Ho Hum…..

Thought I'd take the car out for a blast today, looks like a nice day to go see Geoff Turton & Pete (painter) but only managed to get half way before the temperature needle wanders above 90 degrees for the first time ever. When it got to 100ish I pulled over to check it over, radiator was stone cold, expansion tank hot. Removed the bleed valve on the radiator and coolant dripped out as expected, took the expansion cap off (carefully) and it was full (normal level) and steaming, there was a little gurgling too! Opened the bleed valve on the thermostat but nothing came out. Took it another mile down the motorway but temps crept up again so AA Relayed me home.

I'll let it cool down overnight and investigate a little more when time allows but sounds like an airlock or failed water pump, slipping fan belt or failed (shut) thermostat.

If anyone else has any other ideas I haven't thought of let me know!

Cheers

Guy

Unlikely to be an airlock unless you'd had the system drained since it last worked OK. Odd nothing coming out of bleed valve - should have been a gravity-fed trickle even if belt/pump/thermostat failure surely?

Sorry to hear you had to be brought home by the AA - your problem sounds like a slightly easier fix than the cause of my AA trip home!

Assuming that the car ran fine when you put it in the garage & that you havent done anything to the cooling system in the mean time......

Given that there was noting coming from the bleed on the thermostat housing I would think the thermostat is stuck. If you have a heater and that was working then the pump was working, which also points to the thermostat being stuck....

i didn't have the heater on so I don't know if that was warm or not....... Must be something about us Northeners..... Had it been on the fan might have been enough to keep it down a little. I'll find time to sort it out over Christmas!

Thanks for the suggestions!

Guy

Sounds like a job for our favourite tool. Tap on the stat would be first thought if nothing's changed since it went away.
Bobbler