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Hi Eric,
I recently went to a mechanic to replace the timing belt of a car with many miles on it.
they replaced the timing belt plus an additional belt the car has, water pump, antifreeze, etc. Plus they made an oil change. They also replaced an o-ring and a few gaskets (valve and spark plug gaskets).
There is no white smoke coming from the exhaust and before the timing belt change the card didn’t leak coolant.
However after that I noticed the car would overheat after about half an hour’s drive, and start leaking coolant. The first day after a 20-minute drive I parked and the car spilled out over a quart of coolant.
(The coolant escapes from the coolant reservoir.) The water temperature reaches about 100 degrees C (around boiling point) but doesn’t go much over that. After the first huge leak the car doesn’t slosh out water but drips, yet this is a sign to me that it is still overheating.
What could this be due to?
Thanks very much!
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you forgot to say what kinda of a car / truck you drive plus engine size trim .
other than that sounds like the put on a faulty part or did not properly seal something . i would take it back and have it fixed under any warranty you may have .
edit : a non properly bleed cooling system ( air in the system ) will cause over heating and certain cases i have had with my own car ( 1991 accord ). the air would actauly push out the coolant to the over flow . once over flow was full it would leak on the ground . it is also possible that you have a blown head gasket where as the compression would push the coolant out of the resivor as i have seen this many times repairing my own car’s and friend’s car’s . if you continue to drive like this you can do serous damage to you’re vehicles engine / blow it up or seize it .
sorry for bad spelling.
The most common cause of an overheat like that after cooling system service is air in the cooling system. A video on how to remove it along with additional information can be found here.
http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/what-to-do-when-your-engine-overheats
HI Eric,
Thanks. Sorry, the car’s a Lancia Dedra 96 , 1.8 liter petrol engine, 96 kw.
I hope it’s not the head gasket, because PRIOR to the timing belt change there was no overheating, and there is no white smoke coming out of the exhaust. Also the temperature remains stable if I turn the heating on. Does that sound like possible head gasket trouble?
If it IS a blown gasket, is the mechanic who changed the timing belt required to replace the gasket etc free of charge? Or can he declare it to be not his fault?
Thanks again! Appreciate it!
Forget the head gasket theory for now and bleed the system. I have a good feeling that will solve the issue.
You’re right Eric – it’s not the gasket, no white smoke, no white rings on the oil cap, no bubbles in the coolant, etc. Went back to the mechanic who inserted the new timing belt, he says the same. In fact they had bled the system initially.
Turns out the problem was the coolant reservoir cap – its gasket is not too strong and if you don’t screw the cap on very tightly, water starts leaking when it expands (when the fan stops working). The engine doesn’t even reach boiling point.
I’ll keep track of what’s happening, but it seems that it was basically a question of just screwing the coolant reservoit cap on real tight! Phew!
Cool, sounds like progress. BTW that was also mentioned in the article I posted for you. You’d be surprised at the trouble radiator caps cause.
Thanks for the update. Keep us updated and good luck.
Update: After about a week with no incidents, the car suddenly starts overheating in mid-traffic on a hot day, temp over boiling point, and pouring out antifreeze from the overflow reservoir. Pours it out right out of the top of the reservoir cap, and not through the little plastic tube attached to it, which stays completely dry.
Car poured out half a quart. Antifreeze was below minimum, poured in a quart of water and went to the mechanic’s ASAP.
They tested the car for a day, and there was no overheating. So they put a new overflow reservoir cap, saying I should try that before trying anything else. They said if it was the head gasket it would take a while to find out. They said they had bled the system even before, and that water was flowing normally.
This was last week, and so far I’ve kept my eyes on the temperature gauge – no overheating.
BUT, today I open the hood and the water is below minimum again. I can also see that some water escaped from the NEW overflow reservoir cap, I can see a wet ring around it. (radiator cap wasn’t changed, just the plastic overflow reservoir cap.) Car DIDN’T overheat-kept lookng at the gauge. Engine compression is normal.
What could this water loss be due to? The water goes UPWARDS through and around the cap, which is new and tightly screwed on. Doesn’t seem like water is leaking from any pipes, and even the tube leading from the overflow reservoir through the cap is dry!
What could the water loss be due to?
Some aftermarket radiators are difficult to fit caps onto. Conversely, some aftermarket caps don’t fit or seal well. Lastly, if there’s a combustion leak like a head gasket problem it can over pressurize the cooling system and cause problems like this. Information on how to test for all this can be found in the article I posted for you.
Keep us posted.
Is it possible for the head gasket to be blown if engine compression is normal?
Thank you for the free and prompt help you offer everyone!
Yes, please use the information in the article I posted for you on diagnosing a combustion leak, that should provide you with the information you need to diagnose that issue.
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