john01473 Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 I am hoping the answer to my problem is not head gasket – On my way out tonight I noticed that when the engine got up to temperature (The slightly limp 9 o’clock) that no heat was coming out of the heater. When I looked in the mirror I could see a cloud of grey smoke. It did not smell off oil. I let it cool down before attempting to drive home. It started first time as always and again I noticed that when the engine got up to temperature that no heat was coming out of the heater. When I looked in the mirror I could see a cloud of grey smoke. It did not smell off oil. There does not seem to be a loss of power. Please tell me it’s the water pump and it’s easy to fix and they cost £2.00 to buy and take 30 seconds to change. Having awoken from my dream Any ideas? What should I check? In what order? Cheers Big John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooroy Posted November 3, 2009 Share Posted November 3, 2009 1) Did coolant level drop ? I presume you checked the level before you restarted ? If it took a lot of coolant to top it up you could now have an airlock . 2) Do you mean you had some heat until the temp got up to normal - and then lost it ? 3) When you say cloud of grey smoke - was it in daylight ? Was the outside temp low ? The fact that the water pump is mounted high up on the 300 Tdi means that if the level drops in the system it can easily fall below the level of the pump - so no circulation , and likely overheating . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john01473 Posted November 4, 2009 Author Share Posted November 4, 2009 1) Did coolant level drop ? I presume you checked the level before you restarted ? If it took a lot of coolant to top it up you could now have an airlock . 2) Do you mean you had some heat until the temp got up to normal - and then lost it ? 3) When you say cloud of grey smoke - was it in daylight ? Was the outside temp low ? The fact that the water pump is mounted high up on the 300 Tdi means that if the level drops in the system it can easily fall below the level of the pump - so no circulation , and likely overheating . 1) you would think i checked the coolant levelbefore restarting, but i did not. i will check it first thing. 2) no had no heat at all - before or after coming up to temperature. 3) it was tonight when it was dark and yes it was cold - 5 degrees. i will open bonnet tomorrow in daylighht and look at fluid levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john01473 Posted November 5, 2009 Author Share Posted November 5, 2009 1) you would think i checked the coolant levelbefore restarting, but i did not. i will check it first thing. 2) no had no heat at all - before or after coming up to temperature. 3) it was tonight when it was dark and yes it was cold - 5 degrees. i will open bonnet tomorrow in daylighht and look at fluid levels. i opend the bonnet and the water resevoir was empty with the tell tale brown creamy scum in it. so she has gone off to the garage to be looked over - suspicion is that the head gasket has blown. this time hopefully no other damage. what i would like to ask is could this have been prevented? if so how? cheers Big John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
errol209 Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 i opend the bonnet and the water resevoir was empty with the tell tale brown creamy scum in it. so she has gone off to the garage to be looked over - suspicion is that the head gasket has blown. this time hopefully no other damage. what i would like to ask is could this have been prevented? if so how? cheers Big John. Fit a coolant level alarm - Some info on the Difflock forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dooroy Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 The coolant level alarm would be a definite advantage on the 300 Tdi due to the high mounting position of the water pump - as I said earlier a small drop in level can mean the pump fails to circulate coolant leading to problems . Without the alarm you need to check level VERY regularly - and we all know that if it remains constant for a long period you begin to leave the checks further apart ; especially if its lashing rain , freezing cold etc . Of course in cold weather a sudden loss of warm air from the heater wiil usually get your attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tetsu0san Posted November 6, 2009 Share Posted November 6, 2009 Did you hear any hissing coming from out of the engine or coolant system when it overheated? I have just had a head gasket go on mine (mostly down to the previous owner having a bunch of cowboys play with it before I bought it). It was actually a cracked head that was increasing the pressure in the cooling system which had to find a way out somewhere. I finally got the new head on last night and it ran for the first time after the problems. It was a beautiful moment. Get whoever is looking at the car to get the head pressure checked and skimmed. It will cost a little to get it done but at least you will know there are no other potential issues. Les is a good lad for information on this (he helped me a lot), and I have now just done a full head rebuild on mine so if you have any questions then just ask Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john01473 Posted November 7, 2009 Author Share Posted November 7, 2009 Did you hear any hissing coming from out of the engine or coolant system when it overheated? I have just had a head gasket go on mine (mostly down to the previous owner having a bunch of cowboys play with it before I bought it). It was actually a cracked head that was increasing the pressure in the cooling system which had to find a way out somewhere. I finally got the new head on last night and it ran for the first time after the problems. It was a beautiful moment. Get whoever is looking at the car to get the head pressure checked and skimmed. It will cost a little to get it done but at least you will know there are no other potential issues. Les is a good lad for information on this (he helped me a lot), and I have now just done a full head rebuild on mine so if you have any questions then just ask thanks chaps for advice - the mechanic i use has arranged to have the head skimmed and pressure tested. i am definitely going to look into the fluid level indicator - i will talk to him about it. cheers Big John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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