PLEASE HELP!

Hi, took my Scooby to work today, its a 2002 wrx sti ppp and when i parked noticed a small amount of smoke coming from radiator, switched the car off and opened the bonnet to find some water had leaked from somewhere, i think from a hose at the top of radiator. At lunch i started her up and let it heat up and realised the radiator fans weren't working and the bottom hose going to the radiator wasn't heating up (blockage?) The temp. gauge didn't rise above normal though?

I nursed the car home at the end of the day (work only 5mins from home) and tried to flush the system which i don't think worked (s**t hose pipe) a mate told me that things can get stuck where the thermostat is, is the thermostat somewhere near the bottom radiator hose? how can you get to it? Why doesn't the radiator fan not work?

I am currently trying to get some ramps to put the car on to have a better look underneath because i live on a hill and don't want to jack the car up.

Any help would be appreciated as my car is now off the road and i don't have another car to drive. Thanks, Jamie

 

I had the same problem on my subaru type r, and I did turn out to be a faulty thermostat,Ur best bet I would say is to check Ur thermostat,its located at the bottom end of the rad from were the rad hose meets the engine,simply take off the pipe and it should have two bolts then pops out.

For the fans I aint to sure but I would say check ur relays.

Whilst you doing that it be good to replace the hoses with silicone ones samco etc as standard ones aint the best after a few years wear and tear I hope that helps.

P.s you can run the car without a thermostat,it just takes abit longer to warm up but better flow and no more blockages but make sure you tiger seal it as you dont want it leaking from there.

 

Thanks for the reply mate, where abouts are the relays for the radiator fans?

 

Next to your battery there will be a black box,Main fuse relay box just pop it open and on it will be a diagram telling you what relay is for what purpose,just find the correct one and take it from there.

 

how hot did the car get. the fan may well be working ok. they tend not to switch on till the car is at around 97/98 degrees. has it actually overheated? it takes a good 10-15 mins of running before the stat will open as well. was the car low on coolant? it would be wise to first find out where this steam came from. certainly if its been a damp night steam can just come from the external dampness on the rad,exhaust headers etc as they heat up.

 

Thought i sorted the problem at the weekend but it came back, thought it was an air lock but not sure actually what it is, the bottom radiator hose stays cold whilst the car is hot. I can get the fans to work when i put the A/C on and sometimes when i put the heat on which both work. When the car heats up it starts to smoke but i'm not sure where from but the temp. stays normal? Can't get it in a garage till after easter so looks like i'm walking along the side of the road with my thumb out for a week or so

 

problem now fixed turned out to be a faulty radiator, took the thremostat out for better flow also, car now running sweet

 

If you've removed the thermostat it'll take longer to get up to temp (if it ever gets there) and will increase wear on the engine - not a good idea to leave it out