Mechanically minded people needed, 106 probs :(

NarChaDBaueR · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:05

Hi all,

Well basically i was out driving my car and the engine coolant light came on, kept driving for a bit and then car started to shake, poodled it along to the nearest garage and filled up with water and oil then took it to a garage the next day. He said that the head was probably cracked or warped and its pretty much dead. He put lots of engine coolant in and it just smoke straight back out for ages.

The next day i tried the car and it wouldn't even turn over at all

and i began to take all my stuff out of it. Was quite emotional actually lol first car and all. Then proceeded to phone up some scrappy's and see how much i could get for it. [75 pound lolz go mee

] And then the other day i thought i'd just try the car see if it was still dead[you never know] and it started, first time, fine as usual... Wierrrrdddd

This was about 2 weeks ago it happened and every couple of days or so ive gone out and started it and never the less it keeps starting first time. I spoke to my dad's mate who said that it's worth checking the oil to see whether it was clear[if black can be clear] and didn't have any water or engine coolant in and it was fine.

So today i drove it around the block a few times to see how it was running, it feels fine but the engine coolant light comes on after about 10 mins of driving putting a few revs through it etcetera. So when i got home i popped the hood and it seemed really hot so i twisted the engine coolant/water cap and approximately half a liter of coolant came out and spilled over the hot engine and steamed etc. The coolant itself was cool it was just the engine that's hot.

Basically im just wondering if anyone knows of anything it "could" be. My mechanical knowledge is pretty non existant but i know a few people with some knowledge and if it's fixable im more than willing to get a haynes and at least give it ago as i've only had it about 5 months or so and seems like a waste of money etc.

I know i should have been on top of my engine oil/coolant levels but mistakes are made and i have learned from my lesson's so if people can restrain from giving me grief about it and stuff would be good.

the car is a 1 litre 106 N reg.

Sorry about the long winded post but any help/idea's would be great! :

Jack

Tinders · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:30

Might be worth checking the thermostat.

If the oil and water have mixed (oil goes a brownly/yellowy colour) then the Headgasket has gone

Lashout_UK · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:32

Yea, could well be a stuck thermostat. Haven't had one fail closed but I guess it could happen

You can test it by running the engine up to temperature then squeezing the coolant hoses. If the thermostat is working properly and open you'll be able to feel the coolant flowing through them (obviously, wear gloves if you're not sure what to expect). If they feel empty and soft then the thermostat is probably stuck.

Have a squeeze before you fire it up

p), so you get a feel for what's going on.

You can also (obviously, be careful, if you don't have access to a temperature probe) look to the radiator for answers - when the engine is up to temperature coolant should flow through the radiator so touch, or measure, the radiator's header tanks to see if it's getting hot, which indicates coolant flow. But do be careful, for obvious reasons. This can also indicate any problems with the radiator, i.e. an internal blockage if part of it feels significantly cooler than other areas.

Tesla · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:41

First thing I would do is leak test the cooling system by pressurising it with the proper tool. Any decent garage should be able to do this for you very cheaply or borrow the tool off of one of your mechanic mates.

NarChaDBaueR · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:43

so because the oil is clean is that a good sign meaning it probably isnt the head?!

I'll have a look into the thermostat issues, with the thermostat would it be its not reading the temp properly so not giving the engine enough coolant making it heat up?

dthebuk · 6 Mar 2008 at 15:43

i had the same problem with a 1 litre N reg 106. the head gasket had gone, cost £300 to repair, i also had an oil leak, don't know if yours does too.

InvaderGIR · 6 Mar 2008 at 16:05

Sounds like the thermostatic switch is knackered...I killed my 306's engine by driving the nuts off it, breaking the switch, but mine broke open...amused me when the RAC man took the filler cap for coolant off and covered himself in boiling coolant (he was wearing a jacket so was fine).
I warped the head, and this was evident by the horrible noise it made when starting and running.

The thermostatic switch is easy enough to change on a Peugeot.

InvG

NarChaDBaueR · 6 Mar 2008 at 16:07

ahhh kk, my car seems to be running fine with no wierd noises so there still maybe HOPE!! lol!

Lashout_UK · 6 Mar 2008 at 16:07

InvaderGIR said:
but mine broke open...I warped the head, and this was evident by the horrible noise it made when starting and running.
InvG

If the thermostat jams open you get overcooling, not overheating

Opening the filler cap when any engine is hot is just asking for trouble

Are you talking about the fan switch?

InvaderGIR · 6 Mar 2008 at 16:08

NarChaDBaueR said:
so because the oil is clean is that a good sign meaning it probably isnt the head?!

Yes, by the sounds of things the head is fine/ok at the moment, just don't keep running the car, keep it off the road till it's fixed, otherwise you will break it.

NarChaDBaueR said:
I'll have a look into the thermostat issues, with the thermostat would it be its not reading the temp properly so not giving the engine enough coolant making it heat up?

As said in my previous post, it sounds like the thermostatic switch, which is a temperature sensitive switch between the head and the coolant pipe that feeds it.

The thermostat will be reading the temp from elsewhere.

InvG

InvaderGIR · 6 Mar 2008 at 16:09

Lashout_UK said:
If the thermostat jams open you get overcooling, not overheating Opening the filler cap when any engine is hot is just asking for trouble

Not always, positive mine was stuck open when it died...may have been closed, but the water was most certainly boiling and the head was warped.

Yeah, I'm not a muppet, so didn't attempt to open it...he was.

I suppose thinking about it the engine could have dumped all coolant out into the coolant pipes, and if the thermostatic switch was closed that'd cause the pressure build up and excretion of coolant via the overflow pipe....

InvG

NarChaDBaueR · 6 Mar 2008 at 18:33

My plan of attack is gunna be take it to a peugeot garage lol

see if they can work out what the problem is!

InvaderGIR · 6 Mar 2008 at 20:36

Haha, easiest option I suppose.

Luckily for me I am mechanically minded. When I killed my engine, I pulled it out and put a new one in.

InvG