Water Loss And Sudden Loss Of Hot Air!

[Danbhardy]

Yesterday as I was off out I got about 6 miles away and the temp gauge shot up to red. Checked the coolant and there was nowt there. Drove a mile to my works garage and they filled it up with antifreeze. Come today and it was fine this morning, temp gauge sitting near halfway and nice and toasty. Missus has just gone out and its gone up to red again but this time it’s blowing cold air whilst on hot.

 

Now this is a problem as she likes it hot. Also it had lost all its coolant again??

 

Any ideas?

 

It’s a 2006 GV 2.8 CRD

[bignev]

I'd start with it needing more coolant in there.

Several threads recently on topping up and venting the system.

[Danbhardy]

im new on here so dont know where i am looking for these threads, i put 6 litres of water in and ran it on idle and its emptied the expansion tank.

 

also no frothing around the oil filler cap.

[bignev]

No worries!

Assuming it isn't leaking out of the bottom then put more in, don't know what the capacity is on the diesel but my 3.3 petrol is over 12 litres.

Keep filling slowly until engine gets warm and the thermostat opens, when I believe from reading on here it will "burp" the remaining air out into the expansion bottle.

Possibly try with just water first to establish if there is a leak, but then definitely make sure you put the correct coolant in.

 

"New radiator needed, is this one ok" is one topic heading I'd suggest you read.

 

I had a water pump leak around May / June and topped it up with 3.5 litres but it was still fine on temperature!

Edited November 10, 2018 by bignev

[Semmysonic]

Had the same problem,doing some research I found the 3.3 needs almost 16 liters to fill the system completely.

Mine took 6 liters to get the heaters working properly again but had no problems with engine temp.

[Danbhardy]

Water is coming out the bottom from what I reckon is where the heater is

[bignev]

On the positive side it could well be just a hose gone..........

 

I presume you mean the webasto diesel heater as that's under the car, the cabin heater matrix is inside the car in the centre of the dash layout, kind of behind the ventilation control panel.

[Danbhardy]

No, the cabin heater as I can see the water dripping down below there

[QinteQ]

If your GV has a (1) Webasto fitted and many Ltd editions of the 2.8 do .... and (2) you keep your fuel higher than 1/4 tank and .... (30 your heating is set to digital auto, an extra light will come on the 'highbrow' to signal its switched on automatically. This Webasto under the drivers seat area of the floor will "express" excess moisture and diesel from the 'burn bowl' - looks like loosing coolant but isn't !

 

 

[gordy]

Keep a watch on that there Aux Heater exhaust hose for excessive water or coolant as mine went with near engine cooking.

[Sentech]

You probably have the same problem as me.

 

I need to change my heater core because it's leaking.

 

In my case there is a 2" plastic tube with a "U Slot" in it located on the front bulkhead, a few inches below the thermostat (you can't miss it, there's a heat shield around it).

 

Water is dripping out at this point.

 

You can see it easily from underneath the car (I used the light on my iphone to illuminate the area).

 

Replacing the heater core looks reasonably straight forward in the manual.

 

The core can be bought on line for about €37.00, make sure you buy the correct one, they changed the design in July 2007.

 

I am going to order the core tomorrow and replace next weekend, I'll post my findings.

 

Quick update I was having the same symptoms as you, and I also found that my radiator was leaking. This is also easy to replace and can be bought online for a reasonable price. A couple of hours and you're done.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Sentech

[BumBle02]

Hi Try a new water cap as they let the water out when old.

[dave62pb]

Having similar problems since installing inline thermostat, loose a bit of coolant the heater stops working, last night the wife left home after about 6 miles the heater blew cold and the temp went up (warning light on ) , 

She pulled in and let it cool down, I went out topped up the coolant about 1 ltr , put the heater on hi , run the engine temp 1/2 way no bubbles in the header tank so sure its not the head gasket

Drove about 3 miles to service station the heater was working but when we pulled in the temp was about 3/4 , popped the bonnet and could see a fresh puddle of coolant on top of the gearbox

The fans kicked in temp went down to 1/2 again , let it cool down put in coolant to correct level , i found a small drinks bottle at the services so put the overflow pipe into it , the wife drove home temp stayed at 1/2 - heater worked - coolant in the header tank was about 3/4 in the tank as it was hot but the drinks bottle had about 1 inch of coolant in and was bubbling due to released pressure

I went out to check once all had settled and cooled down, the coolant was at the correct cold fill level, 

The car had a new rad last year when i drained the system was a bit brown / rusty sludge and i have had a bit of brown scum come into the header tank , think i will drain the system , refill with a flush solution , drain again, refill with coolant and fit a new cap to the header tank

[QinteQ]

Do the job the correct way. (1) Forward flush [notbackflush] to get a lifetimes gunk out (2) use only HOAT Comma G05 Xstream coolant.

When I did my "inlineMOD" I :

- used 5L G05 +5L de-ionised water
- hose pipe in the expansion bottle, loosen bottom hose

 

CRITICAL ** set temp to highest/fan set to highest to clear the matrix

- clean hose in water @ same rate as dirty out
- when perfectly clear
- tighten bottom hose
- 5L G05 + 5L de-ionised in expansion bottle
- start engine / full heat / full fan blower
- let it ''burp' from filler cap until it reaches temp

Never back-flush, best of luck.

[dave62pb]

Hopefully found the fault, looks like its the header tank cap,

I have the overflow into a small bottle with a little coolant in , as soon as the slightest pressure starts to build it escapes into the bottle ,  had a new 13 lbs cap so changed it for the original - no more bubbles in the bottle , took the car out for a decent drive today, heater worked fine all the time, temp stayed at 1/2, as soon as I pulled up at home I popped the bonnet, the coolant was bang on level no bubbles in the bottle

 have ordered a correct 16 lbs cap + I will flush and refill with the correct coolant 

Mine has the aux heater so I will remove the pipe under the car to drain just to make sure I get all the old coolant out

Thanks

Dave

[gordy]

Header tank Cap. Ughhhhhh that's what I say. Couldn't find one of the old metal type ones, only a black plastic over metal type. Fit it, tighten it, is hit and miss as plastic spins on metal. Rant Over...

[dave62pb]

The problem is back again, blowing coolant out of the tank, and the heater not working as it should, got to have it on high but its not as hot as it should be

Today I put it on ramps and took the pipes off the aux heater , the coolant was pretty clean , I flushed the system with hosepipe and put in a bottle of Wynns rad flush 

Filled to level then run the engine , the temp goes to half but it soon pressurizes then dumps a bit of coolant out, the heater is intermittent , I managed to reach the top heater hose squeeze the clip to slacken it off with engine running, coolant squirted out so indicates it is circulating

I am getting concerned that it could be the head gasket as it pressurizes within about 30 seconds from starting although there are no bubbles on the tank when running and it does not boil , Last week I did a 60 mile run most of it motorway at 70-80 MPH with no problems 

I am a bit stumped now , wondering if the heater matrix is blocked or control valve not opening fully , will take for long drive again then drain rad flush , would like to get it sorted before putting in the HOAT coolant as it too expensive to waste