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Help a stressed dad
omega 24 v6 - 8/2/10 at 07:44 PM

OK so No 2 daughters 206 xreg is coming to me at the weekend for new strut top bearings and brake work.
The good news is the misfire/surging seems to have gone meantime BUT ( there is alawys a but)
now the heater has stopped working I presume she means there is no heat and not just the fan. I've told her to make sure there is water in the rad/header tank (once it's cool) just to check that it's not all totally gone to the dogs.
If here is water in the rad and hopefully there is does anyone kinow what may be wrong or can anyone make an informed decision on what may be wrong.

[Edited on 8/2/10 by omega 24 v6]


Daddylonglegs - 8/2/10 at 07:48 PM

1. Check the temp guage, is the engine actually getting warm? If not, thermostat stuck open?

2. If water level OK, try bleeding (from highest point in system, I usually loosen the top hose or similar).

3. Could be heater matrix is blocked.

4. Wait for some useful info from the other guys on here

[Edited on 8/2/10 by Daddylonglegs]


dan__wright - 8/2/10 at 07:50 PM

pics of daughter......
sorry!

as above, check for air locks and coolant level or maybe blown fuse if the fan doesnt work at all.


blakep82 - 8/2/10 at 07:58 PM

^ good idea on the photo ha ha.

on my beemer, my heater stopped working. turns out my radiator was blown, so low on coolant, and heater was empty. worked on the motorway, but not round town


omega 24 v6 - 8/2/10 at 07:58 PM

Engine gauge has been sitting in the normal place she says.
header tank look sto be down but not by much as a half litre has brought the level into the tank she says.
a freindly neighbour is having a look at the car as we type/speak so will wait and see. maybe a water pump leak??


blakep82 - 8/2/10 at 08:08 PM

header tank on mine is built into the side of the radiator, and is usually empty when the heater stops. thats my car though, hers could be affected differently


mark chandler - 8/2/10 at 08:09 PM

Get some strong stuff, two pack rad cleaner, pull off the heater pipes drain and refill just this item with the gear mixed with a little water.

Leave for 1/2 hour then backflush with a hose. Lots of white flakes and gunk will move away then restore pipes, refill and off you go.

Just using on the system will not penetrate the heater matrix enough if its that blocked.

Regards Mark


omega 24 v6 - 8/2/10 at 08:22 PM

well the guy put in some water from a watering can and run the engine up ( don't know how much water (FFS it's the main info i needed to make a judgement)
she says the heater has started to work now with the added water so I suppose hopefully the head gasket is OK ( fingers crossed) but where uis the water going???
Pump? how easy to change?
Head gasket? I hope not
Heater matrix leaking/pipe leaking/ rad leaking? at least it'd show and be fixable quickly.
Or the worst case a split block/bore ( now thinking the misfire could be linked OH NO SURELY NOT.

going to look at it on wed night if it lasts that long.


rusty nuts - 8/2/10 at 08:22 PM

Try bleeding the rad followed by the heater and the thermostat housing , chances are it has an airlock. If the heater matrix is blocked Mr Muscle sink and drain unblocker into the heater hose will shift any blockage if anything will.


omega 24 v6 - 8/2/10 at 08:27 PM

quote:

Try bleeding the rad followed by the heater and the thermostat housing , chances are it has an airlock. If the heater matrix is blocked Mr Muscle sink and drain unblocker into the heater hose will shift any blockage if anything will.



How would it get an air lock it's never been drained since she got it 2 years ago. unless it's boiled an air lock that is. The lost water must have gone somewhere.


dan__wright - 8/2/10 at 08:38 PM

has the pressure cap gone? mines going on my corsa so it often spits some of its water out


Steve G - 8/2/10 at 08:51 PM

quote:
Originally posted by omega 24 v6
How would it get an air lock it's never been drained since she got it 2 years ago.


Could have pulled air in due to the header tank being allowed to get too low. I'd be having a good look around the water pump area and hoses for signs of leakage myself regardless as there's got to be a reason as you say.


skinned knuckles - 8/2/10 at 08:52 PM

check pressure cap, check all connections on the hoses, check water pump and if you can eliminate the above, don't worry about it, just get daughter no2 to check the level weekly before she drives it. a small slow leak is best just maintained. (imho) than stripping down to find. once it becomes a big deal, it will become clear where its coming from..


ruskino80 - 8/2/10 at 09:09 PM

check the heater control cables- i have seen loads that have dissattached and fool you into thinking you have a big problem.


omega 24 v6 - 8/2/10 at 09:11 PM

quote:

check the heater control cables- i have seen loads that have dissattached and fool you into thinking you have a big problem




I was hoping for something as simple as that but that would not explain the lost water.


James - 8/2/10 at 11:32 PM

quote:
Originally posted by omega 24 v6

Or the worst case a split block/bore ( now thinking the misfire could be linked OH NO SURELY NOT.





On my Mk2 Golf it was both misfiring and losing water. The misfire would stop after a mile or 2.

Turned out a track had formed in the face of the head between a water galley and a cylinder. Water was getting into the cylinder and causing the mis-fire. After a couple of miles it had warmed up and the track closed up.
A 3 thou head skim cured the problem.

The same could of course be caused by the head gasket going.

Good luck fixing it.

James


omega 24 v6 - 9/2/10 at 05:25 PM

Well a bit of an update.

The water was still in it this morning so she took it to work 2 hrs in rush hour traffic which would normally take 30 mins tops. No overheating and no misfire ( she said "it ran like clockwork" )

So I've told her to check the water level before she leaves and get back to me on how much if any she neede to add.

hopefully ity'll be a minor leak or the water pump bearing leaking. ( FINGERS CROSSED)

[Edited on 9/2/10 by omega 24 v6]

Edited to add she said it used about a litre to top it up so thats after a 2hr 20mile run and then cooling down under pressure. Mmmm seems quite a bit really to me.
So i'll go and see it/bring it home tommorrow night
Busy weekend again for me

[Edited on 9/2/10 by omega 24 v6]


omega 24 v6 - 13/2/10 at 06:27 PM

Many thanks to all especially DRC INDY 7
for information regarding my problems.
the radiator clamping steel band was heavilly corrode and leaking at the base of the Rad.
Hoopefully that'l be the end of it but we will wait and see if the CHGasket is OK.

I also did the strut top bearings and the brake compensator valve as well as patching the exhaust where the hanger bracket sits.

The fault codes were inj faults on cyl2 and cyl3 ( runs OK so dunno ) and a cat out of limits 9 prob because of the intermittent misfire ( which seems to have gone.

Fingers crossed meantime.