I recently purchased a 1993 1.4 306xl, and it had had it head gasket changed about 7 months ago, but not really used since. I am trying to work out what is making it over heat, any ideas? I wouldnt have thought it would be the head gasket, since it drives fine (apart from the overheating), and it has no mayonaise or anything like that. Surely the head could not have gone again, especially considering it hasnt been used.
I was wondering if it could be the thermestat, due to gunk fron the head change? Also it is missing the air intake hose, but i dont think this would make a difference would it? We are going to change the spark plugs and stuff, as it doesnt like to start too well, as it has been sitting so long, but i think the new plugs and good run should solve that.
Please please, can anyone help!
Linz
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Off the top of my head, might be worth checking the thermostat and will certainly be worth bleeding the cooling system in the correct manner to eliminate airlocks...
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I failed head shouldn't cause it to over heat I don't think. You will just get a lot of stream as the water enters into the combustion chambers and out of the exhaust valves into the tail pipe.
Overheating can certainly course the head gasket to fail though.
Could the thermostat be stuck shut? That would certainly cause the car to overheat after a while. Have you checked that the radiator fan kicks in? The radiator fan switch could be faulty.
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Linz
Some questions;
How long does it take from a cold start for the engine to overheat? Miles/time?
What is the evidence of this overheating? Gauge? Knocking? Steam? Water emission? From where?
Do the big hoses to the radiator get hot? Does the radiator itself? Does the fan come on?
Does the heater work? Does it ever blow cold air with a hot engine?
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Hi,
I would say pretty quickly, even not going anywhere. Let me explain a little. I brought it from Royston, and we had trouble starting it, they guy said it just needs a run, as it hasnt been driven in over a year (apart to garage for MOT). It had to have the alarm disconnected as the car always started fisrt time until the alarm kept going off and run the battery down, so it had a new one, which again got run down. We jumped it with a battery pack, and i drove it back to Cambridge (about 15miles, and it ran fine, didnt notice any problems at all apart ffrom the temperature gauge was very high.
i stopped at my mums to put a steroe in and we thought we would leave it running to charge the battery. After putting some water in (thought this might be the reason it was getting hot) we restarted it, and ran it for about 20-30 mins. The gauge went to max pretty quickly and at one point the stop light actually came on. there was a bit of steam/smoke from egine but i belive this is from excess oil being left on engine after head change etc.
The radiator and hoses were hot, and i dont know if the fan came on. I dont recall hearing it when i drove it home, and i didnt have a radio on either, but i wasnt listening out for it. Yes i think the heater does work fine as i remember when i fist started driving it home i turned it off and right down to cold, and air was definately hot.
Hope this helps you help me a bit.
The garage that I piecked it up ffrom (but didnt buy it off) keep saying that the head has probably gone again and that he will fix it for me (put a new one in for a costly amount obviously) but i really cant see how this can be right, if the head has only justed been changed, and not gone anywhere to make it break again.
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If the cylinder head wasn't skimmed (if it was required) and the over heatring problem wasn't solved then I guess there is a chance of a new head failure.
To be hones I think this car will be nothing but trouble for you.
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I seem to recall on various Peugeots I've owned, you need to make a header tank out of an old soft drinks bottle or similar to properly refill the cooling system. The radiator cap is not the highest point on the system so refilling directly through the cap can leave air trapped in the high points of the system, even though the system appears full.
I distinctly recall this on the 106, but can't remember if the 306 was the same.
Cheers
DP
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Yes, the 306 is the same, with the expansion tank built into the side of and at the same level as the radiator- which doesn't help things. You could try refilling the cooling system as DP suggests, using an old drinks bottle or similar to purge out any trapped air and hence enable the coolant to flow round properly. When doing so, open all bleed screws, start filling the cooling system and close each screw in turn as water comes out, starting with the lowest one which is usually on top of the radiator.
Martin
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I used to have the same problem with a 306 xsi of mine.i thought the head gasket had gone but a collegue
took some time bleeding the cooling system properly and it was fine after that.
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