as is the way with life ive sorted out my bangs and rattles this week and finally got round to sealing my rear doors up. just as i thought i was about to enjoy the car again, BAMMMM overheating light comes on :(

at first i thought it was the sensor playing up as temp gauge was still at 90. so switched engine off restarted it and light came on again straight away. pulled over lifted bonnet and expansion tank empty . limped it to garage to put some water in to get me home and left it till morning.

ran it upto temp today and its not lost any water heaters in car are blowing hot, no damp footwell, water pump dry and no leaks from any pipes. all hoses are hot apart from bottom radiator hose which is freezing. im leaning towards blocked radiator at the moment although thermostats are a common thing onthese engines.

ive now also realized coolant had leaked from overflow on expansion tank

anyone throw any other suggestions into the mix

thanks ste

Edited 27 February, 201115 yr by ste372

First thing is to ascertain if coolant is leaking, or getting blown out of expansion tank due to over pressure.

Likely causes are, faulty expansion tank cap, broken water pump impeller, wrong anti-freeze used in conjunction with G12+ (forms a sticky gel), stuck thermostat, blocked radiator core. Leaking radiator fan thermo switch. Head gasket (coolant sometimes only leaks if you cane it.)

Edited 27 February, 201115 yr by MoggyTech

its leaking out of overflow, waterpump looks dry, no leaks from any pipes, all the pipes are hot apart from the bottom radiator hose which is cold. even the top hose which carries water from the thermostat to the radiator is hot. ill take the stat out at work tomorrow morning see if it makes a difference if not im thinking radiator blocked somehow?? ill check the rad switch aswell.

oh and only g12 coolant used in my ownership.

Took thermostat out this morning and run it upto temp. Was fearing the worst when it kept boiling up but was just air locks in the system. Now running fine with no stat in it untill one arrives this afternoon. Tested thermostat in boiling water and it was seized shut

Just thought I'd post up the results for anyone who has similar problems.

Also thermostat isn't on side of engine but just behind alternator this caught me out yesterday

Thanks for posting the fix Cheap fix as well, result.

will help people in the future hopefully and only cost £17 for a genuine one