Smoke from engine !!!!

[Deleted User]

Had problems with car (Daewoo Matiz 0.8 2000) recently with it misfiring badly. OK once its warm but it was really bad this morning.

I had to stop this am because there was steam billowing from under the bonnet.

Even though the coolant cap was on there was coolant all over the engine (which is where the steam came from). Called RAC just in case but they couldnt do anything.

Any ideas with this? Well weird that the coolant is under such pressure it does this...

I'm wondering if its because engine is under too much pressure running on 2 cylinders or something? Or could it be something else?

marlot

Could be anything from a split hose to a blown head gasket.

What did the RAC say? I'd have expected them to pressurise the cooling system using a pump and see if it was leaking.

jaydeeuk1

My moneys on split coolant pipe- the whole system is under pressure, hence you should never take the cap off if the engine is warm, but if you've been running it like that for a while, I bet the head gaskets gone too if coolant has !!!!ed over the engine rather than through it. Hope you've got a few £100 spare

TrickyWicky

Sounds to me like your waterpump might of given up the ghost and no longer pumps water around. If it has failed then the water in the engine would simply boil to bursting point because its not being pumped back out to cool down before going back in to keep the engine cool. Excess heat means excess pressure and then pop.

Have you had your cambelt done recently and not bothered with the pump or rollers?

It could as others suggested just be the head gasket (which makes running when cold sense). Whatever the cause you've got an expensive repair on your hands.

[Deleted User]

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

My moneys on split coolant pipe- the whole system is under pressure, hence you should never take the cap off if the engine is warm, but if you've been running it like that for a while, I bet the head gaskets gone too if coolant has !!!!ed over the engine rather than through it. Hope you've got a few £100 spare

No obvious pipe splits. In fact, it looks like coolant has somehow leaked out through the cap?

Only happened today. I was looking in the engine bay this am and there was no leak so it only happened in the 10 mins I drove this am.

Funnily enough, rac took cap off and coolant seemed to be bubbling/spitting. Exactly same when he put cap back on.

Dodgy cap? Doesnt cap pressurise system so if its leaking it boils easier? Also, how did it leak out through cap - cant be very watertight!!!

[Deleted User]

marlot wrote: »

Could be anything from a split hose to a blown head gasket.

What did the RAC say? I'd have expected them to pressurise the cooling system using a pump and see if it was leaking.

Couldnt do this at roadside they said.

[Deleted User]

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Sounds to me like your waterpump might of given up the ghost and no longer pumps water around. If it has failed then the water in the engine would simply boil to bursting point because its not being pumped back out to cool down before going back in to keep the engine cool. Excess heat means excess pressure and then pop.

Have you had your cambelt done recently and not bothered with the pump or rollers?

It could as others suggested just be the head gasket (which makes running when cold sense). Whatever the cause you've got an expensive repair on your hands.

Great. Only had car for 3 weeks (and bought off friend of the family Grrrrr!!!!)

Wouldnt engine temp be hot then though. It wasnt I checked. (assuming gauge is working correctly!)

TrickyWicky

Depends where the sensor is but yes I would of thought the temp would be showing up as higher than normal. Of course if the sensor is on a pipe relying on water being pumped past it..

It could just be a duff cap and the misfiring could be unrelated but it seems to suggest a fault with the cooling system. Headgaskets that are leaking coolant into the cylinders are hard to start and and can become bloody dangerous when driving. We had a car like this years ago, the HG had gone and it was leaking coolant into the combustion chambers. The ECU would randomly detect a ignition problem and go into overdrive with the fuel causing the car to self accelerate and you'd find the accelerator pedal was redundant. Very scary stuff.

Unless you post the make and model there isn't much anyone here can say really other than take it to a mechanic for diagnosis.

As for buying from a friend of the family.. don't think I'd ever do that.. I tend to prefer to research the car I'm looking at first and then hunt one down. Volvos, Toyotas, Nissan (the older pre-Renault take over models), Mazda etc would all be worthy of my research time and dispite my dislike for badges I'd even consider a VW or Audi though I don't like the comfort they offer. I currently drive one model of car, not because its cheap (parts are extortionate) but because I researched it and found it has a higly reliable engine and gearbox. It was cheap as chips too!

forgotmyname

I was once told the sign of the engine overheating really badly is when the temperature drops to cold on the
gauge.

Its got no water left to cover the temperature sensor. Made sense to me.

Bubbling and hissing doesnt sound good. A garage can do a quick sniffer test these days. Detects exhaust
gas in the tank.

Does sound like a dodgy headgasket. Especially if the engine is not that hot. Did the gauge reach the centre
before or did it always appear to run cool? Thermostat removed to mask the overheating?

Weird_Nev

SOunds like a blown headgasket to me....

[Deleted User]

forgotmyname wrote: »

I was once told the sign of the engine overheating really badly is when the temperature drops to cold on the
gauge.

Its got no water left to cover the temperature sensor. Made sense to me.

Bubbling and hissing doesnt sound good. A garage can do a quick sniffer test these days. Detects exhaust
gas in the tank.

Does sound like a dodgy headgasket. Especially if the engine is not that hot. Did the gauge reach the centre
before or did it always appear to run cool? Thermostat removed to mask the overheating?

Normal amount of coolant left in tank. Temp gauge appeared normal (i.e. just under half)