Radiator leak problems, foggy windscreen etc.

[Sdc211092]

Hey people,

Got this vt series 1 commodore last year, goin great. About January I was driving along, then overheating etc radiator bone dry. Filled it up with just water, drive for about 2 months just fillin with water EVERYTIME it overheated. It sounded like boiling noises in the overflow and then coolant/water would piss out the overflor bottle. Got to a stage where I was sick of filling it up, don't have enough time to fix mysel so took it in to mechanic.
First time in it was pressure tested, bottom hose connected to motor loose, all fixed. I drove it out, happy days... Next day radiator dry.
Second time into shop he found one of he hoses on heater tap is loose, tightened it up, pressure tested good so off I go. Bout 3 days after, empty.
Third time in he pressure tested radiator for 45minutes (I witnessed), no loss of pressure, checks thermostat to realise nothing in there, but no leaking so all is well.
Later that night I drove for half an hour to be stuck in middle of no-where with an extremely overheating car, nothing in radiator.

So after all this I was sick of this f***in leak so took a day off work, replaced radiator, genuine radiator cap, replaced heater tap, new thermostat and gasket, didn't replace overflow but got new one sitting here. Car runs beautifully for about 5-6days then driving along, car overheated again. But this time, the leak is coming from near the back of the motor and a light leak inside the car just above the drivers little foot rest peddle (automatic). Where is this new leak sprung itself from and how do I fix it? Tried that 'stop leaks' from car shop didn't do a thing. Ontop of this there is constant airflow on the inside of my windscreen constantly fogging it up on cold or rainy days.
By the way, after replacing all these items, when I turn off the car I hear these gulping noises as if the engine is sucking air into the radiator lines somewhere, meanwhile pushing coolant into overflow

Please help me out someone, this is the vehicle I use for work at the moment, if it goes I'm stuffed.

Side note: head gaskets still good, no coolant in the oil and no smoke out the exhaust.

 

[WazzaV8]

Heater hose., you can replace them or if you don't need heaters cut and join them.

 

[WazzaV8]

You can always check too....fill up with water, start car, turn heaters on and let run until hot, check for leaks under dash below heater but if water is leaking into the car that's what it probably is.

 

[Brett_jjj]

It sounds like the heater core is leaking. If it is in fact leaking and you want to replace it, then the whole dash has to come out first to get to it .. You can bypass the heater core by connecting the heater hoses under the bonnet so the coolant just circulates around the heater hoses. These heater cores corrode and leak pretty quickly if the heater doesnt get used very often. The heater should be used on full hot once a week for 10 minutes or so, just like the A/C should be run every so often. This keeps fresh coolant flowing through the heater core, and this helps stop crud from building up in it causing corrosion.

 

[Sdc211092]

So to loop the heater hoses back on itself I just disconnect the larger hoses running from the heater tap to firewall and run the two joins on the heater tap back to itself? And what about the smaller hose going into the firewall from the silver cylinder on the heater tap is that alright where it is or should I clamp it/ run it elsewhere? I'll just do this til I get a new heater core

 

[gossie]

You could always tip a can of BARS LEAKS into it for a quick fix.

I did this to a car back in the '80s, when there was a leak of some sort inside the car making it fog up, and no way was I pulling the thing apart to fix it properly.
It worked perfectly for a number of years until I sold it......It was a Series 3 Jaguar XJ6. I must say it was a beautiful car in it's day that I did 60,000 without any other problem.

 

[WazzaV8]

So to loop the heater hoses back on itself I just disconnect the larger hoses running from the heater tap to firewall and run the two joins on the heater tap back to itself? And what about the smaller hose going into the firewall from the silver cylinder on the heater tap is that alright where it is or should I clamp it/ run it elsewhere? I'll just do this til I get a new heater core

No, you have 2 hoses running to the heater thru the firewall, you have to unplug one by undoing the clamp, cut the other and attach it using the clamp you undid first to make a loop, one hose leads to the heater in your car and one returns the cold water back to the engine to be heated up again.if your not sure you could always use a hydrolic clamp on both hoses I guess....I'm not sure if simply not using your heater will work but it might be worth a shot.

 

[Tree cutter]

Your cat converter might be blocked, which will make your engine run hot and put extra pressure on your cooling system. It seems like something is making your car run hot so when you fix one leak, the next weakest spot starts to leak. Your water pump might not be pumping much water too if the impeller fins have rusted off.

 

[Cheap6]

So to loop the heater hoses back on itself I just disconnect the larger hoses running from the heater tap to firewall and run the two joins on the heater tap back to itself? And what about the smaller hose going into the firewall from the silver cylinder on the heater tap is that alright where it is or should I clamp it/ run it elsewhere? I'll just do this til I get a new heater core

Do consider it as a temporary 'fix'. I think it's a rego. fail because disconnecting the heater core disables the windscreen demister.

 

[Sdc211092]

Well, I am in the process of gutting a vt Calais leather interior door trims dash etc, so when I switch interiors over I'll replace the heater core then. Still got another 5 months rego. If it is blocked cat converters, my engine still runs fine, goes through the revs nicely, no tingy noises from the exhaust. But when I do start up the car in the morning, if I go to take off within a few seconds of starting the car, as I accelerate the revs drop down and car almost stalls, but hasn't actually stalled yet (been doin that for months, but only when cold and only the dirt time I try and take off). Would that be a sign of blocked cat converter? And how would I check to see if water pump is still working at 100%?