Bongo Fury

As it says really......

A week ago my bongo started making a slight rattle/knocking sound, i thought it may be bearings on the alternator. Was going to take off alternator this weekend and check it, but........
Went out this morning on a short journey and found steam coming from under the bonnet
After looking at it , it seems to be leaking from the top of the rad along the seam.

My question is, could the knocking noise have been the water pump ? or is the noise and the rad just a coincidence ?

Secondly, is this gonna cost a fortune to put right ?????

Any ideas welcome guys, thanks in advance

Kev

Whatever else has gone wrong, if you keep driving with steam escaping, it will cost a packet to put right.

You need to get the rad replaced (check the gearbox oil level afterwards with engine runniing as you'll probabaly lose a bit of oil due to the oil cooler in the bottom of the rad), change the stat while you're at it & a water pump isn't big bucks, you've got to drop the coolant anyway, so you may as well replace that, proper chemical flush to clean out the engine (adhere to the bleeding instructions, I found it easier with the stat out, just use the sealing ring to seal the stat housing) then flush it thoroughly with fresh water from every hose & orifice you can, bleed it again, maybe a pressure test to make sure you've got no leaks, then replace the stat when you're satisfied it's spotless inside, chuck your correct coolant mix in, bleed it again & off you go, simple