Xsara Overheating

[N Gibbs]

Hi I am the ownre of a R reg Citroen Xsara 1.8 8v auto petrol.

Recently it ran out of water due to a jubilee clip failure,

it was not driven more than 2 miles but we do not know where in the journey it failed.

It was allowed to cool repaired flushed refilled using all bleed screw points,

and it started to overheat I have had the head gasket done, head skimmed, water pump checked,

thermostat change, and the timming belt done.

Drove it 3 miles today with no thermostat in it still got hot enough to need than fans to cool it down as soon as the fans stop it climbs up again.

Any advice would be welcome as I have run out of ideas.

[techbod]

strange for it to overheat when you've done all that but as long as the fans cut in I cant see what the problem is, when you bled the system did you have the heat turned to high in the car? if not you would have air in the heater matrix

[N Gibbs]

strange for it to overheat when you've done all that but as long as the fans cut in I cant see what the problem is, when you bled the system did you have the heat turned to high in the car? if not you would have air in the heater matrix

Yes it was all done correctly but it is still overheating without stat whenever it is not moving.

dont want it to get hotter and blow the gasket again.

[techbod]

im not sure if your car has a run on fan when the car is switched off to allow system pressure to drop or a fuse/relay has gone bad worth checking it out and ill look through the data I have

[techbod]

F15 fuse in the car is the fuse for the engine coolant blower motor control module, multifunction control modual,

under bonnet fuse box F3 fuse for the fan 120W/200W 1998 on

[kfk]

Might be a stupid question......but i'll ask anyway.........have you got air conditioning, if you have does it do this with the air con on or with it off as well?

[N Gibbs]

Hi it does have aircon but it has never worked since I have had the car.

The dual fans are working they come on when the car gets hot but the longer you are stopped the higher it rises even with the fans running.

[techbod]

sticking thermostat comes to mind fit a new one

or the cylinder head has a bad point not solved by skimming the head between the cylinders and its over pressurising the cooling system so a coolant system pressure test would need to be done

[N Gibbs]

I am not running a thermostat have removed it to try and keep down the temp is better without but still gets hot when not moving or travelling at less than 30 mph.any idea how much a pressure test should be ?.

[kfk]

how hot on the gauge does it get as a percentage.....does it bring the overheating light on?

 

Does it feel hot on the top hose?

 

is it forcing any coolant out of the radiator/header tank?

[N Gibbs]

Hi have been in contact with the person who did the head gasket for me and he told me the test they did on the water pump was to look for signs of leakage and to make sure it span freely.

but I have been told if the impeller has broken off it could pass all these tests,

so I am probally going to check the pump myself to see if it is broken.

It does not quite get to the overheating light on but only because the fans keep it just underneath, but is has not been driven on more than 7 mile journeys since the head was done, and it still gets that hot.

[kfk]

Has it got a 2 speed fan......are both speeds working?

 

if the first speed doesnt work it will get 'very' hot before the second speed brings it back down.

[techbod]

pressure at the cap should be 1.4 bar thermostat opens at 83c, its a pity they didn't change the water pump and I have seen the impeller broke off before which means the coolant doesn't get round and the pressure will build up when the engine is off, I also agree with the duel fan speed could be an issue, the water pump would need a pressure test at the filler cap to see if its working and only other way is to remove it or simply look at the coolant and see if its being pumped from the return pipe ( crude method but effective )

[N Gibbs]

Hi seem to have solved it brought a new radiator cap and it seems to be ok.

Thank you all for your advice and help much appreciated

[techbod]

a small thing and not realised by many as a cause of the problem, Im glad it was a cheap fix