Does anybody have any ideas as to what may be the problem with my hatch sti overheating ?? I only bought the car yesterday, Previous owner doesnt know what's wrong with it. I've took out the thermostat this morning and cut out the spring center piece and refitted the outer part with the rubber gasket on it. I refilled with water and made sure i got no air locks. The car is still getting hot tho. Does anybody know what maybe the problem please ?

 

Is the pump working properly and are you loosing water.

 

Hi, Thanks. No its not loosing any water, definitely no water in the oil and no oil in the water. The pump looks to be circulating the water but i dont know if its working properly.

 

Are you checking the level from cold and making sure the header tank is topped up and the correct level in the expansion tank? It's unusual for one to overheat without any water loss. How hot does it get, off the scale?
Can you hear the fans running?

 

Broken thermostat?

 

Thank you,

When the engine was stone cold this morning, i removed the thermostat, then refited the rubber gasket, casing and bottom hose. Then filled up the rad slowly with cold water. Then i filled the header tank with cold water then i ran the engine with both rad and header tank caps off and as the water and bubbles rose out of the top of the rad i kept filling the header tank with water. After bubbles stopped coming out of top of rad i put on header cap and rad cap and then let the car idle to correct temp. Then i took it for a spirited drive and within 4 miles the temp gauge was rising to very near the top. But then by keeping in top gear and keeping revs at 2K or below then the temp would come back down slowly.

I drove 200 miles home in it yesterday from where i bought it. I first realised it was over heating about 15 miles from where i bought it, luckily i could pull into the services but the gauge rose to the max for about 5 seconds before i could turn the engine off. When i turned the engine off, Yes there was steam billowing out and water was pissing out of the overflow of the rad.

I let it cool a while, filled up with cold water, started her up and she was fine running at normal temp for quite some time. So i continued on my journey home. I drove slowly for about 25 miles then the gauge started rising again, so i turned the heater to fully hot, opened the rear windows a touch and by keeping the revs low i did manage to get home but the gauge was always moving up and down from mid point to 3/4 of the way up and twice it did rise to the danger zone, so i stopped and opened the rad and header ( with the help of my jacket ) and let the boiling hot water and pressure pour out, then i refilled with cold again and got home late last night.

Sorry for the life story. Would it be the water pump not working right ?

 

And Yes, the two fans are running fine.

 

Who did you buy it off ?
Sounds like a wrong un

 

^^^this

Would take it straight back to them!

 

Sounds to me the seller was having some major issues and decided to palm it off onto someone else.
The exact same thing (albeit a corsa) happened to my brother just the other week. Fortunately he was sharp enough to ring round the local Vauxhall dealers to see if they knew the car. One dealer had recently had the car in to diagnose an overheating issue but the customer decided against having the work done. My brother took the car back armed with that evidence and the couple handed him his money back.
There are some sneaky gits out there that's for sure.

 

Have you checked the radiator/header tank caps for perished rubber seals?

 

I hate to be a pessimist but it would appear the problem was already there before you bought it, wouldn't be the first time some has passed on a hatch with overheating issues.

 

you drove 15 miles from where you bought it and it broke down. Was there no faults apparent on road test prior to commencing the deal ?

Sounds like the headgaskets could be shot or a cracked head/block

 

First check: get a garage who is competent (with the equipment) to check for combustion gases (hydrocarbons) in the coolant.

Sound very much like the head gasket is leaking when the engine is under load (more boost pressure=higher compression=more leakage from combustion chambers).

Seems like you've got a lemon...The 2.5 iswell known for head gasket and cracked liner issues. Any signs of K-seal in the header tank (copper coloured residue)?

 

Feel for you but it certainly looks as though the seller has had your pants down. Buyer always beware.

 

I dont think you should necessarily do anything other than take it back. Once you start forking out to get specialists looking into things you may aswell just accept you've bought a lemon. The guy would be getting it back through the front of his house if he didn't co-operate i'm afraid. He's clearly known that the car has proper issues and palmed it off, take it back, simple as.

 

As above, should have turned back after the initial 15 miles, quicker you get it back there the better.

Otherwise, just accept a potentially big bill, were you budgeting for mods or going to leave as is?

 

Thanks all for the useful info. Is there a possibility that its the water pump playing up ? Which way does the coolant circulate ? Is it in to the top of the rad and out of the bottom or does coolant go in at the bottom of the rad and out at the top ?

 

Mate, with the greatest of respect, listen to the advice you're being given.

You seem adamant on finding the cause and fixing issues with a car you've just bought. Why?

Take the thing back. Let HIM sort it out then if you still want to buy it then by all means do, but why fork out and go to the effort of chasing down what could potentially be a substantial problem.

The other issue to consider is that if he's palmed this car off on you and not told you about a potentially large issue, what else hasn't he told you about? IMO anyone willing to sell a car with issues like this isn't to be trusted.

It's alright asking for advice but you really need to listen to it and take it on board.

For the life of me i can't see any reasoning whatsoever behind you trying to fix this, 99% of people would have been back within 20 minutes getting their money back.

Just my 2p...

 

Who the f*** buys a car without test driving it first

Take it back, park it on the forecourt with steam billowing out of the car and have a conversation with the saleman whilst his new customers look on.

Unless you have bought it from Cheshire Performance then get a bank loan to fix the problems!

 

re reading OP doesn't say, but maybe was aware of this problem with it and took a punt on the car.

 

Taking a punt on an over heating 2.5 hoping it's going to be an easy fix is madness.

 

Hang on a minute boys. I did test drive the car and it did not over heat on test drive.
It over heated on my way home at around 15 miles into my journey, that being 25 - 30 minutes driving slow because of traffic before getting onto the mway.
So i did not take a punt on an overheating car.
Yes i appreciate the comment on taking it back to the seller and asking for my money back or getting him to fix it BUT - You dont know how much i have paid for the car and secondly if i got him to fix it then i really dont think he would send it to Engine Tuner or Scooby Clinic or any other well known reputable garages, No , It will be the quickest, cheapest bodge job ever.
I am just gathering opinions, advice on what could be the possible issues with my car. I am not adamant that what i am saying is correct and going against other peoples advice, i am just trying to cover all possibilities on the problem with my car.
So thanks everybody for your advice and opinions , It is greatly appreciated.
Job done.

 

First off, 99.9% of thermostats fail OPEN, which means the car doesn't get up to temperature, NOT overheats. They are made that way as a fail-safe.

Second, have you COMPLETELY drained, then refiled via the rear hose on the top, metal, header tank, as detailed on here?

While it's got no coolant, backflush and inc the rad.

 

Let's also not forget that if it was a private sale the new owner would have had no rights to return the car, you can only return a car like that to a trader.

 

Mate,

It matters not how much you paid for the car, it's the fact that it's f**ked and you seem to be putting your head in the sand.

If the car is not going to get fixed properly by the seller then get your money back and walk away with a valuable lesson learned. You obviously know they are dodgey in the comments made about the quality of his work.

I think there is more to this than meets the eye

Subscribed.

 

Mate, You are correct

 

After 15 miles? I can guarantee you i'd get my money back if it was me, regardless of rights.

 

...

 

Now please reveal what doesn't meet the eye!

^^^ This.