Please help - car problems and no money

welshsue

Hubby just looked at this and said "WHAT, £160 for a radiator". We had one for our large Rover which was only £80 delivered. Bearing in mind he's already charged you for antifreeze. Do you think he's one of these guys that charges extra for women as he believes they don't know what they are talking about. I have had this in the past.
I am lucky I have a hubby who knows a bit about cars and always deals with garages etc.
The head gasket failure (HGF), take the engine oil cap off and have a look inside. If there is a milky white gunge on the inside then that means the water is mixing with the oil and that would be HGF. The sniff test is take the cap off expansion tank and sniff (not when hot), if you can smell a petrol like smell then that can mean its HGF. One more thing, when engine running, open bonnet and look at expansion tank, if you can see lots of bubbles that is another sign it could have gone.

Might be worth joining a forum for ford fiesta. We have joined a rover one and its amazing what you can find out. Lots of help for no money.

Norman_Castle

Hi,when you are sitting in traffic put the heater on full and turn the interior fan on.This should take some heat from the engine. If the car is overheating but the radiator is cold the thermostat may be stuck closed.The water will circulate through the engine and heater matrix.When moving in cold weather this will be enough to cool the engine.When you stop the water will heat,the thermostat will open and the water in the rad will heat,when this is hot the fan will switch on. Has the mechanic told you the fan switches on or have you heard it switch on when the engine is hot?.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

welshsue wrote: »

Hubby just looked at this and said "WHAT, £160 for a radiator". We had one for our large Rover which was only £80 delivered. Bearing in mind he's already charged you for antifreeze. Do you think he's one of these guys that charges extra for women as he believes they don't know what they are talking about. I have had this in the past.
I am lucky I have a hubby who knows a bit about cars and always deals with garages etc.
The head gasket failure (HGF), take the engine oil cap off and have a look inside. If there is a milky white gunge on the inside then that means the water is mixing with the oil and that would be HGF. The sniff test is take the cap off expansion tank and sniff (not when hot), if you can smell a petrol like smell then that can mean its HGF. One more thing, when engine running, open bonnet and look at expansion tank, if you can see lots of bubbles that is another sign it could have gone.

Might be worth joining a forum for ford fiesta. We have joined a rover one and its amazing what you can find out. Lots of help for no money.

Your husband can't know that much about cars if he doesn't realise that radiators don't fit themselves.

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Hi,when you are sitting in traffic put the heater on full and turn the interior fan on.This should take some heat from the engine. If the car is overheating but the radiator is cold the thermostat may be stuck closed.The water will circulate through the engine and heater matrix.When moving in cold weather this will be enough to cool the engine.When you stop the water will heat,the thermostat will open and the water in the rad will heat,when this is hot the fan will switch on. Has the mechanic told you the fan switches on or have you heard it switch on when the engine is hot?.

A good post, and it sounds silly but do check that the fans are blowing inward, and not outward (which can happen if the connection is reversed). Easy way to do this is to see which way a sheet of A4 paper gets sucked, when the fans are on.

welshsue

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Your husband can't know that much about cars if he doesn't realise that radiators don't fit themselves.

I'm not stupid, I know that radiators don't fit themselves but to be charged £160 to supply and fit a ford fiesta radiator is excessive. I was showing that the radiator cost £80, the fitting should have cost no more than £40.00.

angeltreats

LandyAndy wrote: »

What sort of mechanic 'doesn't do head gaskets'?

Answer: One who doesn't know what he's doing and has been guessing at the source of this problem.

Perhaps the OP misunderstood slightly, he might just have meant he couldn't skim the head himself.

Mad_girl

custardy wrote: »

no,no
see what the garages charge as they will have their own
i just posted that to show you could buy your own for that price
if you had your own kit you could do your own
its as simple as basting a turkey

Thanks so much for all your help.

Mad_girl

welshsue wrote: »

Hubby just looked at this and said "WHAT, £160 for a radiator". We had one for our large Rover which was only £80 delivered. Bearing in mind he's already charged you for antifreeze. Do you think he's one of these guys that charges extra for women as he believes they don't know what they are talking about. I have had this in the past.
I am lucky I have a hubby who knows a bit about cars and always deals with garages etc.
The head gasket failure (HGF), take the engine oil cap off and have a look inside. If there is a milky white gunge on the inside then that means the water is mixing with the oil and that would be HGF. The sniff test is take the cap off expansion tank and sniff (not when hot), if you can smell a petrol like smell then that can mean its HGF. One more thing, when engine running, open bonnet and look at expansion tank, if you can see lots of bubbles that is another sign it could have gone.

Might be worth joining a forum for ford fiesta. We have joined a rover one and its amazing what you can find out. Lots of help for no money.

Thanks for your help

Mad_girl

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Hi,when you are sitting in traffic put the heater on full and turn the interior fan on.This should take some heat from the engine. If the car is overheating but the radiator is cold the thermostat may be stuck closed.The water will circulate through the engine and heater matrix.When moving in cold weather this will be enough to cool the engine.When you stop the water will heat,the thermostat will open and the water in the rad will heat,when this is hot the fan will switch on. Has the mechanic told you the fan switches on or have you heard it switch on when the engine is hot?.

I have heard the fan switch on, it gets quite noisy, Oh, I must also add that my internal heater is very cool and does not heat up as much as it used to, not sure if that means anyhting

Mad_girl

angeltreats wrote: »

Perhaps the OP misunderstood slightly, he might just have meant he couldn't skim the head himself.

Angel, he said that he does not do them anymore as they take up too much time...