Having said that had to walk 1.5 miles to my friends house to borrow her car to go and get the Radiator, it's a ................................... Vauxhall Astra estate lol She was not at home hence why I had to walk to get her car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Well new rad is fitted, all back together tested and ran with just plain water with the bit of coolant that was left in it, didn't want to waste new antifreeze just in case, seems to be holding level OK, so then drained it again and refilled with a proper mix of water and antifreeze. See how she goes but no drips from the bottom of the rad where it was before. Wasn't in the best condition to be fair so it's hardly a surprise. I did get my bonnet stuck closed as I did not heed Tom's warning about the lock mechanism, however found a guide on how ot get it open and managed to get it open and sort the lock mech out, so now bonnet opens and closes again. Temp on OBC is rising to 120-121º fairly constant and no fan coming on that I have noticed, not sure what the normal operating tempreture is on these but I would suspect around 120º to be about right, I know my ZTT was 105º and that engine was far too efficient in cooling hence pretty poor MPG, there were a number of people trying to raise the engine temp to around 115º or so. So fingers crossed another problem sorted, just hope it does not keep costing me money like it has done, the way I am going it will be nigh on a new car soon lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 I would say 5.5-6 hours actual work although I took quite a few breaks and had a couple of brews and stopped to check the forum etc plus a fair bit of time has been fixing the bonnet being stuck closed. I think if I had just cracked on I could have had it done in about 3-4 hours, but I wanted to be sure I checked everything including all hoses properly, I also tested the old rad but couldn't see any evidence of leaking, so it must have been leaking under pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Careful with the grill, you probably already know but the key latch can fall apart on removal so I've read - the reason I battled with my rad fans instead of removing grill first, not much choice for the rad though. I don't want to come on here tomorrow and find that your bad luck continues with a bonnet stuck closed lol. Lol I should have indeed listened and heeded your advice but alas I didn't and did get bonnet stuck but got it open and fixed so it's all gravy. With all the open heart surgery lately I have done on this car I think I might try on people next, after all how hard can it be? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Lol, I could do with a new set of guts, really getting fed up of IBS...reckon you could swap me a new set in? ;) Seriously though, nice one sorting the leak, hopefully there won't be anything else for a while!! I've just realised where you're reading that temp from, it's the dash 'trick' isn't it? It's 40c higher than the actual temperature. Don't ask me why but it always is for some reason. The thermostat opens at 83c so the coolant should sit around that, 85-90 I would expect. I don't know when the fans come on though, haven't tested that myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Lol, I could do with a new set of guts, really getting fed up of IBS...reckon you could swap me a new set in? ;) Seriously though, nice one sorting the leak, hopefully there won't be anything else for a while!! I've just realised where you're reading that temp from, it's the dash 'trick' isn't it? It's 40c higher than the actual temperature. Don't ask me why but it always is for some reason. The thermostat opens at 83c so the coolant should sit around that, 85-90 I would expect. I don't know when the fans come on though, haven't tested that myself. Yeah no problem your insides are probably less complicated than the radiator set up on these lol Yes it was from the dash trick, to be honest I would be more inclined for that to be the correct temperature rather than the gauge lol Hopefully it will be a good car for a while now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 85-90 would be too low a temp for optimal running. It would be far too thermodynamic ally efficient at that temp in my opinion 105 plus is the optimal temp for a diesel engine from memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Nope, you want the coolant around 90c in any engine, if you wanted it at 120 you'd make the stat stay closed until that point. 120c would be potentially boiling the coolant and not cool enough to remove heat from the head effectively, causing the head to warp or the gasket to fail. The oil shouldn't even be that hot until you're thrashing it on a track tbh. I can get out the OBD reader or FORScan to prove it if you like lol, mine sits at ~88c in live tests. Diesels do run cooler as they're more thermally efficient, but you don't want them any hotter than petrols. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 I am going to either tonight or tomorrow run the laptop with coolant temp showing and the dash reading and see if they compare and see if the needle stays at normal temp. Something I want to figure out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 Keep us updated with the result then. :) The needle will probably stay at normal...ignore it, it has very little to do with the actual temp lol. The only way to read the actual temp is through the OBD port, so laptop should do it. And as I say the dash is 40c out (well it is on the Mk2.5 dash so assume its the same). Took pics of it last time... That's 55c on a cold engine that hadn't been run for hours lol, 15c on the OBD reader. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Well yes it seems you are right Tom. Dash reporting on a cold engine 69º Coolant temp on Forscan engine off 29º Difference of 40º Temp readout on a drive while car was warming up. Max 85º Certainly seems all good and holding coolant level and temp is being maintained. Picture of the new rad with fan assembly fitted before it went back on the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simcor Posted August 29, 2015 Author Share Posted August 29, 2015 Dude, sorry to hear that, your really not having much luck at the moment. Trip to a scrappy perhaps? Yeah your probably right sending it to the scrap yard would be a great idea lol Oh I see what you mean't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomsFocus Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Nice to see it's sorted then! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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