ok ,had enough now..need help!..RESOLVED!

[joey]

this morning just in the throes of finishing fitting acemans bushes..(work great no rocking seats!)

I heard a hiss and watched a load of coolant drain out from under the front of the car and steam rise from out of the parrot grills..I had just been to B&Q and back to buy a new ratchet handle, a drive of about 10 mins and then the car was sat for maybe 10 mins before this happened.

shrugged and finished the seats....

after my recent problems I am at the end of my tether.

I have just re-dyed the roof fixed the seats re-proofed the hood and have chips away coming tuesday to bring the car back to A1

and then this happens...

so chaps probable causes?

i'm hoping not rad but it may well be, expansion tank is still half full but this doesn't rule it out and it could be a hose?

I really need this fixed as cost effectively as possible so a heads up on parts would be great especially from anyone [USERGROUP=12][USERGROUP=12][USERGROUP=12]@M44 Massive[/USERGROUP][/USERGROUP][/USERGROUP]

I have my mechanic coming early week to diagnose but thought I would see if any of you wonderful people could help me with that...

I am based in guildford so anyone that understands coolant systems that has the time to swing by and have a gander would be most helpful!

thanks all...

and Gaz i'm aware this should really be in the other section but it will get more views initially in GB..hopefully i will have had some help by the time you move it!

p.s both the water pump and thermostat where changed last service and are new..

 

[t-tony]

Hi Joey, sorry mate but I'm up in Lincoln so can't come to look but first thing I would be checking, in view of the fact you've changed the stat and pump, is the pressure relief cap. Then hoses rad.etc.
Hope this might help mate,good luck, Tony.

 

[GazHyde]

Joey,

Do you have any idea where the steam was coming from? Obvious things to check are the rubber hoses, but I'm guessing it may need to get up to temperature and steam again to see where it's coming from.

Hoping its an easy fix for you!

Gary (leaving the thread alone )

 

[badman gee]

Poor sod I sympathise

 

[zedonist]

Worst case

Rad or water pump or expansion tank

Not so bad

Thermostat

Not not so bad

Burst or loose hose

Fill it up with water, start engine and see where it comes from

 

[joey]

Will get to this tomorrow hopefully.

It's had new water pump and thermostat recently . . Within 6 months in fact so I'm hoping not that ..

Fingers crossed it's a loose or perished hose..

Will let you know what I find..

 

[zedonist]

It's a good chance of a hose these cars are old now, rubber perishes

 

[Aceman]

Firstly great to hear you got the bushes fitted ok but not so with the coolant leak. I tend to agree it is most likely a hose that has burst probably where a jubilee clip is as that is the usual culprit where the rubber hose perishes more with it being under compression. Hopefully this will turn out to be an easy fix but it is food for thought for all of us to maybe consider some preventative maintenance and start replacing coolant hoses where we can ow our cars are reaching that age.

 

[zedonist]

I have been looking at aluminium pipes to add a little bling, I have the demon tweeks catalogue, so will start to measure up pipe sizes and bends

 

[t-tony]

But surely you will still need rubber or silicone connectors? Either way these would look cool around the engine bay.

Cheers,Tony.

 

[zedonist]

Yeah I have had a look at samco couplers, you could just do samco coloured hoses, but I think polished pipes looks nicer.

 

[GazHyde]

Off topic posts moved...

 

[jonco]

................

Fill it up with water, start engine and see where it comes from

Agreed - by the morning it should have dried out. Any coolant will have started to crystallize as white/green powder deposits at leak point so have a look for this telltale.

 

[joey]

have just got back and there is a nice wet patch under the car, the expansion tank is still halfway and has not moved from earlier level...

the fact that it went Hiss and then dumped a considerable amount of water in a short time leads me to believe this is a hose come loose, as I can't imagine the rad dropping so much water so quickly unless we are talking a catastrophic failure, it all leads to hoses and given the weather and last weeks failure of the heater matrix hose leading to an overheat i'm leaning more towards this.

I am going to look for a coolant system overhaul vid on youtube so I can get an idea of the layout of the hoses...any pics you have that may shed light would help...I was green with Car stuff a while ago, i'm putting money on me knowing my way around this car very well in the very near future..

infuriating to say the least..

 

[zedonist]

Well it sounds like a top level hose, if the expansion level has not dropped, there are a number at the front, some round the plenum chamber, and of course the heater matrix

 

[joey]

That's exactly what I thought as the leak has to be above the coolant level in the expansion tank..

Laws of physics! ..

Will be investigated at length tomorrow. .

Hoping for an easy fix..

 

[joey]

have ben doing a bit of research, and i'm afraid its all doom and gloom...

this is what I think has really happened.

1) car overheats last week due to the failure of the pipe connector some **shole uses to fix rather than replace the heater matrix hose.

2)head gasket develops a tiny leak as a result, not enough to cause the normal problems, white smoke milky oil etc, but the problem is there, (I have to admit the idle is slightly rougher on start up but then its an M44..rough idle is part of the charm..!)

3) head gasket leak pressurises the coolant system causing the next weakest component/hose/clamp whatever to fail...the hiss and dropping of coolant 15 mins after the ignition has been switched off leads me to believe there IS excess pressure in the system.

I have a feeling that when I find and diagnose this coolant system failure it will be fine for a while and then it will fail in another place I will then know for sure.

I come to this conclusion simply because I don't believe in coincidences... a car that has run close to 30k in a year without engine problems of any kind overheats and blows a hose twice in 10 days?....the second leak is somehow connected to the first and is simply more then perished hoses...its just to much of a coincidence for my liking.

bottom line I am in for either a very expensive repair or scrapping the car.

a real shame if I have to do that, but a word of warning to you all

check your hoses! and keep an eye on the temp gauge...

a 50p hose connector has likely destroyed a perfectly good car with only 72k on the clock.

and sadly if this is likely the case I will not buy another Z....I love them but cannot afford the kind of expense this has involved compared to buying the Saab 93 that was originally on the list of cars I might buy.

second in fact behind the Z!

as it is I have no drivable car and no money to buy a replacement so have to somehow sort this, I am thinking a complete rebuild would be cheaper than a new car and I can probably replace the hoses and pipes whilst at it.

£1500 though

ouch.

any thoughts much appreciated...


as you can imagine I am absolutely gutted.

BTW gaz I will be in Swindon on weds..(in the wife's civic..)

I could do with a coffee and a biscuit!


cheers all

Joe

 

[zedonist]

Joe,

The coolant system is always under pressure so this may not be a head gasket issue, do you have oil,in your water?

Secondly, even if it is a head gasket issue, it should not cost you £1500, it is a six hour job max in labour and pats would be about £65, even a head skim, which I don't think you would need, would only be a mother £100, so at max it would be £500 to fix at a garage, or £165 if you did it your self.

Let's hope it's just a hose.

 

[GazHyde]

BTW gaz I will be in Swindon on weds..(in the wife's civic..)

I could do with a coffee and a biscuit

I'm about most of the day except between 2 and 5 in the afternoon. Be glad to see you if that fits in with your schedule!

 

[Brian H]

Hi Joey ,

Had a similar problem a few years back with my M44, turned out to be the radiator had split behind the expansion tank. The car was sat for 10mins ticking over, then all of a sudden steam everywhere.

I posted on a thread the other day where a fellow member had had similar issues, turned out to be the rad too. Let's hope this is a simple fix for you Joey.

If you fill the coolant system up with water does it empty quickly? Can you see where it is coming from?

Good luck.