Paphos People

The other day while driving home, I noticed the temp guage almost in the red, so when I got home & the engine had cooled I checked the water in the Rad & expansion tank & the oil to see why it was over heating, expecting one of them to be empty/dry but they weren't, water was fine & oil was normal, so can anyone explain why my car is showing as over heating then

Good that your not losing water or oil.Probably something simple such as fan belt or termostat.

I did think it may be one or the other saying that I've not heard the fan going & if its the thermostate, then its probably stuck open, which can be a problem, suppose I'll have to get it into the garage

Why is it, when you start to save a little money, something always goes wrong, last month my pc, this month the flamin car

Not trying to tell Granny how to suck eggs you need to sort it now while its a little problem cos even a reconditioned engine will cost you big

Oh I don't intend leaving it too long believe me, will get it sorted this week before it starts getting too warm

If the thermostat valve is stuck open then this is not a problem, the problem would be if it is stuck closed as this stops the water circulating through the radiator. In fact in the Cyprus climate you dont really need this valve in the engine at all.
I think its more likely to be the electric fan not kicking in when it should. After driving around till the engine gets to running temp ( or when the needle is in the middle of the gauge), stop the car and let the engine idle, when the needle starts to rise the fan should kick in, if it doesnt, thats the problem. In this heat it will need sorting soon otherwise a warped head is imminent.

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Dave

Another possibility is the temp gauge transmitter , was the engine realy hot when you
opened the bonnet , ie, did it feel like it was boiling , if it seemed to be reasonably normal
then it could be the transmitter . When they go wrong the gauge will always go to full temp reading to alert you .

Regards .

_________________
Mike.

Live each day as if it's your last ,
cos one day it will be .

Well guys, we drove from Aphrodity(sp?) hills yesterday & while going up Mesoyi hill the temp guage starting going up & by the time we got to the villa, it was way over....
I opened the bonnet to find the fan was working & it was blowing water out of the expansion tank too, so I left it to cool for a few hours then checked the water in the Rad & it was just below the full level & no water in the expansion tank
I think the thermostate is knackered as the fan was working, I filled up the expansion tank to the cold level with water, I need to get it into the garage asap before my head gasket goes or something else

To blow water out of the expansion bottle means the system is pressurising internally ,
this COULD mean the gasket is already gone , sorry to sound negative Pete .

_________________
Mike.

Live each day as if it's your last ,
cos one day it will be .

is this on your L200 pete?
check fan belt, water pump and thermostat take the thermostat out if its goosed you don't need one here its in the housing on the top hose!
one of the most annoying things i found here is that nobody ever puts antifreeze in the coolant and with aluminium engines it is a bad move because you get gunk a plenty.

if your head gasket has gone not always the case but sometimes if you look under the oil filler cap you get white sludge.

Well guys, thanks for you help, I took it to the Mistubishi Service centre & they basically took the thing apart, they took off the Rad & cleaned it out, flushed it out & checked it for leaks, then also took out the Thermostat, checked it & cleaned it, replaced the Air Filter, Oil Filter, Fuel Filter, Oil, Antifreeze & Water, did a full service, changed the Fan belt, Power Steering Belt & A/C Belt, then charged me €331.33

Now I was hoping it was the Thermostat or Rad, that way it would have been under the warrenty but as they were both ok, I've had to pay instead, oh well, seems to be running fine now, apparently it was due for all this, so at least I can now sell it with a aclean bill of health any offers

As for my RAV4, I had the head gasket done at the garage in Geroskipou Ind estate at the end of last year, only use it once a week & that isn't over heating now but after driving up Mesoyi Road to Tsada it does start to bubble & blow water out of the expansion tank, so I still have to check my water levels before going anywhere So why is it still doing that after having the Head Gasket & other things done to it

I wouldnt drive it anywhere except back to the garage. Driving it with a cooling problem is asking for trouble.
Sometimes replacing the gasket doesnt solve the problem, there is a possibility that the head is warped and it may need skimming.

_________________
Dave

Hi Dave,

Apparently when the head gasket was changed, the head was skimmed & other things done too but it's still boiling & emptying the expansion tank & the Rad after a run up Tsada hill. Btw it cost me over £700cyp end of last year too

I had to have my Nissan Primera head gasket done a couple of months ago , it was'nt showing the normal signs of over pressure in the system and blow out of water , it just sucked the expansion bottle dry and then the rad , no leaks or anything else , that was a £600 bill as I had the rad changed aswell , all the gills were starting to corrode , mind you , its coming up to 12years old and has 177,000 miles on the clock . The gasket was gone and the head was skimmed , and the bottle has the same amount of water in it now as when I picked it up .

All this to say , different sign for the same problem . Sorry Pete , cant offer any other alternative solutions .

_________________
Mike.

Live each day as if it's your last ,
cos one day it will be .

Yeah my Rav4 is 13yrs old now & done 186k so pretty much in the same league, I just don't understand why its still making the water in the Rad & expansion tank bubble out even after having the head gasket done & head skimmed

I need to take it back but I'm not paying for it, it should still be under warranty

Hi pete
l200 -mechanical fan...........its not that
Rav-4 elec fan..................could be
in Ysort of order this is why you car can over heat _...................
lack of water.......................wheres it gone !
lack of oil...........................wheres it gone !
elec fan doesnt work..............why !
thermosats stuck.................over heated !
radator cap worn...................
radiator blocked or partily blocked...........very common !
Worst case .....................if youve driven any car thats over heated..................
CYLINDER HEAD GASKET !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

REplacing the cylinder head gasket is a cure..................but what caused it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Ian,

L200 fine now, just need a major service after 160k, so loads done on it, running well now

Rav4, god knows, I had the Head Gasket done end of last year, engine needed skiming too, so cost me cyp£700+

Now it's only been run about a dozen trips up & down the hill but when stopped, the rad boils all the water out of the expansion tank & itself, so I constantly refill the rad with water & carry 2 bottles with me just incase. It also drives like a 1.3 up Tsada hill instead of the 2ltr it suppose to be, so I think the engine if fubar too now. I always check the oil & it's fine, so no idea why it's playing up the way it is, fans both work ok, checked them, so anymore idea's mate

A couple of people on here have been advocating removal of the thermostat, saying you don't need it on Cyprus.

DO NOT DOT THIS.

You do need a thermostat....

Let me explain.

Simplified layman's Guide

When the engine reaches approx 80 deg C....
The ECU (electronic control unit) receives signals from the Lambda sensor in the exhaust telling it the CO percentage in the exhaust gasses. This reading directly correlates to the mixture. The ECU then adjusts the mixture to give you good fuel economy and low emissions.

Before the engine reaches approx 80 deg C....
The system runs in what is known as "open loop". The mixture is set to a rich setting similar to the old choke that was fitted to cars in the bad old days.

If you remove your thermostat you will, at best, considerably extend the time the car runs in open loop (on choke) and at worse it will never reach operating temperature and therefore will stay in "open loop".

Your fuel consumption will seriously suffer.

You could also eventually clog and b***er you catalytic converter.

There is a lot more to this subject but just ask yourself one question before you remove any engine component like the the thermostat....

Do you honestly think that car manufacturers would fit a component to their cars and thereby waste profit margin if they didn't have to?

Footnote
I know Pete's L200 is a diesel and is probably pre-cat. I am talking generally here for the benefit of all. This is a subject I know quite a lot about, remember I built the car in my Avatar, from scratch, including the ECU. Which I programmed and mapped myself.

Brian

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Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want....

Brian,

Thanks for that but it's not my 2000 Diesel L200 which is the problem now its my 1995 Petrol Rav4 with a Cat which is over heating

I've decided to get a new(ish) engine for my RAV4, so does anyone know how much it will cost to buy & how much to get it fitted too

Pete

I had similar problem with my Omega few years ago. Was fine until you put it under pressure up a hill.
Turned out to be the water pump impeller worn. Although turning, it wasnt pumping the volume round than was required, hence the overheating when asking a bit more of the engine.
Worth a check, cheaper than a replacement engine

Good luck

Mike

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You are only as old as you feel - didn't think I'd live to that age!

Mike

Hi Mike,

Good to meet you yesterday at the Duck Pond, hope you did well

I'll get it checked out mate, I thought they would have checked the water pump when they did the head gasket but obviously not Might have a go at it myself this weekend