Car Trouble – Help!!

Hope someone can help….

I broke down on the way home last night as the temp rose and I lost power. Checked coolant and empty. Refilled and drove home.

This morning there is water all over the floor and obviously a leak. Can anyone identify the part below for me? Is it the Thermostat?

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Note_20130830_081638_02[1][/url] by Lako42[/url], on Flickr

Thanks

Hard to tell really, but assuming the large pipe is going to the top of the radiator then yes that is most likely to be the thermostat housing.

Get some Rad Weld on the job!

David

I was thinking Rad Weld would struggle to work if it was a crack in the thermostat housing?

I don’t have a **** clue, I’ve just heard people (who drive a knackered car) swear by it for some reason.

What car is it? It could just be a gasket or something similar thats failed.

I would be more worried about the loss of power though, if you’ve overheated your engine you may have further damage.

Two things. DONT drive it.

Second thing DONT use Radweld.

If your car is worth £500 however disregard both of the above.

Radweld covers a problem it doesn’t fix it.

It’s a 1.9 Fiat Stilo JTD.

Whatever the part i’m pointing to in the photo is, that is where the water is dripping, if you look closely at the end of the arrow you can see where a part of the metal has come off, I think this may be the problem.

Thermostat housing

Yeah.. AS above. DONT CONTINUE TO DRIVE IT. Running it hot will turn a minor problem into a major car wrecking problem.

Id also advise against the use of radweld too.

Get the leaking part replaced and carry on with life

Im no expert, but should you be checking for other damage before replacing the stat housing?

Could the overheating cause the head to warp or head gasket to fail?
Id be tempted to drop the oil myself and see if there’s any sign of coolant in it, and maybe taking the plastic engine cover off and looking around the head to see if its leaking oil/coolant from there?
Are waterpumps ok to run dry?

Cheers chaps

I was thinking of trying Radweld+ as a temp fix as I am away all weekend and really need the car on Tuesday morning, would give me time to get the part in as well?

You local car bodgers’ shop or even Halfrauds will have the part you need.

I dodn’t think Halfrauds sell thermostats?

If you don’t know what you’re looking at under the bonnet maybe take it to someone who does? If it was me id rather pay a bit to make sure it was fixed properly.

I’ve just heard people (who drive a knackered car) swear by it for some reason.

That their car is knackered is evidence enough to disregard their ‘wisdom’, surely?

I was thinking of trying Radweld+ as a temp fix as I am away all weekend and really need the car on Tuesday morning, would give me time to get the part in as well?

Go ahead. Its your engine not mine. Personally I’d hire a car. you’d also need to flush that shit out afterwards but also – you need it at the weekend, do you have breakdown cover that will get you and your car home when it goes?

hora

I’m not driving this weekend but I am away from home from tonight until Monday, needing the car Tuesday is the issue, it’s temp fix but I can’t think of anything else.

I can get the thermostat on next day delivery sop it’s here monday and then book it in some day next week.

I **** hate cars.

If I was going to bodge it i would use sealant on the outside tbh if it is cracked metal and smear it roungd there and hope it works/slows the leak till you get a proper repair done
Failing that depending on how fast it leaks/how far you are going just carry loads of water with you to replace??
IMHO radweld is for use with small leaks and holes [radiator for example]. IME it rarely works and long terms is bad as it has basically bits of rubber in that melt and fill holes. I think it is unlikely to cure your issue

Thanks Junkyard

Just need to locate the exact leak then, it’s a bitch to get to, as are most things on this car, it’s quite baffling how badly they have layed everything out.

Ok, the last bit of me saying don’t do it.

You bodge it- you get upto speed on a journey, its steadily losing coolant and the next thing you know your engine runs dry- basically **** your whole engine.

In addition- I don’t know if the water pump/anything else could be affected (i.e belts).

TBH its your money but I think you may end up hating cars even more.

Touch wood, I’ve never had to use a breakdown service in 8yrs of driving c15-20,000m’s a year. If I see an issue developing the cars repaired properly and not driven until it has.

Touch wood, I’ve never had to use a breakdown service in 8yrs of driving c15-20,000m’s a year. If I see an issue developing the cars repaired properly and not driven until it has.

Surely that’s because you swap them out before the issues arise? 😉

I’ll be calling some garages later.

Cheers

You bodge it- you get upto speed on a journey, its steadily losing coolant and the next thing you know your engine runs dry- basically **** your whole engine.

Sounds like he already has!

Don’t replace the housing, chances are there’s plenty of other damage that needs sorting out.

What happened when you lost power? Did you come to a total stop and the engine stalled, was there any smoke? Did you notice the temp needle rising?

There doesn’t seems to be any other damage, the leak must have sprung suddenly and all coolant pissed out all over the place from the thermostat. The temp needle flew up and I pulled over and turned the engine off.

Lifted bonnet and steam spraying out, waited for it to cool a bit and poured in some anti freeze and water and went home – 1 mile, ran fine.

Woke up this morning to a puddle of said anti freezer and water.

It was an instant thing with no prior leak or temp issues so I can’t see why serious damage will have been done?

Surely that’s because you swap them out before the issues arise?

😆

It wouldn’t have been instant. The only time it would be instant is if you had some work done recently and a clip/screw hadn’t been tightened enough when re-attaching coolant pipes.

Even so if its overheating it needs inspection and not driven inbetween.

If its been developing for a longtime, just how long has your enginebeen running on low coolant 😯

just how long has your engine been running on low coolant

Ever since the temp went up last night I would have thought 😀

I wouldn’t get too upset yet, it could be fine if it drove home OK last night. If it were mine I would have a quick check in oil filler cap for oil/water mix emulsion (white gungy stuff), If none there I would get a thermostat housing and fit that and take it from there.

Going to a garage at 4 for someone to have a proper look at it. then take it from there.

That sounds like a good plan