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Car Forum / Peugeot Cars / March 2006Next - Low Coolant
Evening,, Those of you that have read the rest of my recent saga. They got the bolt out, he did the pump, the pulley and the timing belt. On my way home I was getting intermittant low coolant warning lights. It seemed to be following a pattern of kicking in when pulling off, disappearing through 2nd gear, then coming back for 3rd gear. I didn't get any faster than that. In the morning i'm due to do a 44 mile commute. I have been charged for anti-freeze so i'm assuming the guy put coolant in it. Its too dark to see the tank now so i'm lost again until morning.Is it actually possible that somehow a brand new water pump is leaking? That its not done up properly? Is this in any way normal? Yours, Fed up in Leicester. > Those of you that have read the rest of my recent saga. They got the bolt > out, he did the pump, the pulley and the timing belt. On my way home I was [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > actually possible that somehow a brand new water pump is leaking? That its > not done up properly? Is this in any way normal? Just remind us what car it is again? Sounds like basically they've left an air lock in the system. It also sounds like they're a bunch of clueless fucktards - there's no way in the world anyone should be using air tools to do up that crankshaft pulley bolt.  Signature<Advertise Here. e-mail SigAds [<at>] WhatTheFuck.TV for rates> >> Those of you that have read the rest of my recent saga. They got the bolt >> out, he did the pump, the pulley and the timing belt. On my way home I was [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > in the world anyone should be using air tools to do up that crankshaft > pulley bolt. Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? >>> I have been charged for anti-freeze so i'm assuming the guy put coolant >>> in it. Its too dark to see the tank now so i'm lost again until [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? Probably still some sort of air lock! Thinking about it, my limited knowledge actually means that knowing what car it is makes bugger all difference - just satisfies my curiosity! Signature<Advertise Here. e-mail SigAds [<at>] WhatTheFuck.TV for rates> > Probably still some sort of air lock! Thinking about it, my limited > knowledge actually means that knowing what car it is makes bugger all > difference - just satisfies my curiosity! So, on most cars i've seen/had the coolant tank has been clear with a max/min indicator, but the coolant tank on this car isn't like that. How can you check the level? What I do recall is that I used to be able to feel the fluid inside this little blank tank and now I can't. Desparately trying to understand whats going on here but pretty much clueless. Is this car going to start overheating once it gets warm now? >> Probably still some sort of air lock! Thinking about it, my limited >> knowledge actually means that knowing what car it is makes bugger all [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > understand whats going on here but pretty much clueless. Is this car > going to start overheating once it gets warm now? If it has no/low coolant in it, then *don't* take it for a 44 mile drive. If you do top it up and go then take lots of water and containers with you, and a charged up mobile! And the AA/RAC/Green Flag number. It may well overheat, but you may not see it on the dial. Depending where the temp sensor is, it might be measuring the coolant temperature some way away from the engine block - so if there isn't any coolant the heat won't travel well in air and the sensor will register stone cold. Been there, done that. Here's hoping it does have coolant in. Ring the bloke who did it and ask him. Why shouldn't he be disturbed for the evening as well as you? You could ask him about a courtesy car for you while he fixes it properly tomorrow as well... >>> Probably still some sort of air lock! Thinking about it, my limited >>> knowledge actually means that knowing what car it is makes bugger all [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Been there, done that. Was this with a French car? A Renault by any chance? > Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? The older 306 diesels needed a reservoir to be stuck in the top of the radiator and then the bleed screws opened to fill the coolant properly. If the HDIs need this is as well and it hasn't been done you will get air locks until it's done properly. John >> Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? > > The older 306 diesels needed a reservoir to be stuck in the top of the > radiator and then the bleed screws opened to fill the coolant properly. > If the HDIs need this is as well and it hasn't been done you will get > air locks until it's done properly. Well, this is presumably bourne out by the lower than normal level in the expansion tank. I took it for a quick warm up just now and think I managed to feel the top of the coolant level around the bottom of the expansion tank. I also noticed that the light was going out on hill climbs, and was always on on decent. And, just to top this all off, theres actually a vibration down in the area where the pulley/belt work has been done. Rev it, falls to idle, then a 1second zzzzt sound. I'm seriously considering paying another mechanic to check everything thats been done to my car in the past two days but I guess considering where all the kit is thats gonna cost me too. Did I mention its driving pretty much normal. Its just a car. Its just a car. Its just a car. > >> Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? > > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > expansion tank. I also noticed that the light was going out on hill > climbs, and was always on on decent. But surely you should have checked the coolant before the warm up. It won't take very far to blow the head gasket or somesuch. SignatureMalc >>>> Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? >>> The older 306 diesels needed a reservoir to be stuck in the top of the [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > But surely you should have checked the coolant before the warm up. It > won't take very far to blow the head gasket or somesuch. Agreed. I think i was beginning to lose my sense of rationality by that point. Turned out there was coolant in the radiator, and if there was air in the system it cleared, resulting in the low level. Topped it up this morning and the light went away, heater is fine - level hasn't gone down in the course of the day. So, provided the new timing kit doesn't fall off resulting in catastrophic failure, things are back to normal. Thanks to everybody that tried to help me over the course of the last few days - its far preferable to go in knowing something of what you're talking about. > Thanks to everybody that tried to help me over the course of the last few > days - its far preferable to go in knowing something of what you're > talking about. Indeed. Knowledge is good. But you had to make do with what we told you, but if it works for you..... :-) Signature<Advertise Here. e-mail SigAds [<at>] WhatTheFuck.TV for rates> >>> Those of you that have read the rest of my recent saga. They got the >>> bolt out, he did the pump, the pulley and the timing belt. On my way [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? I recently changed the radiator on a 1998 306 NA Diesel (not exactly the same as an HDi - but probably similar). I'll give you some of my experiences which may or may not help. It sounds to me like an airlock, as others have said. Inside the expansion tank are 2 markers cut out of a vertically oriented flat bit of plastic. They aren't labelled max and min as such but this is a sort of arrangement they'll be in. Please excuse my lack of ASCII drawing skill. ___ max | _____|_______ water level | |__ min The idea being that if you can't see the top one you've got too much and if you can't see the bottom one you haven't got enough. A wee torch would probably help, even if it's light. I got airlocks when I changed the rad as the heater matrix is a good bit higher than the expansion tank. The cooling system on yours will have been drained to change the water pump. Did you notice the heater working when the engine warmed up? If not, this points further to an airlock. In my case, I removed the unwanted air by running the engine with the heater bleed screw open (found on the bulkhead where the heater feed and return go through) till coolant came out. Then closing the bleed screw, topping up the expansion bottle as necessary, going for a drive and checking the coolant level again. I'd try and get it sorted before you drive any distance rather than risk expensive overheating damage. SignatureDouglas [...cooling woe...] >> Sounds like basically they've left an air lock in the system. Yup, it sure does. >> It also sounds like they're a bunch of clueless fucktards - there's >> no way in the world anyone should be using air tools to do up that >> crankshaft pulley bolt. Nothing I've heard of them instils confidence. :( > Its a 306 HDI from '99. So.. now what? Refilling a cooling system can leave air trapped in the highest parts, which is not good as it does not do much cooling. You need two things: o The air out of your cooling system. o Trading standards on your side. Bleeding air from the cooling system is car specific but normally involves bleed valves at the highest points... Don't drive far till it's fixed! A > Evening,, > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Yours, > Fed up in Leicester. probably a trapped bit of air has come to the top, this means the level goes down, slopping the coolant about by accelerating makes the light go on and off, likewise higher revs tend to raise the level a bit, presumably due to turbulence effects, either way, top up the coolant with some water or antifreeze, if it takes more than a litre or so then it should be investigated, if it is just a bit down and there is no subsequent level changes then it will be fine. These are the reasons I always prefer to drive a car about for a while after major work BEFORE returning it to the customer, that way I get the niggles, not the customer. mrcheerful |
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