Fiat [overheating, losing coolant]

Beckala

FIAT PUNTO 2004

For the past two weeks, I've noticed when I start my car in the morn and then drive forward, it sounds like gush of water coming from under the bonnet, it stops once I get going.

After 3 mins or so on the road, the temp hand, which is normally at half way, is in the red zone. When I stop, the fan comes on but cuts out after approx 2 mins. I've noticed water leaking from underneath the drivers side.

I live in town so only ever take it on short journeys, milage is low, I think it's 80,000 miles

How serious are we talking? I haven't a clue what it is but not going to drive it anymore but was hinking of bringing it for an NCT now (due in July) get it fixed up and sell it on.

What should I do?

jimgoose

Right. Check the coolant level and also for oil contamination, check for mayonnaise-like substance around the oil filler cap and on the oil dipstick. Is there any white-ish smoke out of the exhaust?

Beckala

My partner changed the oil and oil filter not so long ago and he's never done that before so I think oil contamination may well be the problem not that you mention it.

How do I get fix it?

jimgoose

Beckala wrote: »

My partner changed the oil and oil filter not so long ago and he's never done that before so I think oil contamination may well be the problem not that you mention it.

How do I get fix it?

Oil contamination would be a symptom, not the problem per sé. Get the checks I outlined above carried out.

biko

Start by opening the hood and drive forward while someone is listening, maybe they can pin point the location?

Anyway, you need to check the coolant level.
If low, top up with coolant or water.

Just changing oil and filter should not have an effect on the coolant but perhaps your partner did something else too? Or nicked/loosened some hose?

delthedriver

FIAT- Fix it again tomorrow !:)

ElKavo

delthedriver wrote: »

FIAT- Fix it again tomorrow !:)

Bet me to it!

Andrew_Doran

Beckala wrote: »

FIAT PUNTO 2004

For the past two weeks, I've noticed when I start my car in the morn and then drive forward, it sounds like gush of water coming from under the bonnet, it stops once I get going.

That means the car is very low on coolant and likely to overheat as you have discovered. If you drive it while it's overheating you stand a good chance of to damaging the engine.

Beckala wrote: »

What should I do?

1. Ignore people on the Internet talking about kitchen sauces, Fix It Again Tomorrow, and soon I am sure to be followed by "your headgasket is probably gone".

2. Top up the coolant with tap water. The manual will show you where to put it.

3. Get it to a mechanic without overheating it. You may want to ring them advance for advice on how to do that that. It may well be a nice cheap fix, you won't know until someone has looked at it.

dgt

delthedriver wrote: »

FIAT- Fix it again tomorrow !:)

ElKavo wrote: »

Bet me to it!

No and no. Try me, go on, I dare you....

Beckala wrote: »

FIAT PUNTO 2004

For the past two weeks, I've noticed when I start my car in the morn and then drive forward, it sounds like gush of water coming from under the bonnet, it stops once I get going.

After 3 mins or so on the road, the temp hand, which is normally at half way, is in the red zone. When I stop, the fan comes on but cuts out after approx 2 mins. I've noticed water leaking from underneath the drivers side.

I live in town so only ever take it on short journeys, milage is low, I think it's 80,000 miles

How serious are we talking? I haven't a clue what it is but not going to drive it anymore but was hinking of bringing it for an NCT now (due in July) get it fixed up and sell it on.

What should I do?

What engine? The alu heads warp into oblivion at the slightest sense of overheating

Sounds like your hg is bolloxed. Was it ever done before? When was the last time you changed the coolant? Did you change the water pump when the tb was done? How is your radiator? Did you change the thermo?

HG failure is usually caused by a..... Lack of maintainance

166man

delthedriver wrote: »

FIAT- Fix it again tomorrow !:)

Wrong wrong and wrong again there delboy...


I wouldn't expect you to know anyway, I doubt the Porsche 911 and Jaguar you have break down too often do they?

Technoprisoner

buy a bottle of this http://www.steelseal.co.uk/

sanbrafyffe

have to hand it to dgt on this one,,,,,fiat puntos are one of the best little engines on the road but the majority of their drivers are female and not being a racist,,they do not tend to look after them as much as men,,,,could be the water pump,a pin hole in the radiator,,,a seal in the side of the radiator,thermostat etc,,which if not detected will lead to the loss of coolant and to the consequences of the final life of the head gasket unfortunately...this goes to all models not just fiat

in fact my uncle had a woman that her punto had snapped the timeing belt,,,he towed it in,,changed belt,tensioners,done water pump etc and she drove out the gate with it,,,,,,no valves bent no nothing,,thats a sign of a good engine

so in future women look after your cars,,,stick the head under the bonquet,,its worth it

Nissan doctor

Regardless of what has caused the original problem, presumably a leak from the water pump pr rad, by continuing to drive it with the temperature in the red you have almost certainly caused further damage. As mentioned above, the head gaskets on those engines are soft and any overheating, especially overheating caused by lack of coolant, will almost certainly lead to an expensive repair.

jimgoose

Andrew_Doran wrote: »

...Ignore people on the Internet talking about kitchen sauces, Fix It Again Tomorrow, and soon I am sure to be followed by "your headgasket is probably gone"...

I consider it prudent, in these situations, to try to ascertain if the head gasket has actually failed at this point before attempting to move the vehicle any further under its own power. If it has, loss of the engine is imminent. One of the best ways for a non-technical person to do this, aside from inspecting the exhaust colour for signs of "burning" coolant, is to inspect the oil for signs of emulsification with water. This looks like... guess what? Join us next week for the advanced modules, such as Tomato Ketchup In The Airbox: What You Need To Know, and English Mustard In The Fuel Tank: Fact Or Fiction??

Nissan doctor

jimgoose wrote: »

I consider it prudent, in these situations, to try to ascertain if the head gasket has actually failed at this point before attempting to move the vehicle any further under its own power. If it has, loss of the engine is imminent. One of the best ways for a non-technical person to do this, aside from inspecting the exhaust colour for signs of "burning" coolant, is to inspect the oil for signs of emulsification with water. This looks like... guess what? Join us next week for the advanced modules, such as Tomato Ketchup In The Airbox: What You Need To Know, and English Mustard In The Fuel Tank: Fact Or Fiction??

Loss of the engine, because of a failed head gasket? Hardley.

jimgoose

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Loss of the engine, because of a failed head gasket? Hardley.

Warped head, warped block, cracked pistons - it happens.

cml387

The heater matrix was a common fail in those Punto's. If there is water near the driver's seat,that's may be where it's coming from.

Odelay

Beckala wrote: »

My partner changed the oil and oil filter not so long ago and he's never done that before so I think oil contamination may well be the problem not that you mention it.

How do I get fix it?

Check the oil level, maybe he "filled it up", wouldn't be the first time this has happened. Not sure if it would lead to the symptoms you have described.

Nissan doctor

jimgoose wrote: »

Warped head, warped block, cracked pistons - it happens.

Warped alloy head is normal, block less so, especially cast iron block. As for pistons etc, that might be a concern if the engine was overheated until it seized but if its still starting and driving then the engine is certainly not a write off....mechanically at least, financially may be a different story.

jimgoose

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Warped alloy head is normal, block less so, especially cast iron block. As for pistons etc, that might be a concern if the engine was overheated until it seized but if its still starting and driving then the engine is certainly not a write off....mechanically at least, financially may be a different story.

Lot of alloy blocks around these days.

dgt

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Warped alloy head is normal, block less so, especially cast iron block. As for pistons etc, that might be a concern if the engine was overheated until it seized but if its still starting and driving then the engine is certainly not a write off....mechanically at least, financially may be a different story.

Welcome back ND

In regards pistons the oil rings can break with excessive overheating. Learned this from rebuilding one!

delthedriver

166man wrote: »

Wrong wrong and wrong again there delboy...


I wouldn't expect you to know anyway, I doubt the Porsche 911 and Jaguar you have break down too often do they?

Correct, they don't breakdown. Should they breakdown I have RAC cover , just in case:) Cheers!

166man

delthedriver wrote: »

Correct, they don't breakdown. Should they breakdown I have RAC cover , just in case:) Cheers!

What is the Jaguar like to live with? Is that the one with the 5.0 V8 or the older 4.2? Love those cars, how does it compare with the Porsche?

I'd love some V8 muscle in my life!

Vego

years ago I had a punto had that water noise on start up sounded like it was behind the dash ...drove to the fiat garage they said they didnt have a clue what it was ....driving to the next town engine over heats bring it to the nearest garage happened to be a skoda garage he mentioned something like the punto gets airlocked when collent gets low as the rad is higher than the block or visa versa ...anyway went back to the fiat garage they told me skim the gasket new water pump etc ..cost me quite a bit

hiltan

As everybody have given the suggestion to identify the issue. Have you found the exact problem? I think this is radiator leakage or water pump issue and also your engine giving the problem. you should to bring your vehicle to good garage.

delthedriver

166man wrote: »

What is the Jaguar like to live with? Is that the one with the 5.0 V8 or the older 4.2? Love those cars, how does it compare with the Porsche?

I'd love some V8 muscle in my life!

My latest Jaguar is the 5.0 v8 Portfolio LWB , no real comparison with Porsche.

The Jag is a luxury saloon , albeit a very fast saloon, the Porsche is a luxury sports car. I suppose as I get older luxury and comfort are high on my priority list. Having said that there is nothing I like more than to take the Porsche across the channel and sprint down to Bordeaux for a long weekend:)
Best Regards

Andrew_Doran

Nissan doctor wrote: »

any overheating, especially overheating caused by lack of coolant, will almost certainly lead to an expensive repair.

I don't necessarily agree when it comes to this engine but in any case I think the key thing is that the OP get the car to a mechanic for inspection, and not do something rash and far more costly like scrapping the car based purely on speculation on an internet forum.

Jesus.

delthedriver wrote: »

FIAT- Fix it again tomorrow !:)

Very helpful :rolleyes:

sanbrafyffe

FIAT (ferrari in affordable trim):D

Jesus. wrote: »

Very helpful :rolleyes:

delthedriver

sanbrafyffe wrote: »

FIAT (ferrari in affordable trim):D

To be fair, the Italians have designed some fabulous looking cars over the years.
However a bit like Italian shoes, not to be taken out in the rain.
Ferrari nonetheless are every boys dream car. Reminds me , must do the Euromillions tonight:)

jimgoose

delthedriver wrote: »

...Ferrari nonetheless are every boys dream car. Reminds me , must do the Euromillions tonight:)

Bleh. Gimme a little MX5 roadster any day. :cool:

Nissan doctor

jimgoose wrote: »

Lot of alloy blocks around these days.

Not in Fiat Punto's though:)

dgt wrote: »

Welcome back ND

In regards pistons the oil rings can break with excessive overheating. Learned this from rebuilding one!

Cheers.

Major overheating certainly can cause damage to rings among other things, but with regards to the OP's car, they aren't complaining of any engine running issues other then the overheating so, at the moment, its extremely unlikely that any more major damage, beyond the possibility of a head gasket, has been done.

sanbrafyffe

ah yes they have for sure,,have to say its my first time having a fiat,,,have the doblo van and there is none of my previous vans would touch it,,i had opel,citreon,renault,seat and a ford,,,i look after her well too aswell which is the key when using commercial engines i think

delthedriver wrote: »

To be fair, the Italians have designed some fabulous looking cars over the years.
However a bit like Italian shoes, not to be taken out in the rain.
Ferrari nonetheless are every boys dream car. Reminds me , must do the Euromillions tonight:)

shamwari

Ok, I'm a proud and unashamed Punto driver and I can say that they're a car that drive great if they are looked after properly. IMHO the worst and most problematic examples are those driven hard to within an inch of their lives or because they simply aren't maintained properly. I've had a Punto for 5 years, and now have a Grande Diesel. Two of my siblings have a Punto and Stilo each. All have been very reliable which is more than can be said for my other brothers "well maintained" A4 TDi, but then again only Fiat's break down and Audi's don't....or so he though

Anyway, back to the Punto. The head gaskets do blow. Fact.

It tends to do so across number one cylinder and the adjacent water jacket, particularly if you remove no 1 spark plug and see that it looks like new and all steam cleaned!

If you've got coolant loss with bubbles in the system, overheating and loss of heater then HG failure is likely. It needs to be carefully checked if these symptons are observed, but if someone is dumb enough not to check their coolant levels regularly then it's likely they'll also continue driving it with the temp gauge in the red and steam everywhere, and then wonder aloud why the poor car has died. :rolleyes: And then blame it because it's a Fiat.

Another problem with these is if the cooling system is not purged properly. Pockets of air build up and can create local cooling hotspots. It's easily fixed, but if someone has an otherwise healthy Punto that gurgles through the heater when first driven then that's the likely and only cause, and is not to be confused with HG failure.

cena

shamwari wrote: »

Ok, I'm a proud and unashamed Punto driver and I can say that they're a car that drive great if they are looked after properly. IMHO the worst and most problematic examples are those driven hard to within an inch of their lives or because they simply aren't maintained properly. I've had a Punto for 5 years, and now have a Grande Diesel.


What are there like to drive in diesel?

166man

delthedriver wrote: »

To be fair, the Italians have designed some fabulous looking cars over the years.
However a bit like Italian shoes, not to be taken out in the rain.
Ferrari nonetheless are every boys dream car. Reminds me , must do the Euromillions tonight:)

Hardly true now is it? You might be thinking of pre 1990's Alfa's most of them from then on are pretty decent tbh...

shamwari

cena wrote: »

I've had a Punto for 5 years, and now have a Grande Diesel.


What are there like to drive in diesel?

Mine is the 1.3 90 bhp.

Ony one downside in that there's a bit of turbo lag pulling away.

Plus side is everything else though. Plenty of go, great MPG and it rarely averages rarely below 60mpg. They ride better that the petrols (which are already good anyway) thanks to the extra weight of engine.

There's two versions with the 1.9 diesel engine and both absolutely fly. Gearboxes in those allegedly are made of chocolate though

delthedriver

166man wrote: »

Hardly true now is it? You might be thinking of pre 1990's Alfa's most of them from then on are pretty decent tbh...

I never wear my Berluti shoes in the rain!:)

166man

delthedriver wrote: »

I never wear my Berluti shoes in the rain!:)

And so you shouldn't!


In all seriousness though, some of them were crap all right but most just require extra maintenance than others, maintenance most of them never got hence falling apart. My car overall has been minded and it shows, Dad's car ( 159 estate) has not had a single fault in 83k km and nearly 3 years. Mums has had none in nearly a year too ( 2008 Spider 2.2).

delthedriver

166man wrote: »

And so you shouldn't!


In all seriousness though, some of them were crap all right but most just require extra maintenance than others, maintenance most of them never got hence falling apart. My car overall has been minded and it shows, Dad's car ( 159 estate) has not had a single fault in 83k km and nearly 3 years. Mums has had none in nearly a year too ( 2008 Spider 2.2).

Alfa Romeo Spider fab car!:)

166man

delthedriver wrote: »

Alfa Romeo Spider fab car!:)

And it works too!

dgt

166man wrote: »

And so you shouldn't!


In all seriousness though, some of them were crap all right but most just require extra maintenance than others, maintenance most of them never got hence falling apart. My car overall has been minded and it shows, Dad's car ( 159 estate) has not had a single fault in 83k km and nearly 3 years. Mums has had none in nearly a year too ( 2008 Spider 2.2).

This thread in a nutshell

swarlb

Just as an aside, my business is selling used car parts. If I were to depend on selling parts for Fiat (or Alfa for that matter) I'd have closed down years ago.
VW the biggest seller, engines, gearboxes, locks, window regs, Audi a close second, BMW (practically everything), Mercedes the same, Renault right up there as well...
I could easily retire on the number of FSI (Golf) engines I've sold.

shamwari

what goes wrong with them FSI's?

Nissan doctor

shamwari wrote: »

what goes wrong with them FSI's?

Irish maintenance is what mostly kills them along with a few design issues, FSI pump follower wearing causing fuel mix problems is one, incorrect oil used and/or oil level never checked causing issues with oil galleries and chain tensioners.

sanbrafyffe

lol,,,you stunned a few on here,,,well you certainly have good things to say about fiat so,,,

swarlb wrote: »

Just as an aside, my business is selling used car parts. If I were to depend on selling parts for Fiat (or Alfa for that matter) I'd have closed down years ago.
VW the biggest seller, engines, gearboxes, locks, window regs, Audi a close second, BMW (practically everything), Mercedes the same, Renault right up there as well...
I could easily retire on the number of FSI (Golf) engines I've sold.

swarlb

sanbrafyffe wrote: »

lol,,,you stunned a few on here,,,well you certainly have good things to say about fiat so,,,

I don't care really, all cars have their good and bad points. The fix it again tomorrow thing does annoy me, not because Fiats may need fixing (what car doesn't ?), but because its simply not funny or even original. Maybe 50 years ago when some goon thought it up, but not today.
Face facts, the country is full of garages, full of broken down cars of all makes and models, that need fixing, and they most certainly are not all Fiats.

dh0011

these fiatslike blowing head gaskets - sounds like thats your problem OP

sanbrafyffe

mine doesnt,or my sisters or infact anyone in my village that has one:D

dh0011 wrote: »

these fiatslike blowing head gaskets - sounds like thats your problem OP

dh0011

was the brothers problem twice with two different ones and three other friends had the same problem. Maybe you have a magic village.

sanbrafyffe

lol or maybe ye dont look after yer cars:D

dh0011 wrote: »

was the brothers problem twice with two different ones and three other friends had the same problem. Maybe you have a magic village.