ANOTHER OVERHEATING HI JET PLEASE HELP!!

Hi there,

So last October I picked up a 1.3 EFI. Lovely.

About 6 weeks ago I was on a journey back to Liverpool from Southport when I hear a loud 'pop!' and then a bubbling sound from beneath the passenger seat. When I pull over, I see that the lid on the overflow tank has popped off and the coolant in there is boiling over.

I get home and look it up, learning that over heating is no uncommon fault with the hi jets. Seeing that there is plenty of literature and this amazing forum on the subject I decide to roll up my sleeves and have a go at fixing it. DISCLAIMER: I'm quite handy with some tools, but I am by NO MEANS a mechanic! Always been curious to learn the basics of mechanics, now it seems I have no choice!

Anyway, back to the van, here's what I did:

Firstly, I bled and refilled the coolant system and checked all the hose pipes etc. The problem persists and gets worse with each journey.
At this time it seemed that the heat never got as far as the radiator. In fact it seems that the heat was not being carried further than the cap by the expansion tank. It's around this point I found a great guide on the problem on this site. So I buy a new cap - as recommended by the guide - in fact I bought two as they're only cheap and figured the radiator cap may be buggered too.
This got the heat to the radiator, but it still wasn't heating up.
I treated the system with K-seal in case there was any leaks (I did what it said but no idea if I needed it or if it has made any difference).
I removed and tested the thermostat - it was jammed shut. I bought a new one (got it for about £8 so don't know if this might be unfit for purpose but tested it and it seems to open and close fine). None of this worked and the problem was getting worse.
Inspecting the radiator it seems around the bottom left hand corner it is loaded with chalky gunky crap, finding a replacement one from a van breakers for only 50 quid I decide to replace it. I also got a block test done, which did not indicate gasket failure - this was done only once from the cap near the expansion tank so I have not completely ruled out a broken head.
With the new radiator the cooling system seems to work BUT only some of the time and only for a limited time!

Here's what happens now:

Driving or stationary ticking over the van gets up to temp within 5 or 10 minutes.
The temp gauge sits pleasantly in the middle for a while (and I try to hold back my excitement that it might work!).
I assume at this point the thermostat is open as the coolant seems to be circulating everywhere it should and the radiator begins to warm up a little. Note - although it does warm up, the hose from the thermostat almost never gets anywhere near as hot as the hose from the water pump - i don't know if that is unusual or not.
Then it is only a matter of time before the gauge starts to creep towards the dreaded H mark!
If I pull over before it gets too far and wait a few minutes with the engine off, when I fire her up all of a sudden the coolant is being pumped and the gauge goes back to the middle. And then it starts to creep back to the right again and that's it over and over, rinse lather repeat.

I should mention that a previous owner has fitted a bypass switch for the radiator fan, which works fine - i just flick it on when the gauge gets up to temp. Also, I have had the heaters on full whack to delay the overheating and they work fine untill it goes rite up to the H mark, then all of a sudden they only blow cold.


And that's about it. Thank you ever so much for your patience reading this post and thank you in advance for any help you can offer AND thank you also for this forum as without it I doubt the van would still be here (getting tempted to drive it off a cliff - maybe with myself in it!)

I should probably also mention that I have not done a pressure test or found any way I can test the water pump. I'm certainly no grease monkey and am fairly limited in terms of tools!

PS - not meaning to cop out on the DIY ethic but I am very pushed for time, if anyone knows anywhere/anywho I can take it to in the North West who actually knows what they're doing and can fix or help me fix it without it costing the earth then that would be great!

Thank you!

First thing, if the rad doesn't get properly hot, and the pipes underneath that go to the bottom of a radiator = put a new thermostat in it!!

Pretty quick easy job. Flush out the system at the same time, change any failing hose clips, wire the fan up back to how it should be and go from there.

If it hasn't been over heated badly, you may find it will be ok.

I live in Crewe in cheshire, and would do work on it, but I am not a garage, just very experienced with Hijets. If you brought it over, I would do the thermostat etc as a first phase of work, then you can drive away, see how it goes for a couple of weeks and go from there. Also you can then watch and help out, and get to know your van better.

That is excellent - thank you for the quick reply. I think I may opt for the help!

I did replace the thermostat but it was only an £8 one, it tests ok but I dont know if its always working when its in. would you recommend trying a more expensive or official part?
I must say during my first battles with this it did overheat really quite badly a few times and I was stupid enough to open it up when it was hot and poor cold water in to refil and ran it a few times off normal water or with lots of air in, so its likely that ive done more damage somewhere.

If i can make it to crewe, how would I go about organising this with you? do you want my email or can we private message or something (im new to the whole forum thing).

thanks again.

If you've drove it hot, then I would be pretty much certain the head gasket has gone, and as you've already changed the thermostat then I would just strip it down and do the head gasket.

If you fancy, you could always bring it down for a nosey, where do you live? There is a main transtation here in crewe, and if your not too far away I can drop you off at home if it has to stay.

If the head needs to come off, you'll have to leave it with me for a good few days. At the same time I can every part except for radiators, so if your rad is knackard we'll need to dig deep for one.

If it is a head job, i'd need it for a good few days, as I'll have to strip it all down which takes about 3 hours, then send the head off for a skim and pressure test at about £60, then I can build it back up on another day which takes me about 5 hours. I'll need a head gasket kit which are about £45, some coolant which is about £10, oil and a filter another £20, then the other bits if they are needed like hose clips, caps, thermostat etc.

I have had mixed experiences with the nipparts thermostats, they are not very accurate. The one in my daily runner van opens very early making it run cool, then I put one in the red van that made it run a bit hot, then I replaced that one and it ran bang on perfect.

I'm in Liverpool so i cant make it that far in the van. Can get it towed on my breakdown cover tough.
I could try replacing the gasket myself but I'm guessing not a good idea for someone as inexperienced in this kind of thing as myself.
How much would you charge for the labor?

My mate would come and collect it for £50 to £60 depending where you are.

http://www.eastcheshirecarandrecovery.co.uk/

Ahh, I never replied, for labour I would want £140.

And that's not just any old Jack labour, that's Hijet experienced labour

I have a fair few spare parts knocking about too, so if I find somethings knackard I might have a spare knocking about.

sure that's fine, I can get it over to you any time this week - just need your address and phone number. i sent you a message with my number in - cant post my email adddress becuase i've only just joined the forum. thanks

Hi, sorry never got any message from you?