vx commodore wagon overheating

[liveline98]

My wife was driving our vx commodore wagon 2002 model today and it flashed up on the screen hot , hot, hot and a beeper went off.
She stopped after the warning light came on. She turned off the airconditioning and the guage came down from high to midway than she turned off the motor. I went and had a look 45 minutes later , the overflow bottle was empty and I could not see any water at the filler cap of the radiator.
I put about 3-4 litres of water in the radiator and filled the overflow bottle to the correct level.

I rang a radiator guy and he said he will need to pressurise the radiator to test the system.
He said it could be the radiator($240.00) or waterpump or filler cap.

I have done 100 000km (130000 now on it )and have hardly had to add any water to the overflow bottle in this time.
The oil in the motor does not have water in it.

What do you think it may be? Would it best just to take it to them to find the problem?

Cheers John.

[accentstencil]

Could just need a new radiator cap, it's hard to say. Also if you are only putting water and not coolant in it, that will lead to trouble.

[liveline98]

Hi thanks for the reply.

So would it best to get it tested.
If it is something simple I was thinking of getting them to flush the system and put in new coolant.
I was just checking other threads and one said to look for white dried substance, there is a white dried substance my the engine bay.
The coolant in the radiator was the brown colour.

cheers john.

[accentstencil]

Getting it pressure tested would be a good idea. It sounds like a flush and some new coolant would also be a good idea. If you a getting a lot of water in the overflow bottle and it's not getting sucked back in when it cools then the radiator cap is probably the cause.

[codeunknown]

or there is a hole or leak in the hose from the rad to overflow...and its not working right...

best bet....replace the cap...with an original !
do the pressure test.....
open the car heater switch on...and flsuh the heater core out completely..make sure you have it clean as..
do same with engine....flush and back flush
check the thermo works in hot cup of water...and where the safety pressure valve is ..if it has one
get some cutters and cut it off to allow a bigger amount in ,,than it does..
i do that with every thermo on the planet..
clean and flush the rad..and back flush it...
do same with overflow...and check out the hoses and clamps...
do the engine/rad flush with a can of additive,,to water and drop it all out after a 30 mins slow run
then allow it drain and cool....

reflush the car...and add equal water and coolant..

then get it tested.....this makes sure that the reading in related to real flow from real pressure..
not just bad habit of not dropping and cleaning rad water/with coolant every year and topping up with coolant only...
your car is 2002...so its 8 years old.....and that is the majic time for cars to get rad issues when they have not been looked after 100%

[liveline98]

Radiator place found a leak in the alluminium radiator core.
New radiator, flush , new thermostat, new coolant and fitting $340.00.
I was just to busy at work to do the work myself.

Did I get ripped or was it a fair price?

[VK SL 3800]

That sounds about right.