I knew it would happen sooner or later, and sure enough, yesterday I got my first big Zed headache...

 

I noticed a bad smell in the car first (fishy) and then I noticed that the temp guage which has always sat dead centre, was off the top of the scale. I parked up and looked underneath, and water was dripping out (quite a lot) from a little way behind the front wheels. I limped the last mile home and popped the bonnet to hear a whistling sound and some steam. Not good. :(

 

I have very little mechanical knowledge, and I don't want to drive it at the moment for fear of killing it.

 

Can anyone suggest the most likely cause - or indeed what might be the problem?? I could limp it to my 'local' garage, although they're more used to working on Cavaliers I think!

 

Any suggestions/help would be most appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Christian

Head Gasket?

 

water was dripping out (quite a lot) from a little way behind the front wheels. I limped the last mile home and popped the bonnet to hear a whistling sound and some steam. Not good. :(

 

 

 

Cheers,

 

Christian

first port of call would be radiator. make sure no hoses have cracked, or that the radiator itself hasnt fractured. check the rad hose at the front of the bonnet first (before jacking her up and fiddling about beneath).

ive had a fractured radiator before and opted to have it rebuilt. are there any signs of water leakage on the driveway?

There was quite a bit of water on the drive, yes. It continued to leak for about 10 mins after I'd switched the engine off.

 

I'll check the hoses etc, I don't think it is likely to be the rad itself though (although I suppose anything is possible...) as it had a new radiator fitted sometime last year.

I noticed that the temp guage which has always sat dead centre, was off the top of the scale. I parked up and looked underneath, and water was dripping out (quite a lot) from a little way behind the front wheels. I limped the last mile home and popped the bonnet to hear a whistling sound and some steam.

Think I would have called a tow truck out rather than continue driving it, could be be any nuimber of things, as you saw the water leaking from behind the front wheels I would look at the hoses behind the engine to start with but check them all and the rad and make sure its all flushed through and has antifreeze in it, the whole cooking system is getting pretty old and will probably need a complete overhaul.

If you want a garage to look at it there is Bramford Motor Engineering in Ipswich, they have worked on a few Zeds including mine and something like a cooland leak shouldnt be too hard for them to sus.

If you want a garage to look at it there is Bramford Motor Engineering in Ipswich, they have worked on a few Zeds including mine and something like a cooland leak shouldnt be too hard for them to sus.

 

Cheers for that mate, I think they'll be getting a call from me in the near future....

 

Nice to hear of a garage that isn't scared silly to work on a Zed!

sorry to tell you but if you have driven it while you are losing coolant.. chances are you have done the head gasket!!!

sorry to tell you but if you have driven it while you are losing coolant.. chances are you have done the head gasket!!!

 

I really, really hope not...

 

Didn't go far!

if the stock gauge is off the scale then its really REALLY hot, if you carried on driving like that i'd expect a large bill :(

i just had to replace the coolant hoses behind the engine because EXACTLY the same thing happened to mine the other week. there was loads of hissing and steam coming from the engine and the hoses just fray.

Instead of replacing just the hose that's leaking, replace all of them. not a hard job i did it myself in a day. there are about 6 hoses behind it looks hard but really, keep at it. i just replaced them with some fuel hose i bought at halfords and it does the trick!

i just had to replace the coolant hoses behind the engine because EXACTLY the same thing happened to mine the other week. there was loads of hissing and steam coming from the engine and the hoses just fray.

Instead of replacing just the hose that's leaking, replace all of them. not a hard job i did it myself in a day. there are about 6 hoses behind it looks hard but really, keep at it. i just replaced them with some fuel hose i bought at halfords and it does the trick!

 

Nice one!

 

I'll check that out later then, like I said, I'm no mechanic but I'll give it a go...

 

I hope that's it.

i had this happen to me the other day.header pipe on the rad went big style, 6 ft plume of steam, pulled right over an the outlet which is apparently prone to go because there is a weak point on it had come clean off. new header is bout 60 quid or new rad 330 quid from nissan,100 quid for second hand 1.zed world supplied mine hope this helps

And as previously mentioned, the standard temp guage is crap, fit an aftermarket one and you will realise just how much hotter it can get while the standard guage stays at normal. For anyone else reading this, please try not to drive the car after it has overheated unless you really have to, if you do then let it cool right down first and only drive a short way, you could well be giving yourself a bill for over a thousand rather than £20

And as previously mentioned, the standard temp guage is crap, fit an aftermarket one and you will realise just how much hotter it can get while the standard guage stays at normal. For anyone else reading this, please try not to drive the car after it has overheated unless you really have to, if you do then let it cool right down first and only drive a short way, you could well be giving yourself a bill for over a thousand rather than £20

Also stick the heater on max to open up the thermostat - this helps to keep the temp from going off the scale

 

Steve :)

There was quite a bit of water on the drive, yes. It continued to leak for about 10 mins after I'd switched the engine off.

 

I'll check the hoses etc, I don't think it is likely to be the rad itself though (although I suppose anything is possible...) as it had a new radiator fitted sometime last year.

the longer it leaks after shut down then nine times outa ten its well below the head of water "the filler cap" so ide start looking at the bottom rather than the top mate, good luck

Thanks for all the great advice people, you guys are so helpful it hurts!

 

I'll be checking the pipes, then looking at an aftermarket temp guage, then realising I haven't fixed the pipes properly, then getting it lifted to a garage, then going on a mechanic's course, then realising that a mechanic's course is no good if you own a Zed, then taking an additional rocketship engineer's course, then sorting it all out.

 

I'll let you know how it all pans out...

the other thing i was gonna ask everyone...

i'm trying to flush out the air that might be in the system and the procedure is to leave the engine running for about 20 mins with the heating on full until the thermostat opens. how will i know this happens and do i leave the radiator cap off while the engine is running?

Leave the cap off while its running, squeeze all the water pipes you can see while its running to help remove any trapped air but be careful of moving/hot parts, once the thermostat opens you may see the water level drop in the rad depending on wether any air was trapped, doing this and filling the cooling system with the front of the car raised can also help. Once you feel you have done all you can take the car for a spin while keeping an eye on the temp, and glugging sounds or overheating would indicate air still in the system.

cheers suffolk.