[Nicon]

Please help, Driving home from work today, i got a funny smell in the car and then when ever i stopped there was smoke or steam comming from under the bonnet. I drove very slowly and got the car home, opend the bonnet. my coolent tank was also empty and there was a leek that seems to be comming from a pipe, on touching the pipe, it came away and a whole bunch of liquid poured out.

am i right in thinking that its just a case of replacing the bit that has snapped and getting more coolent.

i have pictures but for somereason i connot put them up.

thanks

[Big Boy Al]

Please help, Driving home from work today, i got a funny smell in the car and then when ever i stopped there was smoke or steam comming from under the bonnet. I drove very slowly and got the car home, opend the bonnet. my coolent tank was also empty and there was a leek that seems to be comming from a pipe, on touching the pipe, it came away and a whole bunch of liquid poured out.

am i right in thinking that its just a case of replacing the bit that has snapped and getting more coolent.

i have pictures but for somereason i connot put them up.

thanks

hi ya hopefully it hasnt done any long term damage engine wise.

fingers crossed.

send me the pics to my email and ill upload them for you.

bigboyal82@aol.com

thehn we can see what is what.

alan.

[Big Boy Al]

these are the pics people.




im sure these are the heater matrix hoses.

but if all the engine /coolant water was gone could this cause problems??

[Nicon]

There is still a bit left in the tank. and when i pull the pipe away ALOT came out.

[Big Boy Al]

There is still a bit left in the tank. and when i pull the pipe away ALOT came out.

ah cool you should be fine then but dont drive till its sorted and topped up.

[Pearson]

Looks like the connector on your heater control valve has disintegrated - that in its self isn't a problem as you can get a new one off the shelf from Ford for around Å“32+VAT!

However driving the car with no water circulating could be more of a problem!! - change the valve and prey!! - next time stop and call out the RAC / AA - why risk it!!

Jon (whose father-in-law has just had to trade in his 1 year old car for another new one, cost 6K - doing something similar)

[amino]

yeah driving without coolant makes the engine go super hot (did your temp guage needle nt shoot up?), try getting a new hose clip as the old one has probably come loose as you cant actaully tighten them. they are the two tubes leading into the heater valve

[matthew]

Had this happen to me a month or two ago.

It is just a case of getting a new heater control valve and then plumbing it in. It is fiddly, but not something you need a mechanic to do for you. Just get a hefty pair of pliars to remove the sprung clips that hold the pipes onto the plastic.

The pipe that is dangling in the picture will have the remains of the plastic "lug" still inside so you need to get this out. (with a screwdriver etc)

Other than that it is simply a case of removing the old heater control valve and putting the new one on. Then top up the header tank to the max line, take the car for a spin and keep an eye on the temp guage. Once the car has got hot, stop and let it cool again. Then recheck the coolant level in the header tank and top up if necessary.

Refering to your queiry about possible damage, as long as you didn't drive to far and the temp guage didn't enter the stratosphere then hopefully the car will be fine.

[amino]

well spotted with the sheared off lug ! you can get new valves off ebay dont drive till its replaced and dont put more coolant in until youve replaced the valve as it will just spill everywhere anyway

[Pearson]

yeah driving without coolant makes the engine go super hot (did your temp guage needle nt shoot up?), try getting a new hose clip as the old one has probably come loose as you cant actaully tighten them. they are the two tubes leading into the heater valve

If you have no water - its more normal for the temp gauge to go DOWN!

Jon

[amino]

same thing happened t me with loss of coolant and needle went up quick, after filling up with water as an emergency it stayed at halfway

[pumapilot]

If you have no water - its more normal for the temp gauge to go DOWN!

It does until the engine fries - then its too late anyway.
That happened on an old 1100 Escort i once owned, engine rebuild required.

This post has been edited by pumapilot: 09 May 2006 - 07:44 PM

[Spleen]

Crikey and blimey...

fingers crossed for you!

[amino]

yup, block gets warped I would suspect too,
bad = bin.... not too bad = skim
both expensive repair as each other, hopefully you will have got lucky

[Nicon]

Thanks for all your help. I am going to get the spare part today and then have a go at fitting it myself. See how that goes. I can always get a mate to tow me to a garage if not. When it comes to refilling to coolent, do i have to buy special stuff from ford?

Thanks again

[amino]

I would buy the coolant from Ford, there was two variants aswell I believe a pink one and a green one, obviously there was more difference than just the colour but I dont know what it is lol

[sky]

yeah driving without coolant makes the engine go super hot (did your temp guage needle nt shoot up?), try getting a new hose clip as the old one has probably come loose as you cant actaully tighten them. they are the two tubes leading into the heater valve

As a side note to this... you CANNOT totally rely on the temperature gauge to say whether or not an engine is overheating. Why? Simply put, you need coolant running around the system to bath the temp sender in water... No water, no bathing, no bathing, no temp. I've seen plenty of instances of the temp gauge rising and rising, only to then see it shoot back down because there's no water to "send" a temp (as would be the case with a rapid loss of coolant from the system...)

[Nicon]

In the very shot time it took me to get home, the temp did not change and although i was being very careful, i noticed no diff in proformance

[amino]

but if you drove for ages with no coolant the engine would begin to really get hot..?

[Nicon]

Right, i have the part now, Å“25 from ford and another Å“20 for the anti-freeze. Any tips on fitting?

Also do i have to drain the remaining anti-freeze b4 putting the new stuff in?