Hello there new guy needs questions asked
-
Hi all
Im Gary from Essex and have an MX3 of the V6 varietyI've got lots of agro with the sodding thing and need answers
1st..is anyone knowledgable and close to Billericay or Hornchurch? ( moving there in a week ) to come have a look at the scabby thing?
I have found 2 pipes that I think are to do with the power steering ( I am losing fluid somewhere )
They are not connected to anything other than a long metal pipe that runs behind the front bumper
pics -
secondly the fan doesnt work
it was connected to a switch that burnt out in the dash on day I got it :cry:
is there a fuse/relay mising in here?
and I can see there are 4 wires coming from the fan itself. 2 are connected to the burnt out switch
Now the car overheats ( obviously the fan doesnt come on )
BUT sometimes there will be no water in the engine
OR there will be in the engine, but none in the header tank
I cannot see any leaks other than when it boils up
I have taken the cap off by the thermostat and also the one which you have to take off the plastic blah blah by the air box and filled up and it over flows so I know water goes from each.
Have filled up from the header tank also
Im wondering if there is a blockageHmm while I'm onto this I know that the heater controls dont work correctly. Only hot and mild warm ( due to hot weather )air through the centre and side vents. using switches makes no odds
Please please please can someone give me some easy to follow instructions or come take a look?
Got other issues too. full tank and there is a fuel leak, PLUS offside front wheel/suspension knocks and squeaks
Cheers Gary
-
Firstly welcome to the group and I am sure we can get this sorted.
1 power steering, that pipe that runs along the front is power steering fluid cooler.
I have had a few leaks on these before and they usually come from the other end of the hose that connects to the header tank where it joins onto the metal pipe near the rear of the engine, it usually gets sorted by removing that crap clip that holds it on and using a proper jubilee clip.
That picture with the pipe not connected if that connects to the cooler it should be connected to the base of the header tank.2 The Fan, if it was connected to a switch on the dashboard then its been bodged, the photo of the wiring shows it is just a bodge too.
The switch probably wasnt strong enough for the voltage running through it.There should be a black plastic plug on the end that has been cut off and that will connect to plug that is connected to one of the sensors just by the thermostat.
Looking at the photo that plug not connected to anything in the right side is the bit that connects to the fan. It may be he fitted the wroing fan and had to bodge it to make it work. Get one from a scrappy or ebay fit it in and connect the blocks, run the engine it may work fine . if he fitted a aircon fan they look the same but have a different plug.
If you connect the fan and run it over temperature and it does not kick in, replace the fuse just in case and if not then it will need a new sensor that sets off the fan.
Make sure you buy the right fan too if you buy an aircon one then it has identical plugs that you cannot plug together.
That missing relay is nothing to do with it as there are no silver contacts in it so it is a blank for something thats not fitted on your car.
Does your car have aircon, if so you can turn that on to keep the temperature down if you really need to use it but it will eat fuel.3 Losing water, firstly check the oil dipstick to make sure its not in there, if the oil is black fine, if it comes out looking yellowy or white streaks you have a serious problem. Next test is fill the rad back up and run the car up on the driveway when you see the guage go high turn it off and see if the water is squirting out of a hose or hole in a pipe or if its just purely boiling over and forcing the water out of the header tank.
Also while its running look under the engine if you see water coming from the plastic cambelt cover on the drivers side of the engine, if there is then the water pump has a leak and WILL need fixing asap as it could make the cambelt jump teeth if it suddenly goes.
While under there when you have turned the engine off when its hot test the temperature of the hoses at the top and bottom of the rad and put your hand down the front of the rad and test the temperature.
**be careful it could burn you ****If the pipes are hot but the middle of the radiator is cold its either a blocked rad or the thermostat has gone and the water is not getting around the engine. To test the the thermostat undo the casing take it indoors and put it in a cup, then boil the kettle and pour in the boiling water and you should see it slowly open on its own, if it doesnt it needs replacing.
4 Fuel leak, if it only leaks when its full then the pipe running from the filler cap to the tank needs replacing, just take off the rear passenger wheel take out the wheel arch cover and its all there in front of you, its only plastic and you should be able to grab one from a scrappy.
5 Banging from front suspension. If it does it by bouncing it up and down by hand on that corner then its probably the shock gone, if it is then replace BOTH front ones otherwise it will eat tyres and sit high on that corner as thats the new one. If its when you are driving and cornering it sounds like a bush on the wishbone or steer9ing arm has gone
That will get you started anyway
-
confirm that my fuse box is laid out the same as yours so no missing fuses or relays.
with the power steering, a guy on here, now scrapped cut back his corroded pipes and fited a small mocal oil cooler with flexible pipes, using worm drive crips to connect onto the good existing piping.
engine back looks very corroded as if its been sitting/ had a hard life!.
well hope you get through these faults one by one, some are not so bad
simple fixes, others like water loss could cause problems. :(
-
least u have barb wire incase anyone tries to steal ur pipe lol
-
@4a1807caaa=DaveMc:
least u have barb wire incase anyone tries to steal ur pipe lol
:D That is in fact how the bonnet is opened as the proper cable is snapped
I'll check what the others have said later
Thanks guys
any photos or pics of how the power steering pipework is laid out would be great
-
Sounds like head gaskets gone to me.
Its fine to replace the hard pipe at the front that is corroded with any decent sized oil cooler found in a scrapyard.
As for the fan:
- check all the fuses and relays are working
- Jump it direct to the battery and make sure its working (hold it for like 1 sec only or you can fry it)
- Then trace any wires and make sure all joins are good and not corroded
- Get hold of a multimeter and check its getting a power signal
- Check the signal your temp sensor in putting out when cold, warm and hot OR just try swapping in one from a scrapyard.
If all else fails as a temp measure just hook the fan up to a switch until you sort it as you cant keep driving the car without a fan!
-
Hi. The oil is fine with no milky Mayo in it. The water seems to boil up inside the engine. I drove it the other day and the temp gauge went to the top. Straight away I put the heater fan on and immediately it went back to just above half way. Then a little further on it went high again and the heaters blew out cold air. That's because there was no water in the engine. Just steam out the filler cap once opened
-
First off, stop driving your car!! if you overheat it you can turn a simple problem into a fooked engine!! think cracked / warped heads etc.
Still sounds like its probably the head gasket to me.
There does not have to be any water/oil mixing for the head to be gone. It can go between the water and one of the cylinders for example or through a crack in the head.
But do ALL the basic checks first not just a few…
Stage 1: Do some tests
- Is there any water leaks? is the rad leaking when cold or when hot? any of the pipes leaking?or the pressure caps letting water out or air in, watch and listen to them? any water coming from the cambelt side of the engine or around the waterpump pully?
- any strange noises? from the waterpump pully?
- Is there any water in your oil? under the oil cap? on the dipstick? Drain all your oil and look at its colour/consistency? don't forget to put it back in.
- Any oil in your water? take off both caps and look for shiny swirls on top or floating bits, then look in the expansion tank is it brown and sludgy at the bottom? any bits floating in it?
- Is there any air in your water? run the car an idle til it gets to temp, are there any air bubbles in your expansion tank? there should be none
- Is there an Air Lock? remove both metal caps, drain all the water, fill the expansion tank, then refill water slowly and hand pump the two main hoses going to the radiator, when full put on the cap nearest the rad and hand pump the hoses some more and keep topping it up
- Are your rad hoses sucking in air? more common than youd think! just totally remove both hoses from the rad and the engine, then clean up the inside of the hoses and where they fit on to, then throw away the shitty clips they use and put some proper jubilee clips on instead
- Is the thermostat working? Just remove it and see if it solves the problem, then replace it if it does
- Is your Radiator blocked? remove the rad, turn it upside down and then back flush it using a hosepipe on a low pressure, put the hose in each pipe in turn and block off the others with your hands so the rad fills up, give it a good shake as its filling, then let it rush out, do this until no bits come out and water is clear. While the rad is off also backflush the engine (remove thermostat) put the hosepipe into the top engine hose and block the bottom and just fill it up then let it rush out, do this until it runs totally clear.
- Do you have any smoke from the exhaust? when cold or when hot? at idle or when you rev it hard?
- Have you got the proper compression in each cylinder?
The main causes of water boiling over is air getting into the water, either from an air lock, air being sucked in from a leak orair coming in through the head via a bad gasket or crack.
Most of these checks you can do for free, so do them ALL and you will find out what the problem is and have a cleaner system too!
Post up your results to each test and I can help you more!! and we can move onto fixing it!! whatever the problem…
-
Just thought of something. Maybe the original owner wired the fan to a switch due to it not turning on as the head gasket is fooked.
I've seen in before where some cowboy has wired the fan direct to the battery due to HG failed. Water isn't getting to the temp sensor to be able to turn on the fan due to it leaking out into the cylinders or oil pathways.
I bet the proper system in the MX to run the fan is fine, just connect it all back.Still go through all the checks admin has stated and please stop driving the car until the issues are sorted.
Another good way rto tell if water is getting into the cylinders is run the engine till warm and it idles where it should, 650-750 rpm for V6 then smell the exhaust. If it's burning water it'll smell very sweet due to the anti freeze.
-
hey geeza any updates yet?
-
@b5db9451c7=ukmx3admin:
hey geeza any updates yet?
Not yet.
been busy moving house
Will have some time this week if the rain stops to play with it
May sell it too