Tony Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 What about the stat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 The stat does open but it seems to be abit lazy, I drove for 15 minutes and checked the hose, it was cold but 5 minutes later was very hot. Maybe this is normal but I've never had to monitor how soon the stat opens before. I'm taking it somewhere this week for a basic diagnosis, which they will do for free and I'll go from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 30, 2015 Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Fingers crossed then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2015 Hopefully it's something that can be fixed cheaply but from what I have read it could only be the radiator cap or head gasket! I don't mind spending say £100 odd on a repair if it'll do us another 6 months but otherwise I'll have to sell it as spares/repair and cut our loses. There is no point spending £500+ on an £800 car when it'll be going next year anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 I dropped the car off last night to the garage and they've been testing it all day but can't find anything wrong! The guy phoned me a while ago and said they had the pressure tester on for a couple of hours and it was fine. The test for the head gasket was also ok, so it's abit of a strange one. It was losing coolant for a few weeks and then it starting rising instead so something must be going on. I'm picking the car up tomorrow so will know more then but he said just keep an eye on it for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 Well doc says it's ok and it's running ok so maybe be less attentive about the water level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 The trouble is something must've been causing this to happen and it's made us paranoid about driving the car. I usually check the coolant every month or 2 and it was only the fact it was on minimum that made me check it more, especially when it went down again after topping it up. That was the first time I've topped the coolant up in 4 years. The guy said the level in the expansion tank was high and he drained some off but the tests were all positive and there's nothing to suggest air or gases are getting in. It doesn't explain why bubbles were coming out of the radiator when I ran the engine without the cap though. I'm going to Ilford tomorrow, which is all motorway and about 40 miles each way. I'm debuting whether to take it for a run. I might just keep a record of where the level is each morning as well and see if there is a pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted December 4, 2015 Report Share Posted December 4, 2015 if you can see fluid in the expansion tank leave it and dont top it up , some cars just find their own level , my Evo always ran low , if you topped it up it just pushed it out of the overflow just keep a 2 litre bottle of coolant in the car to be safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 I have to agree Rich....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted December 5, 2015 Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 Set the interior temp high to make sure all air is bled from the system including the interior matrix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2015 if you can see fluid in the expansion tank leave it and dont top it up , some cars just find their own level , my Evo always ran low , if you topped it up it just pushed it out of the overflow just keep a 2 litre bottle of coolant in the car to be safe That's what I've always done anyway but when it was on the minimum line I thought I should top it up. I have never checked to see how high the coolant was after a run so I have no idea if it's always done that. I chickened out of driving it today but we'll just have to use it as normal and see how it goes. I think it needs to go next year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2015 Well the car has sat there for nearly 2 weeks, the missus has been using the Accord!! I haven't even put the winter wheels on yet. The coolant level hasn't dropped at all but I think we had better start using it again or sell it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 Sell it and spend the money on the 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parthiban Posted December 18, 2015 Report Share Posted December 18, 2015 If it's causing you issues (as this thread seems to suggest) might be worth shifting it if you're not really using it. More reason to keep using the MX-5 too so a win win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 I'm taking it for a run today as we need to use it. The trouble is the MX5 is on a classic policy with limited mileage so need to watch how many I do in that. If it's still not being used in the New Year I think it's time to sell it. She has obviously lost confidence in the car and I can't say I'm keen on using it for long distance now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 It's dead money Rich be gone with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted December 19, 2015 Report Share Posted December 19, 2015 Change the policy on the MX if needs be , it shouldnt make much difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parthiban Posted December 21, 2015 Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 Change the policy on the MX if needs be , it shouldnt make much difference This. I can't imagine that standard insurance on an MX-5 will be that expensive anyway. Plus it can't be more than the MX-5 insurance plus the Civic insurance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2015 A classic policy doesn't use NCB, whereas a normal one does so I would need to start with zero or maybe get a small discount from the insurer for the Accord but it's still alot more. The Civic was £260 (after £40 cashback) and the MX5 is £250 on the classic policy. I think the cheapest quote I got on a normal policy for just the MX5 was £450-£500! I should be able to go up to 5k miles a year on the classic policy (currently on 3k) but my intention was to only run it as a summer/weekend toy. The Civic is getting replaced if it goes, hopefully early next year anyway. I'm going to take it for a run later, I didn't get time over the weekend and start using it, then sell it asap. If I buy a used car from a dealer (possibly a main one) on finance would I get a better trade in value on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'm getting fed up with this car now! The missus has been using it on and off the last week but only locally and I've resisted the urge to check the coolant so will do it tomorrow to see where it's sitting. There is a big problem with condensation though. We all went out this morning in light rain and it was fine, no fogging or condensation. On the way home it started to chuck it down and the whole car had thick condensation on the windows within seconds. The aircon keeps turning off after 10 minutes so didn't help and I was wiping the windows until the missus could pull over it was that bad. We managed to partially clear the screen after 5 minutes but it keeps coming back almost immediately. This only happens in the rain though. I'm going to strip the boot out and check all the carpets once the rain has stopped and see if anything is wet. I'm not sure how I can check the seals but I'll clean and inspect them too. If there was a leak in the matrix the pressure test should've shown it up and I felt the footwells quickly but they were dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Most cars would mist up because there's moisture in the air but yours does read excessive..... Check the drain ways as well in case they are blocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Could be leaking into some soundproofing and then you wouldnt notice it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Why don't you look at the inside of the engine compartment and find the hoses that go to the heater matrix. Remove them and connect them together. This will isolate the matrix from the system. If it still goes down then you can narrow it down to the matrix or engine area. I think you mentioned fogging of the interior. This is a sign of a slow leak at the matrix. I had this with my old astra mk3. Fortunately you could change this one from under the dash. I don't think my back would survive these days. . As I read the posts, it sounds like you're going around in circles. Is your car "fogging up" still or not? Have you bypassed the matrix or not? Have you run the car with the interior temp set to maximum temperature? Have you noted if there is a sweet sickly smell at the exhaust pipe (symptom of burnt coolant) All quick and easy tests to do Rich, I'm just trying to help you save money. You seem to be focused on the cap for some reason. If the above doesn't resolve, then perform a pressure test to a rating of the original cap pressure and/ or have the coolant "sniff" tested. Have you smelt the exhaust yet or had the "sniff" test at the expansion bottle yet? Did you ever bypass the heater matrix? FWIW I had the same problem and it was the interior heater matrix. The hole was very small (pinhead). This was enough to 'pass' a pressure test but enough to cause a fine mist that causes the fog and the apparent random coolant loss. This is why I recommended to bypass the heater matrix to avoid the "assumption" that it was an engine related issue that would involve wasting time and money. Right, back to my crap posts.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P4UL T Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Sounds like a petrol and matches job Rich? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted January 3, 2016 Report Share Posted January 3, 2016 Sounds like a petrol and matches job Rich? Yep "Let it go" and move on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.