ok guys i have had a look in the tech section but i just want peoples advice on what might be wrong with my (again, starting to hate this thing). ok heres the backstory: 91 TT auto 2+2 I brought it about 3 months ago, as i brought it the guy gave me recipts for an engine rebuild they had done about 3,000 kms b4 i got it. turns out the radiator clogged or something, anyway over headed the engine, all rebuilt, $5000 into it. now about 7-8 weeks ago the raditator died on me, and as soon as i realised i pulled over, cooled her down. there was some white smoke coming out from under the throttle cover at the time. got the radiator fixed (brand new one) and was told to watch my engine in case anything cooked b4 i stopped. bout 3 weeks ago went flogging it with odin, no problems. that was about 1 hr of heavy driving (BOOST! :zlove: ). absolutly nothing wrong with it. bout a week after that i started getting hesitation problems, which you guys confused me on more than helped. fixed that myself by replacing connectors on my temperature sensors. last week after driving it in 3rd gear @ 110 kmph (forgot to turn overdrive on( lots of petrol gone )) i noticed it gettign hot, bout 6 or 7/8's of the way up on the guage as i pulled into the drive way. checked it when it got home, the dipstick thing for coolant was full, radiator was at about half full . filled her up and went for another crusie, not pushing her for about 4 - 5 times the distance, temp never went above halfway and coolant was fine. tonight i went for a decent drive, not pusing her hard at all, noticed (near home again) she was getting hot, pulled over and checked her out, seemed ok, let her cool down then hurried home b4 it heated up again and had a look later on. it looks like the bloody radiator was almost empty ( dipstick was full again though( supports my therory the thing is bloody useless)), filled it up slowly with engine running, once the thermostat was open coolant mixed with all the water and all looked good. then i started to get some bubbles coming to the surface, thought nothing of it. they stayed at a constant rate though, but there pretty spaced out. some one said this is usually a good sign of a dead head gasket, but it thought the bubbles would come at a faster pace though. when i opened the throttle up a bit the water was all sucked down into the radiator. after i played with the throttle the bubbles stopped.hoping to god that i might just have a wrong pressure cap and my radiator is just losing water somewhere and not a rebuild time, (only about 5000 ks after the last one she had) i came to you guys for advice, plz help. btw what pressure radiator cap should i be using? the one i have dosent have one printed. hope u can help me if only telling me its time to go and get a 3rd and 4th job so i can rebuild her. :zlove:
Hey dude.. Dip stick, do you mean you're checking the levels on the overflow tank? It's to the right of your radiator, it's connected to the radiator via a short hose below the radiator cap. When the coolant expands it fills into the overflow and under pressure it can suck coolant back (not sure of the details on how it works). The dipstick is not connected to your radiator levels. Sounds like you're losing coolant which isn't good. Can you physically see coolant dropping from the bottom of your car? is it blowing white smoke? I'd take it to a radiator joint and get the cooling system pressure tested. Might have a crack in a weird hose below or behind the plenum. They can also test the coolant for oil which would confirm(or not) a blown gasket. Don
thanx thats what it was nope neither will do both thanx mate for the timely reply, im open to other suggestions
Firstly, are you running a stock oil cooler? If you are, get rid of it for a larger aftermarket one. Secondly, do you have a large cooler for your transmission or is it the stock one built in the radiator? Anything you can do to reduce heat is a good thing. The new radiator, is it an OEM or a thicker aftermarket one? Also are you using a FMIC? If you are, they restrict airflow, so it may help to get a slotted nose panel. If you do these things, it may reduce your temps by 10 degrees.
bit of noob here, but i rekcon its stock got one put in with new radiator i reckon its oem, isint real big, but i never really had a good look at the old one so i dont know, but it looks very small nope no fmic, stock side mounts
what it looks like is the radiator is flowing all the water into overflow and not bringing it back any tips on that one? what about radiator cap pressure?
Get your system pressure tested... You most likely have a leak somewhere. The bubbles when refilling are just air pockets coming to the surface. I told Odin a easy way of filling the radiator, as the radiator opening is not the highest point of coolant flow. Have a chat to him, & get him over to help you sus it out
thanx, if he ever replys to me on msn i will organize something, at least its looking like a not-blown-head-gasket from ur opinions
If that's what you are worried about... Check your engine oil. Will be watered down if you have a blown head gasket. Like you said, the engine was rebuilt not so long ago, so I'd be looking in other places first Good luck.
just a quick point, i also cooked it 6 weeks back or so, so if it is watered down? close my eyes and make it all go away?
Your std radiator has an oil cooler built into it for the transmission, this adds heat to your system. Many people choose to use a separate cooler for this very reason. Also the std cooler for the engine is tiny and can clag up, much better to replace it. Replace your cap, get one from any performance shop if you think it's faulty. Do you have any residue infront of the passenger front tyre, coming from the overflow bottle? It might be worth the effort to remove the inner guard and check the bottle, as is may have sludge in the base and reducing its effectiveness.
I wouldn't be adding water every time it needs topping up... Buy yourself a bottle of pre-mixed coolant you can add & keep it in the car. Monitor your coolant level every few days and don't drive it hard until you find the problem. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but from memory, TT radiator should have a 1.2bar cap.
From what you've said above, it shouldn't be a blown head gasket, seing bubbles in the rad as you fill it is normal, its just water pushing air out off the system. Theres no way a your engine could cycle that amount off water, and not stop running. The cooling system has sprung a leak big time, possibly at the back off the engine, you said you thought you saw smoke comming from the back off the car, this could be cooliant washing onto the exhaust and burning. And its possible that you haven't see cooliant because, most of it has lost while you driveing. It could also explain why the cooliant bottle is overflowing.Could be as your cooling system lost fluid and heat increased in the cooling system, the radiator cap did its job. Time for a plenum pull! Maby!!
also forgot to mention, every now and then i get alot of missing in the engine, never really atributed it to this but i just kinda remembered it then, after i get hot it crops up the next time i start it, eratic idle, been described as a chaff cutter, wont hold,revs, goes away once its wamred up. i thought it might just be a spark plug as when the radiator belw it covered the sparks in coolant
Mate sounds to me like you have a few problems.. You irratic idle when cold may be your Plugs. I would check and see if your firing on all cylinders when cold. Also it might be a good idea to do what known as a plenum pull, and perform a bypass of cooland hoses. This in turn will give you a closer look and what may be wrong.. I understand a rebuild has just been done but its obvious that somethings may not have been completed correctly. Further more i would possibly call on the experts in your state to assist with a once over.. Have a BETTER understanding will eliminate probably causes 10 fold. Also have you run a datascan and performed a BLOWUP TEST?
If u are able to make it to the Cruise... i'm fairly sure that simmo has a datascan cable and i have a laptop with datascan on it. So we'll check it out then, if Jono could bring his cable? I also have a blow up adaptor to do boost leak test if u want we can check that out on wednesday night
