possible head gasket failure or other?

patrickc · 14-02-2013 9:55pm #1

my bangernomics mondeo 96 1.8td that I have 2 and 1/2 years now (owes me feck all) has an issue.

I posted about the fan kicking in before for no reason, even in the recent very cold temps the fan was kicking in, I might be driving along, come to a traffic light and it'd kick in, this doesnt bother me though at least I know its working.

last week I checked the coolant level and it was below the min level, the week before it was fine, and has been since, but today the car smelt hot I had driven 100 miles in it and I popped the bonnet with the engine running to see the coolant bubbling in the tank, level was fine though.
last year I flushed the coolant and put new coolant/water in at fords recommended mix, i changed the thermostat and a month ago and also i bought a new cap for the coolant tank as I noticed coolant residue around the cap.

sorry for the long post but what do people think the problem is? is it the head on the way out, oil is fine and no mayo sludge stuff to be seen.

oh and last bit of info the temp gauge never rises above the third so its not over heating.

Bigus · 14-02-2013 10:14pm

It sounds like its starting to go but sure drive her on and top up.

Or edit
Would the impeller be gone on the water pump causing hot spots and boiling ?

14-02-2013 10:27pm

If the impellor was gone the temp gauge would rise.

Ronnie Beck · 14-02-2013 10:31pm

If you start it up from cold with the expansion cap off and it starts bubbling straight away you can be pretty sure its the gasket gone. As it is you might just have a leak stopping it from pressurizing and lowering the boiling point. Fingers crossed it's that.

patrickc · 14-02-2013 10:37pm

not sure what the impellor is?

and I'll try that in the morning with the cold start and cap off.

I have AA rescue plus so if it goes it goes another banger will await.

14-02-2013 10:39pm

patrickc wrote: »

not sure what the impellor is?.........

The bits of the water pump that interacts with the water

Bigus · 14-02-2013 11:40pm

patrickc wrote: »

not sure what the impellor is?

and I'll try that in the morning with the cold start and cap off.

I have AA rescue plus so if it goes it goes another banger will await.

patrickc · 15-02-2013 8:35am

i checked it this morning and no bubbles with cap off when started.

i felt all the hoses though and the one that runs from the stat to the rad didn't feel solid like there was no coolant going through it.

what could be the cause of this? an airlock somewhere perhaps?

shooter88 · 15-02-2013 10:45am

patrickc wrote: »

i checked it this morning and no bubbles with cap off when started.

i felt all the hoses though and the one that runs from the stat to the rad didn't feel solid like there was no coolant going through it.

what could be the cause of this? an airlock somewhere perhaps?

If its solid there must be coolant in it.if it was empty the pipe would collapse easy

patrickc · 15-02-2013 10:51am

shooter88 wrote: »

If its solid there must be coolant in it.if it was empty the pipe would collapse easy

it felt very soft compared to the others, like it had nothing flowing through it

Ronnie Beck · 15-02-2013 2:41pm

I think it would be worth having a good look for a coolant leak by getting under the engine with a torch and making sure it's not just a leak you have. If it's going from max to min over a week you should have an obvious leak somewhere. Should be easy enough to spot when the system is hot and pressurized. A sniff test would be the best option then if you want to be sure.

2 stroke · 15-02-2013 9:04pm

I've been similarly mystified in the past. The cause, not suficiently tightening the coolant bottle cap.

M44B19 · 15-02-2013 9:25pm

Any pics of the car?

Love Mk1 Mondeos. :cool:

patrickc · 15-02-2013 10:36pm

Ronnie Beck wrote: »

I think it would be worth having a good look for a coolant leak by getting under the engine with a torch and making sure it's not just a leak you have. If it's going from max to min over a week you should have an obvious leak somewhere. Should be easy enough to spot when the system is hot and pressurized. A sniff test would be the best option then if you want to be sure.

ill get under it when I a chance, hate removing the tray under its a pain

2 stroke wrote: »

I've been similarly mystified in the past. The cause, not suficiently tightening the coolant bottle cap.

I checked it a few times recently cheers though

M44B19 wrote: »

Any pics of the car?

Love Mk1 Mondeos. :cool:

shes a mark II

possible head gasket failure or other?

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