And so it begins...

After owning the hijet for a couple of weeks now and it being as good as gold, it overheated twice on the weekend, first time it got pretty much to the top of the guage before i could pull over and i could hear bubbling coming from under the passenger seat. Looks like i'll have to follow HJ's guide to try and elliminate the problem! Trouble is finding the time at the moment!  

Clean up seat/seal point where the rad cap fits under the passenger seat
Pressure test it
Flush system properly
Replace thermostat - flush with no thermostat fitted.
Replace rad caps with new decent ones.
Replace hose clips where required with genuine "Jubilee made in england" hose clips.
Refill using the pressure fill method.

Then either enjoy no problems what so ever.
Or it overheating more than ever, thus it needs the headgasket doing.

Cheers mate, any recommedations on a stat?

Just ordered a gates thermostat which opens at 78 degrees so i'll see how i get on with that

Is the bottom hose hot?

I dont know to be honest, i havent had chance to check anything yet. Changing the coolant has been on my to do list so im going to give the whole cooling system a once over and go from there i think.

pressure fill method all the way though on the coolant

the few people who have seen me do it on their vehicles think its the bomb,

and the people who I've spoke to on the phone have come back and said its the bomb.

Cool, i'll definetley do that. I don't want to be messing round with it all so i want to do a thorough job first time.

I don't want to sound daft, or stir up a can of worms..
But what's pressure filling HJ?   
I one helped a mate fill up his VW Transporter van and we jacked it up at the front.

Right, pressure fill method:-

Make a container with some form of hose pipe attached.... I use a watering can with hose pipe rammed on the end.

Size "up" the hosepipe to make it bigger so you have to force it into the rad cap fitting under the passenger seat. I found some rubber pipe that fits in snug, and the hose pipe slips into it snug.

Now fill your container with premix coolant, you will need about 8 litres or so.

Fit the rubber pipe you've made into the slot, then put the container on the roof of the van.

Make sure container never runs out of coolant.



Now you can go round, and undo hose clips in various places to get the air out, because the system is under pressure from the "head" of water. At 1.2 metres height from the fill point gives you about 2.2 psi fill pressure due to gravity.

Watch this:-

Thanks HJ.   
I've noticed in my van that there's no water underneath the silver pressure cap under the passenger seat. The plastic bottle has coolant just under the 'Max' level, but I've noticed since this Cold bout of weather, that my farts are warmer that the heater.   
It's never overheated or anything, and the fan cuts in and out when the needle gets just above middle when stuck in traffic. But normal driving the needle just creeps above the 'C' mark on the temp gauge.

I'll have a pop at it on the weekend.
I'm so glad I joined this Forum... It's making me realise my van has 'Features'  

Oh and one more thing... Do you have to have the van running whilst you do the pressure fill method?

No, you don't.

Nice one. Cheers.

I'm looking at what I suspect is a whole world of pain with mine. I've had a few overheating issues in the past but not like now.

After about 100 mile of running beautifully (usually up and down the M6) the temp gauge starts to creep up and I have to top up coolant by about 2 litres. I'm filling from the rad cap and overflow cap (both new and fit great) under the passenger seat, squeezing the lower pipe while the engine runs to encourage any air bubbles through. At this stage, it will tick over without issues at a nice temperature. I did have a tiny bit of foaming the first time but suspected that my mechanic had previously used detergent to find the old leaks. Now, there is very little.

Other facts: The overflow tank is always full to the brim. I can't see any obvious leaks underneath but haven't simulated it under pressure.

'tis the season for decent coolant and at the moment I'm filling it with litre after litre of water. I want to get a more permanent solution before I start pouring more antifreeze into the mix. Any suggestions?

HI there, I followed these instructions after emptying my whole cooling system today, but I only managed to put 3 litres of water/coolant back in. Surely it should be a lot more than that? Engine temp seems ok and heater blower is giving nice hot air. Please reply as I am worried and new to this vehicle.

Have a good read of HJ's bleeding instructions......no pun intended LOL!

They really are bleeding f'ing instructions.

I tend to get at least a whole watering can into a hijet, but that will be on a dry block, which you cannot do with out taking at least the water pump off. I bet the block etc holds 1.5 litres.