E plate 1.7D Astra blowing hoses ..

I think you're right with the HG.

Probably more than the car is worth - anything more than £25 and you may as well weigh in the car.

No idea.

Look at Autotrader, under 500 quid, 10 miles radius from your postcode.

There will be dozens of reliable old hacks to pick from on there.

My personal choice [1]- Nissan Primera. Rarely go wrong, but can suffer from rust at the rear edge of the sills where they join the arch, but they're cheap, reliable and cheap to service.

Ok ..

Probably .. but if it actually sorts it for another 5k it might still be worth doing if the answer to Q3 is 'easy' and the rest of the car's ok (not seen it closely of late).

Ok ..

I think it would have to be quite a bit under 500 quid for her to afford it without help from us (and maybe her Dad) etc.

I'll have a punt about then. Of course, always 'better the devil you know' etc ..

I'll include them in my search options then ta ..

Like me and this Rover 218 SD then .. 100 quid, 180k and still doing

All the best ..

T i m

Possibly, bit if the hoses are perished on these they all seem to go at the same time, the coolant cap should vent before the hoses burst.

It is however dead easy.

A torque wrench is handy. You might as well fit a new cambelt.

If the cooling system is being pressurised due to a cracked head, can her Dad not stick the emmissions tester in the expansion bottle to check for combustion/exhaust gases ?

I *think* one of the new(ish) hoses may have also gone ..

Hmm, good point ... path of least resistance etc ..

Ah, ok, thanks Duncan. If I was to step in and do it for her I'd probably be able to do so in my mates (commercial) garage ... heating,

Makes sense. I did the one on the other half's 1.4 Belmont and remember it being quite 'awkward (I think I did so because I was changing the even more awkward water pump. Mind you I'm more used to old RWD Fords and the water pumps can normally be changed in yer tea break) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Easy job then, no real access problems, unbolt in the right order & it's straightforward. Check it's not warped & check the camshaft turns easily & isn't scored, if the oil pressures low they stick in the head & snap. You can normally avoid any issues by changing the spring on the oil pumps relief valve, accesible from outside the motor :-)

See posts passim from Mr Cheerful, you can knock the waterpump out from the back. If you've bought a new o ring for it it's then easy to retension the cambelt.

These suffer from head cracks between the valves, so although the symptoms are the same as HG you may well need another head, there are none in the breakers, so you have to get a new one. Been there, done it. Chuck it/burn it.

Mrcheerful

To be honest I'm not sure what he has or hasn't done to faultfinding this Tony. Also, she's 26, scatty and completely car 'unaware' (which doesn't help in it's self) making any remote diagnostics difficult.

I don't want to tread on his toes but am frustrated that no-one seems to be taking this issue on with any seriousness (she needs the vehicle to get her 3yr daughter to playgroup, shopping, doing stuff with her sister etc etc).

When our Daughter is old enough to drive (she's already had a 2hr session in the BSM simulator and did very well and rides an off road bike etc) part of her having a vehicle will be understanding how to look after it (that will be a *condition* on having one as we will probably be providing it for her).

All the best ..

T i m

So, replying to both posts, prepare to dump it, remove the head and check for cracked head. If yes then > dump, if no then probably head gasket / top end set, check a few bit's (oil pressure > relief valve etc), new cam belt and fingers crossed?

All the best and thanks to all ...

T i m

There is one. My mate had it taken in last week. Was losing all it's oil overnight though hole in sump - he drove over a brick.

-- Peter Hill Spamtrap reply domain as per NNTP-Posting-Host in header Can of worms - what every fisherman wants. Can of worms - what every PC owner gets!

And what part of the world might that be please Peter .. or would you think the head was sold straight away (or possibly on back order even)?

All the best ..

T i m

Update.

I actually saw the Astra in question just now when collecting our Daughter.

It turns out the 3 hoses that have blown were all different (proving the perished theory?) and upon inspection showed the water at reasonable level in the header tank.

I followed her away from cold and although there was a slight sign of white smoke, nothing more than I might expect from a cold engine and a cold night?

It also sounded ok at tick over (well, for an old diesel).

She did say that a couple of years ago it was driven locally for a couple of days with the oil light on ;-( Would anyone know if this is a level or pressure indicator (or both)?

I suggested that if it was signaling the oil level was low then it may not have been of any major issue. If it was showing low pressure (because of low level or otherwise) then that wasn't a good thing.

Whilst checking the water level I noticed the screw on plastic cap was very loose. I mentioned this and she said her Dad had told her to leave it this way because of the build up of pressure?

I though the whole purpose of it being a pressurised system was to prevent the coolant boiling so quickly by keeping the pressure higher than atmospheric? Should she leave it loose so it can easily vent?

Could the reading of 90 deg on her temp gauge simply be a stuck thermostat or failed cooling fan / stat switch etc?

The rest of the car looked quite ok (bodywork, interior etc) and she said apart from the engine issues everything else worked ok (I know a bit academic if the engine was shot but I mean from a repairing it pov).

All the best ..

T i m

T i m wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

You mean that some were coolant and some were air or fluid hoses?

Almost certainly a pressure light, so that would be oil starvation.

Won't have done it any good at all. But since it's still going 2 years later, I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Nonsense

Quite right - it should be pressurised. If there's a pressure cap on the radiator it won't matter, but if you're pressure cap is on the expansion tank, you must make sure that it's tightened and sealing correctly.

That's not excessively high, although it's a little warm for a diesel. If the head and/or gasket turns out OK then it could be the things you've mentioned, or a blockage or problem with the water pump.

Don't see why you shouldn't have a go if you're willing :-) I wouldn't spend anything more than the cost of a replacement HG on it, though.

Stu

Hi Stu, no I think they were all coolant hoses just different ones each time (I didn't know with my first post if any were replaced more than once suggesting something pretty bad was up).

Ok ;-( (The Sierra had a sensor on the dip stick that I think brought up the same warning lamp as low pressure).

Ok ta ;-)

Thought so .. else all systems would run 'open' ?

(didn't see one)

Yes, it was the screw on type with pressure release and inlet(?) valves built in.

So just a general lack of coolant flow then? Can you take the stat out of these easily, just to see how it behaves for a couple of weeks (I know it won't help the efficiency or heater but ..)?

Fair enough .. and if it looks like it was the hg then maybe treat it to a cam belt?

All the best ..

T i m

Went to a place called End of the Line. Pool St, Church Gresley, Swadlincote, Derbyshire DE11 8EE Tel: 01283 211580

SW-NE diagonal band to SE of red circle (go too far SE and you fall in the big brown hole!).

When I have used the place they seemed very vague as to what they had in and what was left of it, "all the cars are down there mate". Sorry it's probably wellies and get in there.

-- Peter Hill Spamtrap reply domain as per NNTP-Posting-Host in header Can of worms - what every fisherman wants. Can of worms - what every PC owner gets!

T i m wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

OK. Since you have mentioned the loose cap, it seems unlikely that these have failed due to excessive pressure, as pressurization cannot take place with a loose cap. Even with a correctly fitted cap, any excess pressure should relieve itself at the cap and would result in coolant loss.

Yup. And would constantly lose coolant due to evaporation. If the car has been losing coolant, you cannot immediately blame it on the HG if the pressure cap hasn't been fitted correctly.

I would agree that if there are no other issues, it's a good idea to start eliminating problems with the cooling system as the cause of the slightly high temp. Removing the stat is a good place to start. You can also start monitoring the coolant level now that the pressure cap issue is settled.

A wise idea, assuming that by that stage you would be confident in the HG diagnosis, and that a replacement would return the car to 100% running order. On a car of such high age and low value, it would be tragic for you to go to all the trouble of replacing the HG, only for the cambelt to snap a week later and put the final nail in the coffin!

Stu

Sorry Stu I think I've confused you. I believe her Dad suggested she 'backed off' the expansion tank cap *after* they had lost 3 (possible weak with age) hoses.

Indeed. I think this may have been offered as a short term solution. I suppose in theory, in the winter, and for a vehicle with a good functioning coolant system and either moving freely or with a good electric fan you *could* run it vented?

True.

Ok, we might well try that then ..

Yup ..

Indeed. How I miss my 2L Pinto with it's 'safe' engine (as proven once in 98k miles) ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Ok, thanks ;-)

lol

Nice .. handy for disposing of bodies as well then? ;-(

So not a lot of chance them taking it off for us and couriering it to London? (and would we want them to take it off for us anyway) ;-(

Might be worth a call I suppose ...

All the best and thanks for your efforts ..

T i m

Has it had head gasket issues in the past? It's just if any oil has been present in the coolant previously it does severely weaken the hoses.

John