Air lock on the coolant system?
- Thread starter Neilson
- Start date
Help Support ProjectPuma:
Hi Neilson, I've got the same problem with mine and have tried various fixes none of which seem to work, even the garage that replaced the cam belt couldn't get it to "burp"
The most recent advice I was given was to jack up the front of the car as high as it would go, on ramps ideally and maybe deflate the rear tyres to increase the angle before bleeding the system. It sounds crazy but the problem apparently lies with the heater matrix being difficult to fill up with the car on the level resulting in an inoperative heater plus a big fat air bubble in the cooling system, which so long as it remains in the heater matrix is okay for the engine but bad news for cabin comfort and windscreen demisting in the winter. Problems arise if it moves to the engine, mines done it twice and it gurgles a bit before the temp gauge rises, incidentally the heater starts working at the same time. I just deal with it by the roadside when it happens.
By lifting the front up you're effectively lowering the heater matrix in relationships to the block and thus have a better chance of filling it up, it might also help to unbolt the expansion tank and prop it up higher than the engine during the process. Just make sure the heater is set to hot while you do it. The bleeding process is like any other. You'll know it's worked because the engine stays cool and the heater blows warm.
Pumas along with fiestas are prone to overheating because of the air bubble problem and I can't remember how many fiestas I came across belching steam when I was a van driver, but it was a lot. Ford actually recommend having the system pressure filled so you might want to consider that as a remedy, as for the lifting the front up method I've not got round to doing it yet but my local garage assures me it's worked for them and they've been in business since the 1930's. Chances are I'll just pop it round and have them do it when they're not so busy.
Good luck anyway and keep us posted with your progress. Anton
The most recent advice I was given was to jack up the front of the car as high as it would go, on ramps ideally and maybe deflate the rear tyres to increase the angle before bleeding the system. It sounds crazy but the problem apparently lies with the heater matrix being difficult to fill up with the car on the level resulting in an inoperative heater plus a big fat air bubble in the cooling system, which so long as it remains in the heater matrix is okay for the engine but bad news for cabin comfort and windscreen demisting in the winter. Problems arise if it moves to the engine, mines done it twice and it gurgles a bit before the temp gauge rises, incidentally the heater starts working at the same time. I just deal with it by the roadside when it happens.
By lifting the front up you're effectively lowering the heater matrix in relationships to the block and thus have a better chance of filling it up, it might also help to unbolt the expansion tank and prop it up higher than the engine during the process. Just make sure the heater is set to hot while you do it. The bleeding process is like any other. You'll know it's worked because the engine stays cool and the heater blows warm.
Pumas along with fiestas are prone to overheating because of the air bubble problem and I can't remember how many fiestas I came across belching steam when I was a van driver, but it was a lot. Ford actually recommend having the system pressure filled so you might want to consider that as a remedy, as for the lifting the front up method I've not got round to doing it yet but my local garage assures me it's worked for them and they've been in business since the 1930's. Chances are I'll just pop it round and have them do it when they're not so busy.
Good luck anyway and keep us posted with your progress. Anton
ElDude at Allison Automotive
Active member
I'd suggest it's probably just not flowing properly.. it's a self bleeding system with the expansion tank mounted at the highest point. .
ElDude at Allison Automotive said:
Hi ElDude, thanks for elaborating, the pumas cooling issues are a complete enigma it seems, could you give me some pointers on how to get it to self bleed, so far I've been advised on doing everything bar hopping up and down on one leg whilst patting my head and rubbing my tummy, but still can't get it to sort itself out. I'm going to give my local garages advice a go soon as I've tried everything else, water pumps been done as has hcv(genuine part courtesy of Vespers). It's been playing games for the past 10,000 miles, possibly longer. Last owner had problems too. I've not known a car like it. Still good fun though.
ElDude at Allison Automotive
Active member
I guess you could change the thermostat. .also check the coolant temp sensor is working correctly. .. whats the condition of the housing like underneath the coil pack? ... make sure thats not bunged up with sugary corrosion. ..also check the pipework around the heater control valve. .. make sure there are not pieces of previous heater control valves stuck in there..
Kind regards Chris
Kind regards Chris
YOG
Well-known member
There have been a few incidents, where the water pump blades have come loose on the spindle, and weren't rotating to circulate the coolant.
ElDude at Allison Automotive said:
Thanks for getting back to me Chris, some good leads mentioned. I've not checked the thermostat or the temp sender so I'll look into that, the housing was done in Feb this year, it was as you described but I cleaned up the deposits from the outside where it was leaking (inside was clean and shiny) and refitted the hoses with new jubilee clips, it's been good since then. I'm going to put my money on it being a HCV related issue I think, I put a new one on in January to fix the "heater always on" fault and it seemed to sort it out but now it's always blowing cold and the gurgling noises seem to be coming from that region just before the engine starts to run hot. Its a long shot but could it be the dash mounted control switch, I only ask because it would be an easier fix than the thermostat and I've heard it mentioned on forums before, also heard talk of possible issues with the HCV electrical connectors. Again an easier fix. Perhaps it's not opening the HCV fully and causing self bleeding issues. Eighther way I think checking the thermostat and sender is well overdue, Its a '98 model. Hasn't let me down yet though. If it was a person it would be the type that goes to the doctor a lot with twinges and takes days off work even though there's fuck all really wrong with them.
YOG said:
Hi YOG, the garage that changed the cam belt replaced the pump with the improved metal one, they did give me the original plastic one to have a look at and apart from a tiny leak near the bearing it looked in good shape. I do find the engine cools quite dramatically when I rev the engine though, especially if I'm sitting in traffic. But then occasionally, twice in the past 10,000 miles it starts to run really hot. I manage to switch off before it goes into the red though regardless of where I am. Can't understand why people let their motors run into the red when all they have to do is switch off and treat it like a breakdown. I then let pressure out slowly, let it cool down for a minute or two, let it run for a minute or so with the cap off which puts the needle back in the middle, tighten it up again and carry on. It's not steamed up on me yet and has so far always got be to where I want to go. But it's definitely one of those pumas that has cooling issues.
ElDude at Allison Automotive
Active member
Ant laud said:
Sounding more and more like a typical heater control valve issue
ElDude at Allison Automotive said:
I think you could be right, shame since I put a new one on not that long ago. I might just replace it with an ISO type valve from plumbase and see if it makes a difference, if it does then I'll know that's the problem.
