Its about 10 miles from my work to home. Its cold and its raining.

Two thirds back, the overheating light came on.

Limped home, went to check the coolant.

PSHHHHHH!!!!

lots of hot water shot all over when I undid the filler cap.
Though the level was still high.

Is that supposed to happen?

Er no.

You been ragging it around?

Check the lecky fan works. Should do and did when I drove it.

It's shouldn't erupt like Vesuvius, but of course you did let the pressure off ever, ever so gently?

macplaxton wrote:Er no.

You been ragging it around?

Check the lecky fan works. Should do and did when I drove it.

It's shouldn't erupt like Vesuvius, but of course you did let the pressure off ever, ever so gently?

Nope, been driving gently to try and up the mpg.
Leccy fan kicked as I pulled up. (might have only noticed it when the engine was turned off).
And I just unscrewed it straight off, wasnt expecting well, anything.

Oh dear...you broke that! I have a spare B14 here if the worst has happened...

Take the themostat out and repeat...

cheers

James

foggyjames wrote:Oh dear...you broke that! I have a spare B14 here if the worst has happened...

Take the themostat out and repeat...

cheers

James

Er, seriously?
Ive only done 30 miles. Mostly at 30mph.
Wheres the therostat?
and what do you mean by repeat?

I've got a spare B14 too.

But it shouldn't come to that. Your reverse-Midas-touch isn't that bad, is it?

Where was the needle when the warning light came on? I think the warning light comes on at around 115ºC. All hoses good?

Thermostat is in the top rad hose which is double-clipped at the water pump end. It's stuffed into the end of the hose. Having said that, they usually fail the other way (open too soon)

Hope you didn't scald yourself, the cooling system runs under pressure so it doesn't boil at 100C, by removing the cap with the coolant still hot, you've released all of that pressure, and hence the coolant, being well over the boiling point at atmospheric pressure, will instantly boil and spew all over the place. Just FFS don't ever squirt any car-related fluids into "Queenie"'s back window, she'll eat you alive but not in a good way. (Eve, bottom flat, corner of John St and your back lane )..

Pity you lost some, that was top grade coolant in there, the expensive kind.

Was the gauge reading higher than normal when the lamp came up? If not, then it was probably something to do with the French bits of the electrical system.

macplaxton wrote:I've got a spare B14 too.

But it shouldn't come to that. Your reverse-Midas-touch isn't that bad, is it?

Where was the needle when the warning light came on? I think the warning light comes on at around 115ºC. All hoses good?

Thermostat is in the top rad hose which is double-clipped at the water pump end. It's stuffed into the end of the hose. Having said that, they usually fail the other way (open too soon)

Didnt look hard dude.
Nothing leaking onto the road. And the coolant was still up at max.

I'll have a look tmorrow.

The needle was just into the Hot danger Area.
the bit at the top.

JPB wrote:Hope you didn't scald yourself, the cooling system runs under pressure so it doesn't boil at 100C, by removing the cap with the coolant still hot, you've released all of that pressure, and hence the coolant, being well over the boiling point at atmospheric pressure, will instantly boil and spew all over the place. Just FFS don't ever squirt any car-related fluids into "Queenie"'s back window, she'll eat you alive but not in a good way. (Eve, bottom flat, corner of John St and your back lane )..

Pity you lost some, that was top grade coolant in there, the expensive kind.

Was the gauge reading higher than normal when the lamp came up? If not, then it was probably something to do with the French bits of the electrical system.

No, it went on my arm, but didnt scald man.
The needle was just into the top section. The last marked bit.

I'll have a a good look in the morning and take it for a gentle whirl.
Hope it is electrical.
Really taken with the fucking thing.

Tomorrow when it's cold, re-check level.

Fan should cut in at 87.5ºC and cut out at 82.5ºC.

Normal temp on that one I found to be a shade to the right of straight up.

Best-case: Fan thermo switch.
Worst-case: Head gasket.

macplaxton wrote:Tomorrow when it's cold, re-check level.

Fan should cut in at 87.5ºC and cut out at 82.5ºC.

Normal temp on that one I found to be a shade to the right of straight up.

Best-case: Fan thermo switch.
Worst-case: Head gasket.

shall do dude.

My midas touch is such that i do not even engage in onanism any more.

Ben, if you want me to come and check it out in greater detail, I'd be glad to help.
If it is something head gasket-related, then I'll talk you through the hard work while I sit nearby and drink tea. It isn't a bad one to do, I used to rattle them off inside an Hour when I had Renaults with the 1289cc version of the same "Sierra" donkey, allow a day in case the head has to go for a skim (Possible if it lost coolant, since the head will then warp as it cools in air), in which case there's a place in Blyth that can handle that.

But 1st things 1st; let's see exactly what's up before doing any spannering.

JPB wrote:But 1st things 1st; let's see exactly what's up before doing any spannering.

+1 Aye, sleep on it and look at the problem logically in the morn.

macplaxton wrote:

JPB wrote:But 1st things 1st; let's see exactly what's up before doing any spannering.

+1 Aye, sleep on it and look at the problem logically in the morn.

Thanks John and Rich.
I'll have a good look in the morning. Fingers crossed.

Gizzashout if you want me to come through and help with this, I have no prior engagements for tomorrow and can combine the trip with a call to my mate who lives just around the corner.