[Mk2] [NA] Help!! I'm broken down!!

[princess_slc22]

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone can help me at all.
Lately my engine temperature needle has been dancing around, going to the top and back down to the middle really fast, then dropping down to the bottom and then back to the middle really fast.
This made me think it wasnt over heating.
The last few days it has been going to the top more and more often and today it didnt go back down as usual. Pulled over and lifted the lid and there was steam/smoke and loud hissing coming from around the engine coolant tank
So i've just filled the tank up with water to see if it was that and its made no difference - started the engine an the needle goes to the middle then slowly to the top, havent even driven it, its still parked up. Then the hissing starts again and gets really REALLY hot, sounds a bit like the water is boiling in the tank!!
So i dont want to drive the car at all and i am stuck in manchester town centre on a saturday night 20 miles from home.
Any thoughts??
Cheers guys.
Sarah x

[raptor95GTS]

could be the thermostat has broken causing it to stay shut. Best to be safe and get it (and you) towed home

[princess_slc22]

Thanks for that. I've left it at a friends house nearby and got a lift home, will have to call a garage up on monday and see if they can look at it.
Always breaks down on a bloody weekend!!

[raptor95GTS]

yeah they never break down on the garage floor just as you pull in for a service At least you had someone near by to leave it with

[Mousey]

You say you filled up the tank?

just the overflow one? did you take the radcap pff when cool enough and top it up there?

[JJ]

Likely to be a rad leak causing a coolant shortage which has overheated the engine... Refilling needs a bleeding process which doesn't look like its happening so as a result, engines boiling over again.

[princess_slc22]

Nope didnt top up the radiator just the one that says engine coolant - the one that's tucked away and bloody hard to pour water into without spilling it everywhere! And as for bleeding i know nothing about it. (amateur here)

Called a garage up today ( right near where my car is currently parked up and all lonely ) and they said head gasket straight away. This it what they always say. So they are gonna have a look at it tomorrow.

Fingers crossed its nothing serious, but i haven't got a clue if what they tell me is correct or not and i don't think anybody who knows a lot about MR2's lives near me or can help.

If there is anyone that lives near Bolton/Manchester who could possibly look at it, i will pay you rather someone who knows what they are doing looks at it.

Cheers again guys!!

[Lewis Jay]

PM sent.

Sorry, am not around would have helped if I wasnt abroad.

Post up what the garage tell you and we can advise.

Lewis Jay.

[raptor95GTS]

yeah most garages say head gasket cause then they can charge a fortune. If you only filled up the one that's hard to get to did you fill up the one plastic cap or the metal one? The plastic one is the overflow and the metal one (pressure cap) is the main filling point...

[princess_slc22]

I put some in the overflow first and when the metal one had cooled down a little i put some in there too
Really hope there isnt any damage to the engine.
If so i will be forced to drop a 3.0l v6 in there... sigh.

[raptor95GTS]

I put some in the overflow first and when the metal one had cooled down a little i put some in there too
Really hope there isnt any damage to the engine.
If so i will be forced to drop a 3.0l v6 in there... sigh.

haha great way of looking at it Though a cheeky 3.5l would be awesomely quick

[al/c]

just spotted this, if you need a hand i,ll be available over the weekend sat evening or sunday sarah. met you at haigh hall last year, i had the red kitted turbo. i live in bolton so it,s no problem.

[alanmr2turbo]

Had this happen to me once. But never drove it for days until the fault was fixed.

Drove it a few miles and needle went half way then slowly moved to the top. Stopped car. Found radiator was slightly leaking so managed to coast it home (less than 1/2 mile) after letting the engine cool down. Even after driving less than half a mile the needle was getting close to the top again.

First i would look for leaks on the rad. If that's leak free and you are not losing water from anywhere else then start looking for your V6 transplant as i would say head gasket has gone.

[princess_slc22]

Hey guys, car is sorted now.

Apparently there was an air lock in the system somewhere, they flushed it out and all is fine now. And there are no leaks as far as i can see.

Still going to keep an eye on the needle just in case but all seems ok, thank goodness...

...So the V6 is going back into the land of hopes and dreams for now.

Cheers again for all the replies and al/c thanks for offering your help, no doubt i will take you up on that offer if anything else goes wrong lol!

[raptor95GTS]

excellent result Save some pennies for the V6 in your own time now

[al/c]

glad to hear your sorted sarah, it,s nice when it,s nothing major