*urgent*

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 8:31 am

help i am going away this t time for the weekend

changed the aircon belt and alternator belts last night as i had a sqeel every morning.

took it for drive last night and everthing ok.

got up this morning turned engine over and the sqeel had gone.......

BUT set offto work and it wouldnt change out of 1st gear,...carried on a bit down the road, thinking it might be because it was cold last night, but still didnt chnge out of 1st. had a look in my rear view mirror and a long trail of black smoke.

so i limped home, checked that all belts were in place and that i hadnt knocked any wires ect. but everthing was in place so i turned the engine off and on a few times and took it for a couple of short drives and it cured it.

anyone any ideas as i dont want to set off tonight and something bad to happen.

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:07 am

It's unlikely your problem is connected with changing the belts, just a coincidence I'd say. Black smoke and won't change up gears but now you say it is ok? Maybe a sticking valve that has now cleared itself.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:06 pm

thanks for the replys guys,
just got back home from work and everything ok.

no smoke.............. or staying in 1st gear.

had the panicks on at 10 past 8, this morning, late for work and the mean green camping machine not wanting to play out at the weekend.

so i think it might be a sticking valve or a waste gate?.(havent a clue what you are both on about)

, not very machanically minded!

is there anything i am supposed to look at or clear?,to stop this happening again or is it nothing to worry about.

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:51 pm

I think it's one of those things you have to wait to fail. Not much you can do without major stripping down, inspecting and cleaning. I'm assuming you are up to date with your oil changes which might help. I know that's not very reassuring when you are about to set off on your hols but it may or may not recur at anytime or even if at all. Assuming you have breakdown cover, try and forget about it and concentrate on having a good holiday.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:57 pm

thanks ian, yes had the bongo since march, and had a full service done and cambelt change straight away.

had its first mot last week and went straight through apart from needing 2 new front tyres, which i new about.

but i did notice that the oil level is slightly higher than the maximum mark when i checked it whilst i was changing the belts yesterday, have checked again, and yes its slightly over the maximum mark.

could this have anything to do with it?.

Veg_Ian · Post by **Veg_Ian** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:04 pm

No, I made the same mistake when adding my oil. As long as it's not too excessive, in which case you could blow a seal. The markings on the dipstick are only a guide.How much mileage have you done since the change in March? Should be about 3k miles or about 5k km. Anyway, deal with it when you get back, have a good holiday.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 6:24 pm

hello i am back...................

everything went ok APART FROM.....................taking off my radiator cap to show dave my new style radiator with the overflow pressure pipe sticking out of the side of the radiator pipe where the cap goes on saturday

got up this morning started to pack the awning away and a pool of coolant was under my bongo. leaking out of the pressure pipe. so pete put a bit of pipe on in with a bung on the end so i dont loose any coolant on the way home.

got home and bought a new radiator cap, which seems to have stopped the coolant coming out of the pipe.

so had a new radiator and cap, 4 months ago and the cap need replacing already. so any one who bought a radiator off ebay keep an eye on your radiator leaking out of the overflow pipe.

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 9:23 pm

waycar8 wrote:hello i am back...................

everything went ok APART FROM.....................taking off my radiator cap to show dave my new style radiator with the overflow pressure pipe sticking out of the side of the radiator pipe where the cap goes on saturday

got up this morning started to pack the awning away and a pool of coolant was under my bongo. leaking out of the pressure pipe. so pete put a bit of pipe on in with a bung on the end so i dont loose any coolant on the way home.

got home and bought a new radiator cap, which seems to have stopped the coolant coming out of the pipe.

so had a new radiator and cap, 4 months ago and the cap need replacing already. so any one who bought a radiator off ebay keep an eye on your radiator leaking out of the overflow pipe.

Coolant leaking from the overflow pipe usually means the system is being pressurised beyond the cap's blow off pressure......best to get it checked out with a garage pressure test system before you end up damaging the head.

Peg leg Pete · Post by **Peg leg Pete** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:11 pm

Why did the coolant not escape out through the expansion bottle if the system was over pressurising, mine did when we had a problem????

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:47 pm

got home from work today and coolant leaking out of pipe again

dandy....Coolant leaking from the overflow pipe usually means the system is being pressurised beyond the cap's blow off pressure......best to get it checked out with a garage pressure test system before you end up damaging the head.

what will this test do??...........what would the possible causes of the system to over pressurise?, would it have any thing to do with the bongo not changing out of 1st and smoke coming out of the exhaust?.

waycar8 · Post by **waycar8** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 8:41 pm

update................having a tinker and bled the system again..............no air came out, checked all the hoses. inside fans blowing hot.

fans are kicking in on in the engine bay

, its not overheating

, it isnt always leaking coolant through the pipe

.(well its stopped leaking again) see what happens tomorrow

any idea of a possible cause greatly appreciated.

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 11:38 pm

I had another look at your post waycar - when you say the new radiator has an outlet to atmosphere next to the cap, is there also an outlet on the main radiator matrix going to the header/expansion tank in the top left of the engine bay?

I don't think there should be an outlet from the cap neck, the only outlet should be from the neck of the plastic expansion tank.
Sounds to me the system is trying to empty itself out of this rogue overflow rather than feed to the expansion tank - a recipe for disaster!

Could you take some pics of this new radiator neck area?

Peg leg Pete · Post by **Peg leg Pete** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:59 am

That is why we put an hose on the outlet with a bung in the end

dandywarhol · Post by **dandywarhol** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:04 am

peter humphrey wrote:That is why we put an hose on the outlet with a bung in the end

Ah, ok, thanks Peter.......so which pipe is leaking the coolant now?

Peg leg Pete · Post by **Peg leg Pete** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:09 am

Not sure Waycar will hopefully let us know