Boiling!

[bass_twitch]

Wouldn't that be right, the day after I start a thread named "what do you love about your FTO?" my FTO decides it wants to overheat... I was driving home from work today when after about 10 mins of driving I notice that my temperature gauge is above H.. oh crap! I quickly pull into the next side street and open the bonnet and turn off the car... it sounds like the coolant is bubbling and then it starts to steam up for 2 minutes, then it dies down. I left it for half hour, then took of the radiator cap and filled it up with about 2.5L of water then drove it home... it made it home and the whole time the temperature gauge sat where it is meant to be (mind you I wasn't driving it hard...) Either way I'm taking it to the mechanics tomorrow and I'm guessing it's a blocked tube or something..
Any suggestions or anyone else experience this?

P.S. what was interesting was after letting the engine cool for half hour, when I opened the radiator cap it didn't bubble or anything... I was expecting more of a show.. don't know if this is good or bad..

[dstocks]

water pump maybe

[bass_twitch]

water pump? how? is it a big or small deal/job?

[spency]

before this happened, how often did you check your oil and water levels? answer truthfully

[vipfto]

can be many thing

thermostat
blockage
waterpump
air lock
gasket
thermo fans

[pearl_blu_fto]

can be many thing

thermostat
blockage
waterpump
air lock
gasket
thermo fans

Yeah sadly these factors could possibly be it... or even the problem I had, it ended up being the Heater core slightly leaking ...

[bass_twitch]

before this happened, how often did you check your oil and water levels? answer truthfully

I had checked the oil bout 3 weeks before, and it looked fine, alth it might need a top up now.. and as for water, well I hadn't checked it in ages..

can be many thing

thermostat
blockage
waterpump
air lock
gasket
thermo fans

Yeah sadly these factors could possibly be it... or even the problem I had, it ended up being the Heater core slightly leaking ...

This is pretty annoying, is there a way to figure out which one it is?

[I8A4RE]

First things first, take it to a radiator place and get them to pressure test your cooling system. That will tell whether you have a leak. Just hope you didnt do you head gasket when it got it hot, doesnt take much.

[bass_twitch]

Yeh I know, I'm hoping its just simple, The fact that it behaved itself after I put the water in is a good sign though.. My mechanic said that its probably not a head gasket, we're hoping it's just a small leak that all..

BTW, if I need to source parts (e.g. hoses or pumps etc) Dstocks you are the man to talk to right?

[xj265]

I think the water pump will be the same as the HJ Galant...?

[bass_twitch]

Ok just saw my mechanic.. It's my heater core, it is a la busted and thats where all the coolant was leaking, INSIDE my car! so not only am I now looking at an awesome big cleaning job, but I need to source a new heater core!
For the moment we'r bypassing it, but it means no heating.. In winter!

The mechanic said that swapping the heater core is a pain in the ass, pearl_blu_fto you said this happened to you, what did you do? Is it something that could be done on a DIY day or not really?

[custommodz]

i did thi change recently. Its not a fun job but it can be done failry quickly.

Remove all dashboard including metal braces either side of the centre console. (30-40minutes)
Loosen all of the bolts holding the blower, aircon, and heater system. (10-15minutes)
Wiggle (yes wiggle) the heater system away from the aircon - so you dont have to degas it - it goes towards the drivers side (40minutes + possibly a broken plastic tab or 2)
Replace old core with new (2minutes)
Put back together (60minutes + bandage fingers)
Reconnect hoses and thank all forms of religous icons that you have heating again

[bass_twitch]

Oh awesome, so it may be a pain in the ass, but if it can save me $500-600 then I'm up for trying it, anyone else here had any experience with it? And if I bought a case of beer or two would people be available to help?

[bduffman]

Not as bad as mine my hose came off my heater core in the drive threw haha (snaped pipes) I need to fix mine soon so sick of no heater been like a month haha

[silverGPX]

try almost a year