Furio 1.4 cooling system problem

13th January 2014, 19:04

I'm at my wits end with this car of my mates I'm doing some work on hopefully somebody could give me some ideas.

I'll try and keep this brief as I can but the rundown is the head gasket decided to blow between cylinders 2 and 3.

Changed headgasket with a very light cylinder head skim
New water pump
New radiator as this was leaking slightly
New thermostat
Flushed the heater matrix out with a hosepipe and the rest of the engine
Fully bled the cooling system again.

Ok here's where the problem starts, after letting the engine warm up for approx 5 mins there seems to be some back pressure going on, as water starts to piss out of the radiator cap.

The top rad hose is stone cold whilst this is happening and is the same story with the radiator.
After letting it idle for a while, keeping a close eye on the water level as it is still pissing out the rad cap, the thermostat just outright refuses to open and the fan kicks in and stays on.

I'm thinking blocked heater matrix as the heating will only blow hot if the engine is at around 3000 rpm, 15 seconds after returning to idle it blows cold again.

Before I start ripping the dash out has anybody had this problem before? As I'm a bit confused as to why the thermostat won't open, would a restricted flow through the heater matrix really cause this?

Any help welcome,
Cheers.

13th January 2014, 19:26

How did you bleed it?

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13th January 2014, 19:31

Using a 2l coke bottle with the bottom cut off, duck taped to the header tank, whilst keeping the water level in the bottle high, opened the rad bleed first, then the thermostat bleed nipple and then the bleed nipple over the back of the engine. Repeated the process until no air or bubbles were present.

13th January 2014, 19:32

Have you tested the thermostat?

13th January 2014, 19:34

Yep tested it today, and it works fine opening in boiling water and closing under cold, seems to be fine re bled the system etc

13th January 2014, 19:37

Disconnect both matrix pipes with the system drained down and flush it with a hose or just by pass it altgothwr to test it - that's what id try

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13th January 2014, 19:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by CbVtR

Using a 2l coke bottle with the bottom cut off, duck taped to the header tank, whilst keeping the water level in the bottle high, opened the rad bleed first, then the thermostat bleed nipple and then the bleed nipple over the back of the engine. Repeated the process until no air or bubbles were present.

Did you run the engine til the stat had opened with the header tank still in situ? Should see the coolant mix when this is done, then switch off and let it cool so the coolant contracts, remove the tank and any over filled coolant and replace the cap. Belt and braces method that but worth a go

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13th January 2014, 19:40

I've flushed the matrix with a hose a couple of days ago and there seemed to be some back pressure behind it, outside hosepipe tap was on full but I would say only about half in the pressure the tap was supplying was coming out the other side of the heater matrix.

I might try bypassing it with a bit of copper pipe to see if it is the problem,

13th January 2014, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gandi699

Did you run the engine til the stat had opened with the header tank still in situ? Should see the coolant mix when this is done, then switch off and let it cool so the coolant contracts, remove the tank and any over filled coolant and replace the cap. Belt and braces method that but worth a go

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No I didn't do that as I simply can't get the stat to open,
The thermostat housing gets to hot to touch but the top rad hose stays cool, it's really strange

13th January 2014, 19:45

If water starts to piss out the radiator cap, then try a new cap?

13th January 2014, 19:48

The new radiator came with a brand new cap, I've also tried the old one from the old rad I took off just to problem shoot, but it gives the same result, water pissing out

13th January 2014, 20:08

Forgot to mention this problem of no heating was present before the head gasket blew

13th January 2014, 20:11

Headgasket on right way round?

13th January 2014, 20:15

Yeah it should be cam, I didn't think it would fit any other way than the the one way round?

13th January 2014, 20:21

Not so sure on 8v but I know on the 16v you can put it the wrong way

13th January 2014, 20:49

Doesn't it starve the top end of oil if it's on upside down? As the oil feed is blocked

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13th January 2014, 20:52

Yeah it would do,

that was a 206 I did last year, same 1.4 engine though