Hmm, in full-on panic mode at the moment, as I'm moving up north tomorrow for a new job, and the car seems to have a problem :'(

 

My mate noticed it first as I was filling up with petrol - there was a sizzling sound in the cabin, and steam started pouring out of the air vents. We popped the bonnet but there was no sign of any steam in the engine bay. Something was leaking above the passenger footwell, soaking the mat in water, possibly slightly oily.

I limped home watching the temp gauge - sure enough, it started to rise to max, but a couple of times it just suddenly dropped back to normal, only to rise again. Just before we got home, the cat overheat light came on. I popped the bonnet again, still no steam, though the rad cap was sizzling a bit, and the fan wasn't running.

 

It's dark now, so there's not much I can do. Tomorrow I was going to check the coolant level, top up, and also check the oil looks ok.

 

I'm a complete car nonce, so sorry if this seems dumb. What could be up? Could it just be that the coolant got low (or poss leaking), and all it needs is topping up? Or is it likely to be something more sinister? I'm worried about the possible oil in the water dripping into the footwell, and confused by the lack of steam in the engine bay.

 

Any help is appreciated. The car is in pretty good nick, so I'm hoping it's nothing serious :'( Oh, and it's an NA manual, if that's important :)

Thanks!

Your not dumb mate ... seems like it's the heater matrix has gone.

 

Then again, I did speed read it, so I may have missed something.

If it is the matrix then you can bypass it .. do a search ... or you can fix it properly ...

sorry to sound grim...heater matrix or pipework leading to it...if its inside only then dont reckon it could be anything else.

You will need to have the system pressure tested to locate any leaks.

Does the inside of your car have a 'fishy' smell (yeah yeah...) coolant in the carpet ....makes it smell a bit like this (or you know some rough birds..) and typical loss of coolant.

Hope it is not but if u need one.. see below....

yep , ,defo sounds like heater matrix, or pipe too it,, as i rushed out and got new matrix only to find the pipe had split that goes onto it????

yea .. sorry . .could be a pipe as well . should have stated that ...

all that help with in 40mins all you need to do know is subscribe @ £20 ;)

sorry chris wasnt having a pop just letting him no could be pipe as well ,

ps where is boot ???

trunkmonkey mate .. keep up! LOL ..

 

http://www.trunkmonkey.com

Hmm, thanks guys :)

Yes, there's an odd smell (was the first thing I noticed, actually, but assumed it musta been my mate... :S), so I guess it's heater matrix related. Well, not as bad as I was dreading, anyway.

I'm too drunk to do anything about it now, but I'll search tomorrow on what to do with this. Will get it fixed properly in the near future, but I really need to get the car in a state where it will make the journey across the peaks this weekend without dying :'(

 

greg, I will be subscribing some time soon - was about to get round to it a couple of years ago, but then I lost my job and it's taken me this long to get another decent one. I'm impressed to get this much help so quickly this late on a Fri night tho ;)

 

Thanks again! :D

I'm impressed to get this much help so quickly this late on a Fri night tho ;)

 

 

 

You must be joking! We are all sad lonely alco's with nothing better to do! This time of night is our awake time! ;)

 

But realy, this place is cool that you can always get help any time of day or night when you realy need it. Top bunch of lads and lasses here.