chuck_g

Hey All

Been a registered member on here nearly 3 years but first time ive decided to Post.

My Girlfriend has a 1.25 Zetec Fiesta, 98 and the car has been overheating. Firstly when it started overheating it wasnt taking much water, it would just go near the red n start to blow cold air. Now funnily enough the gauge has gone over the red n decided to stay there. Anyone know why? Its also getting quite hot and building pressure. The Thermostat has been changed but still no joy. Waterpump is our next job, is it worth it or are we talking head gasket damage?

Final problem, related or not is the car struggles to Rev, hitting 3.500Rpm it wont go passed it, clutch in and foot to the floor it only revs to 6000Rpm and wont limit. Its also lumpy on idle. Maybe misfiring due to head gasket being gone??

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

Turbo Pez

I have one of these as a daily hack, pretty cool runner around motors, the second problem mite be a blocked cat, my money would be on the head gasket as the first problem, but i mite be wrong, What does the water look like in expansion tank? has it got a oil film like look?

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

If it's losing coolant and not leaking then as you say probably HG, as said check header tank for oily film also oil filler cap for "Mayonaise" where the two are mixing. Another sign is steam from exhaust not to be confused with cold weather.

Martin

tabetha

Sounds like HG, stop using or budget for a new head, these develop fisure cracks which can be skimmed out, but can crack big time if repeatedly subjected to 500C+ water temps, super heated water/steam is amazingly effective on metal!!
tabetha

chuck_g

Well ive talked to the missus, she says it is taking feck all water. She has had to barely top it up since the overheating started!! Also ive checked the water its clean, also checked the oil, theres no mixture there!! Hard to see if the exhaust is smokey due to the cold weather we are having!

AndyST

Heater valves can give this problem mate due to lack of circulation.

Duratec190

X2

heater control valve sounds blocked, providing poor circulation! common problem, change this before u rip the head off or change the water pump!

chuck_g

Update: Changed the temp sensor which fixed the temp gauge so with that fixed we bridged the heater pipes to bypass the control valve and yes the car has stayed cool, gets highish and the fan cools it, so will change the heater control valve tomorrow. Cheers for all the help......

Now the next problem, the car idles like crap, wont accelerate hard and wont rev passed 6k. Any ideas?