Thread: TD5 overheated

the actions youve taken were about the best things you could have done...

if they took the hoses off and didnt get the bleed right the TD5 has a habit of forming an air lock which requires purging.

I would have expected it to have self bled pretty much as soon as you got it on the first hill or did some stop/start driving and you would have noticed it as a lower then normal coolant level. did you check it the next morning for a comparative level check? if you did was the coolant at below or above that level.

Sounds like your going to be needing a head gasket very soon

The major change that confirms a head gasket failure is lost economy. I lost up to 100 k's per tank for months before the other symptoms began to show.

The next symptom was pressure in the coolant tank. When released there was heaps of pressure to the point that the level of coolant raised about 30mm.

The final insult was the new coolant cap could not keep the coolant in the bottle.

I never had the car temp go into the red and this most likely saved the head from major damage. I think that most episodes of 'temps in the red before I realised' resulted in head damage. A search here can confirm this.

As for confronting the mechanic...don't really know. One could argue that the original leaks were caused by pressure in the coolant system i.e the head gasket has failed.

Originally Posted by Ricey

I picked up my car on Friday from the mechanic after a routine 130k service, was told there was 2 coolant hoses which had minor leaks & were cleaned & refitted. No other issues apart from the aircon needing regassing. Yesterday driving through Sofala to Hillend I lost all power on a hill, looked at the temp gauge which was creeping upwards almost to the red mark. I shut down the engine & checked the coolant reservoir which was full. The engine sounded & smelt hot. I removed the low coolant sensor where the bleed screw is & found alot of air/steam escaping. I took my time bleeding the system & allowing the engine to cool.

The reason for posting this is to find out whether I've minimised damage from shutting the motor down straight away & whether I'm looking at head gasket failure / damage soon. Is there anything I should do now & what recourse do I have with the mechanic? All advice appreciated.
Pete

Hi Ricey, the same has happened to me - driving in the pouring rain with a S2 Disco, lost power and looked at the instruments to see the engine overheating. I shut down immediately and opened the bottle as well. In my case it was a viscous coupling which failed - this turned freely even though the engine was hot.
In my case there was no apparent damage done - this was a year ago - 15,000 kms ago, still running well


Cheers Erich.

I'd go with Daves comment, sounds as though when they did your hoses, they haven't bled the system properly.

Bleed it properly and should be fine, but keep an eye on the expansion tank for for over pressurising.

Baz.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

the actions youve taken were about the best things you could have done...

if they took the hoses off and didnt get the bleed right the TD5 has a habit of forming an air lock which requires purging.

I would have expected it to have self bled pretty much as soon as you got it on the first hill or did some stop/start driving and you would have noticed it as a lower then normal coolant level. did you check it the next morning for a comparative level check? if you did was the coolant at below or above that level.

Thanks Blknight, I checked the reservoir before the trip & noticed it was a bit high, then drove a few hundred kays through very hilly country & a number of stop starts when she overheated. Bled it there on the spot & again this morning it needed further bleeding till I got a good flow from the bleed screw. Then tonight I had further overheating coming up Mt Victoria but as I was right at the top when the power dropped off I coasted down the range to keep the air at it and she cooled back down. Either I've still got air in there or something else is happening. I'll do another bleed in the morning & contact Davey re the alarm.

Its a head gasket.
I'll put money on it.
Mine did the same thing, all the experts pointed to all manner of possibilities and 30,000ks later it was painfully obvious what was wrong!
No ones fault it just happens.
My driving is country and hilly I also had an appreciable loss of fuel econom and a slight loss of power ( that turned out to be the fuel pump ).
It sounds like it is well advanced if it shows air after a short time> would make arrangements to get it fixed before it leaves you stranded.

Keep bleeding Ricey.......


I did this for two days getting the car and van back from Coffs Harbour.

Two 15 hours days of driving for an hour or two, low water level would sound off, stop, wait for it to cool down, restart, bleed off, refill with coolant and then drive.

One good thing about the drama is I got the best economy figures as the car didn't pressurize as much at 80 kph.

It didn't stop the $3000 bill though...

Originally Posted by Ricey

Thanks Blknight, I checked the reservoir before the trip & noticed it was a bit high, then drove a few hundred kays through very hilly country & a number of stop starts when she overheated. Bled it there on the spot & again this morning it needed further bleeding till I got a good flow from the bleed screw. Then tonight I had further overheating coming up Mt Victoria but as I was right at the top when the power dropped off I coasted down the range to keep the air at it and she cooled back down. Either I've still got air in there or something else is happening. I'll do another bleed in the morning & contact Davey re the alarm.

Have you checked your thermo fan - seem like the classic symptoms. When the car is hot the fan should be locked up solid - if it spins freely it is U/S

Erich.