WATER PUMP FAILED i think

[chris0272]

Coolant alarm has been going off every now and again now for about a month so i have been topping up the coolant, then yesterday the temp sensor went up to 120 so i pulled over had a look and noticed that i had more coolant in the expansion tank than when i started. I have had a look this morning after it cooled down over night and have noticed that there is no coolant being returned to the expansion tank and that the coolant level was low again.

Thanks in advance

Chris

 

[Jerry*]

Not sure what the problem is to be honest, but I wouldn't be surprised that the level of coolant in the expansion tank had risen when it was hot... that's what its supposed to do!

As long as there is still coolant in there and you can keep topping it up then you should be okay. However, I would check the hoses surrounding the header tank for leaks and I would also consider booking it into a garage for a full pressure test of the coolant system too.

Its difficult to pinpoint a possible head gasket failure sometimes as you can find that the lost coolant is burned off through the engine and comes out as vapour from the exhaust.

Is the coolant left in the header tank discoloured at all?

J

 

[tophuh]

how and when does it begin to overheat? If it overheats right away it's more likely the thermostat stuck closed, if it overheats under load then more likely the waterpump. Either way the quickest way to check is pull the thermostat out, and while you're boiling the kettle to check if it opens in hot water, stick your finger in the hole where the stat used to sit and bend hook your finger around to the left.. you should be able to feel if your pump has broken up/spins freely.

Obviously do that when the engine is cold.. getting your finger stuck in a broken pump with hot coolant gushing out after you release the pressure can be quite painful..

 

[chris0272]

I have just replaced the thermostat as it was cheep and the temp guage went over again, and all the coolant has pi##ed all over the floor, i am getting no return water coming in from the top of the header tank and the water that was new pink coolant is now a grey coler and looks to be returning back into the tank from the bottom (exit).

 

[Hobbiniho]

I have just replaced the thermostat as it was cheep and the temp guage went over again, and all the coolant has pi##ed all over the floor, i am getting no return water coming in from the top of the header tank and the water that was new pink coolant is now a grey coler and looks to be returning back into the tank from the bottom (exit).

if the cooant is gray then i would suggest that you have headgasket failure, to confirm this you can get a sniffer test done at a garage, another way is to take the car for a run and get it up to temprature then stop and feel the top rad hose if it is rock solid then you are getting compression from the engine in the coolant and that would be caused by headgasket failure