Random questions about everyday cars

[Belatti]

also if the thing is soooo hot 120°C I´m sure this would look like a gaisir after opening the watersystem...

Careful with this. You can burn your face and hands if you open the tank suddenly. If the thing is hot, open just to the point of releasing pressure and wait till the hot vapour goes out. Then, slowly start to open the tank.

[marcush.]

also if the thing is soooo hot 120°C I´m sure this would look like a gaisir after opening the watersystem...

Careful with this. You can burn your face and hands if you open the tank suddenly. If the thing is hot, open just to the point of releasing pressure and wait till the hot vapour goes out. Then, slowly start to open the tank.

he already did this ,mate and I was asking myself just why he did not talk about the burns he sustained doing this ...

[vyselegend]

Haha! don't worry guys, I'm not burnt.

Sure when I opened the tank initially it went "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" like when you start opening a shaken coke bottle, so I went slowly unscrewing it.
Also, as someone explained me today, there is an air valve in the cap, so most probably the 3/4 of cooling fluid missing in the tank were gone in steam because of the overpressure, or so I undertand it.

So, to update on the situation, first I have to state that Smart s*cks. Not the car (whilst unreliable it has great qualities), but the brand. None of the common garages (Midas, Norauto, Speedy,etc) are going to repair a Smart (pieces are too expensives they say), so you're forced to go to the Smart center. But those brats allways start by charging 80€ for removal of the bonnet, then they charge the diagnosis between 250€ and 450€, before even talking about a repair. And they allways conclude that you have to change everything in the end. So I won't go there wathever happens...

Anyway, I have had a few friends looking at the car and testing it, and what is confirmed now is that there is a leak of some sort in the cooling system, because in less than 20 km the tank lost about 1/4 of it's capacity again.

What's unsure is, is there an hidden leak somewhere (can't find any trace of fluids under the car) causing the overheating, or is it the overheating (possibly induced by the broken fan) that makes the fluid temperature raise up to the point it's spitted away by the safety valve?

Tomorrow a friend will bring a battery on which we'll plug the fan on, as to understand if it's broken or if the problem comes from elsewhere. Fuses are ok btw. Then, I'm going to purge the cooling system and refill it, adding an anti-leak paste (the problem with that is that it's not eternal, and while it work it becomes impossible to find the leaking point...)

I'll tell you how it unlfolded, but I do hope I'll be able to solve it by my own means because going to the Smart center is not an option! (the car official value must be around 1000€ now, so I'm not going to put half that sum in a minor repair.)


Thanks again for all your advices and help!

[autogyro]

Unless the vehicle is standing with the engine running for more than two minutes i.e in traffic then it does not matter even if you throw the fan away.
The car is designed to cool the engine using a flow of air through the radiator and this is achieved primarily by moving the car.
If there is no leak that can be seen, then the problem is almost certainly the head gasket.
It could be a stuck thermostat and you can check this by feeling the temperature of the top and bottom hoses, if they are both the same temp when the engine is warmed up then there is sufficient flow through the radiator.
If the bottom hose remains cooler and no fluid flow can be felt, it could either be the thermostat stuck shut or the water pump.

[Belatti]

From what you tell, DIY solution + finding one of those "dark hole garage workshops" where an old quiet man can rebuild your car from scratch and charge you a fraction of what the dealer will is the way to go

[autogyro]

If it is a head gasket on that vehicle, I would give the time to remove and refit it as about one and a half hours.
It then depends on whether the head needs a skim on a mill.

[marcush.]

if there was a leak in the water system,WHY was there pressure on the system ?
the logic fails here ,but the water must have gone somewhere.
If the water has found its way into the combustion chamber ,for sure the car will inevitably SMOKE ,if the water does find its way somewhere else there nust be a visible leak .
Put pressure on the system with a pump (every decent workshop has this ,does not cost much )and you will find the leak quite quickly...didn´t you talk about the car smoking a few months ago???

if the leak is not the headgasket but a porousity in head or block this is the worst
as you will have a nice time finding it...but i think this is just too bizarre in your case but if you happen to have a workshop even this will come across one day..

BUT as we speak this thread is a very good example just why the link between Driver and engineer is so critical...lots of questions ,lots of answers ,pronlem not even
100%analysed and the mechanic is waiting for the worksheet to start his part of it..

[roost89]

Hope it's ok to piggy-back onto your thread vyselegend. I can offer you no advice about your car, unfortunately.

I was wondering if I could get a few of your opinions.
My car has developed a "cough" it only shows when the engine is under load, like rapid acceleration or climbing a steep hill.
It seems to develop within a certain rev range. I can't tell you what that range is though, as the car (2003 Ka) doesn't have a rev counter (useful eh?) It's low-> mid I'd say. As when in the higher revs, there're no problems.

I've asked a few people I know that tinker with cars and I've had a few possible reasons:
Dirty spark-plugs (had a look at one, it seemed ok. It had a gold patch from the explosions)
Something wrong with lamda probe
Timing belt may need changed

Any ideas that you can think of and possible fixes?
It's more of an annoyance at the moment.

[marcush.]

Hope it's ok to piggy-back onto your thread vyselegend. I can offer you no advice about your car, unfortunately.

I was wondering if I could get a few of your opinions.
My car has developed a "cough" it only shows when the engine is under load, like rapid acceleration or climbing a steep hill.
It seems to develop within a certain rev range. I can't tell you what that range is though, as the car (2003 Ka) doesn't have a rev counter (useful eh?) It's low-> mid I'd say. As when in the higher revs, there're no problems.

I've asked a few people I know that tinker with cars and I've had a few possible reasons:
Dirty spark-plugs (had a look at one, it seemed ok. It had a gold patch from the explosions)
Something wrong with lamda probe
Timing belt may need changed

Any ideas that you can think of and possible fixes?
It's more of an annoyance at the moment.

oh god its a ford..

what about fuelfilter clogged?
your high load case cough or hesitation is possibly a misfire situation due to lean mixture.
the lean mixture will lead to random dropout sof firing cylinders...it could of course as well be a fuel pump slowly giving up...the sparkplugs do not like this and will build up a glaze that in itself tends to promote misfires .
I´d start with the fuelfilter ,its cheap.
As your problem is with wot condition a leak in the inlet ducting ,no.
lamda sensor ...this is a obd car so anyone and his dog can readout the faults.this
will at the very least give an idea.

timing belt? no ,but change before it is too late!

[roost89]

cheers Marcush.

Fuel Filter was next on the list to get changed. However new tyres and wheel re-alignment took centre-stage when the tyres were bald and had F1-esque camber

I'll get the fuel filter and timing belt sorted as soon as I can.

Aye, it's a ford. Only the best

[autogyro]

Misfire will not be cam belt.
However change it if mileage on it is high.
Unlikely to be fuel filter, that would show up at high revs as a lack of fuel available.
What type of ford engine?
Common fault is leaky exhaust manifold causing incorrect lambda sensing.
Dirty lambda or faulty sensor.
Carb or injection? Thats 20 or so possible causes.
High mileage Zetec fords? have problems with exhaust valve seats and oil use from worn valve stem seals that cause misfires.
Bit more detail would be useful.

[roost89]

It's a 1.3L Duratec engine. Inline 4. High mileage, so I think I'll change the belt anyway

Carb or injection, I'm not sure. A quick wiki gives me Duratec OHV I4...does that help?
I'd have to check as to whether carb or injection. Not entirely sure (I really should know but the engine is somewhere I'm not sure of and haven't gone before).

Anything else? I'll try and find out more tomorrow if required.

[flynfrog]

I have my money on the MAF. Have you added a K&N filter?

You might try cleaning off the MAF wires with some contact cleaner but dont touch them.

[marcush.]

I have my money on the MAF. Have you added a K&N filter?

You might try cleaning off the MAF wires with some contact cleaner but dont touch them.

looking up the MAF and you will see if it is oily..with high mileage ...well possible.

the fuel filter thing I had with one car and ,sorry autogyro,it was only apparent on WOT conditions when you needed really that extra fuel and it just didn´t reach the engine quick enough.
Is it just me having the impression or is really every Ford older than 5 years smelly odor when driving in front of you and blowing some dark fumes? [-X
working in the automotive industry lamda sensors are really a pain ,and car wiring in particular is a real mess i can see everyday in development.so of course one bad pin a less than perfect ground and you are done.
Get the troublecodes read out.Not much fuss and you know at least if its the maf or even anything electric.
But of course MAF,Lamda etc will throw a MIL light on ...you are not ignoring those red lights,do you?

[ISLAMATRON]

My car has developed a "cough" it only shows when the engine is under load, like rapid acceleration or climbing a steep hill.

Under acceleration would lead you away from the o2/Lambda sensor and to the MAF like someone suggested or the TPS which I see sometimes.

99 times out of 100 most things will be fixed with a good tune up