My Hijet is now un-driveable and I seriously don't know what to do....

Hi

I started a thread recently asking for help to get air of the van's radiator / coolant system, but things have now got as bad as it can get  - the van is now un-driveable.

Today, I drove a mile from my house and noticed the temp needle was sat on the first bar of the 'H' (another few mins and I reckon the van would have blown - the needle was just past half way 'normal' when I left the house approx. 1.5 miles away)

I had an appt to go to, so when I came back to the van 40 mins later, it was cold and I could do the ritual water top up.  (if you read my other thread, you'll know what I mean)
I then drove just 1/2 a mile to Sainsburys, and thank god I looked at the temp gauge again, and the needle was almost at the letter 'H' again!  I just managed to pull in off the dual carriageway and switch off)

I knew something was very wrong as the van has always gone back to normal temp for around 1 to 2 weeks after a water top up.  I got my shopping bits and made sure I wasted enough time for the van to cool, and this time, I took off the radiator cap as well as the under seat cap, so that as much air got out as poss, then I filled up the water to it's max and tried to get home.  This time was worse, and I didn't cover 1/4 of a mile before the needle went close to the max again.  I had to stop another two times to get home and top up over the course of less than one mile.
Yet again through all the water loss (bearing in mind there was no water coming out from under the van) the reservoir water container under the passenger seat never lowers or gets used.  
So, the van is dumped across the road, and I have no idea where to find someone who will know what to do with it.  I don't have the cash for the 'trial and error' way of fixing things in the hopes a cure will be found.

I honestly don't know what to do next   (My daughter said "Just sell it" but no-one will buy it in this state unless it goes for scrap value surely?)

Tara

Sell it as spares or repairs

Or fix it

This was always going to be the case sooner or later. Engines don't tend to self heal!

Maybe you could put a bottle of K-seal in it, that might keep it going a bit longer.

Holiday in.sunny Devon for HJ?

When I stopped the few times to top up the water under the seat, I could see the water level slowly dropping as I as was filling it, and there's no leak from underneath.  
The water hasn't disappeared before my eyes like that before - where is it going?

probaby out the exhaust via the head gasket?

Sorry to hear about this Tara! I would second what HJ said though. kseal is cheap and has worked great when I've used it. Providing the head isn't badly warped. Just out of interest do you ever use coolant or just water? After so many topups I'm wondering if there is any coolant left in the system and that would help raise the boiling point. Please anyone jump in if I'm wrong here? So new coolant mix with kseal added as a potential cheap fix. You do need to run the engine to cure the kseal and there may also be water in your oil and that's possibly where some of it is going so an oil change would be needed too

Water doesn't tend to leach into the oil on hijet engines - nor most engines that have been designed since the 1990's.

But if I was going to get rid of a car once the mot n tax had ran out,I would try a £8 bottle of K seal in it. Worth a punt!

daisydon wrote:probaby out the  exhaust  via the head gasket?

Enough to send the needle into the danger section in approx 3 mins of engine running?  The water must evacuate immediately then.  

How come the water level was dropping before my eyes whilst topping it up?  The engine wasn't running when I did that, so what's sucking the water away when the engine is at stand still? (just curious really)

Thanks

xxemaphorr wrote:Sorry to hear about this Tara! I would second what HJ said though. kseal is cheap and has worked great when I've used it. Providing the head isn't badly warped. Just out of interest do you ever use coolant or just water? After so many topups I'm wondering if there is any coolant left in the system and that would help raise the boiling point. Please anyone jump in if I'm wrong here? So new coolant mix with kseal added as a potential cheap fix. You do need to run the engine to cure the kseal and there may also be water in your oil and that's possibly where some of it is going so an oil change would be needed too

There's absolutely no coolant left in the system, bar what's useless and sat in the reserve container, which is blue fluid, filled to the max level, yet it never moves or gets used even when the radiator is bone dry like yesterday.  It's a pretty coloured ornament though  

I'll buy some of this K-Seal, as like you say, anything is worth a try.  Could you guide me as to how many bottles I need etc, as I know nothing about the product.  Many thanks.


*edit*

I've just looked at KSeal's website and none of the following applies?


http://www.kseal.com/uk/60-second-problem-solver/

I'll still buy some off ebay as it will be delivered by Mon or Tues.  
The listing says a 236ml bottle treats up to 12 cylinders, so one bottle is enough isn't it?

Thanks in advance
Tara

One bottle is enough yes. You add it to the coolant (which you will need more of and the blue stuff if that's in there already although daihatsu specifies the red stuff you can't mix the two) fill up the whole system through the cap under the "bonnet" and replacing other caps as they overflow like before. Make sure you put the k seal in the metal pipe (with metal cap) under the seat and not in plastic expansion tank as it won't do anything there. Shake it up really well before you pour it in too as it is quite grainy

Yep should be red coolant not blue! Make sure you have no silly faults like knackard metal caps or leaks.

Yeah shake up the rad weld really really well (takes a fair bit of shaking to get the sediment off the bottom of the bottle), mix it with some water like a litre or so and shake again, then pour it into the coolant system via the metal cap. Top up coolant system with water till its full, squeeze the pipes to get any bits of air out. Make sure the heaters are on Hot in the cab.

It helps if you take the thermostat out at the same time.

Start it up and let it tickover on your drive as long as possible, do not rev it up at all. Leave it running for a good 45 minutes, then take it for a very gentle short drive on some roads that allow you to keep moving like A roads.

Bring it back home, turn it off. let it fully cool down. Check water levels, top up if required.

Thanks guys.

Regarding the coolant, I'll have to put blue type back in, just in case it does mix in the future with what's in the tub under the seat.

One other thing I need to check....
I'm going to drain all water out before I do anything, and then fill up the system with just pure water. Then I'll open the drain plug under the van (now discovered) so that when I see exactly how much comes out when the system is full, I'll know how much to put back in minus the amount that goes in from the K-Seal bottle.
My worry is that when the van was filled and drained last week, there really isn't a huge amount coming back out (hence me always thinking there's a air lock) so what I need to know is the max ratio of K-Seal I can use, as I have a feeling that I'll be lucky if I can get 50/50 in before it starts overflowing back out.

I hope this makes sense!

Cheers
Tara

Put the whole bottle of K seal in!

Drain some water out to make it fit.

It should never have had blue in it!

Trying to measure how much goes in and out is impossible, as unlike a bottle or a jug, the system has complicated pipes that do not fill up naturally.

HighlyJetted wrote:Put the whole bottle of K seal in!

Drain some water out to make it fit.

It should never have had blue in it!

Trying to measure how much goes in and out is impossible, as unlike a bottle or a jug, the system has complicated pipes that do not fill up naturally.

The blue coolant was in the van when I bought it, and as it has stayed at the same level since then. I have not mixed other coolants into the system as already advised.

It's times like this that having someone who's handy with these sorts of things comes in handy  

Mines has blue in it, it doesnt make any real odds as long as you dont mix them.

Any coolant is better than just water. The blue is designed for older engines and the red and green are to inhibit corrosion of engine materials such as aluminium

The more I read about coolants the more complicated it seems to be!!!!

Firstly colour means nothing as different companies dye their products different colours.

And different products have different properties when it comes to cast iron, aluminium, brass and copper.

First there is the main build of the antifreeze:- propylene glycol v's ethylene glycol

Then the corrosion/anti foam/lubricant additive variations:- Organic v's Inorganic v's Hybrid Organic.

So to ever change from one to another you need to flush every last bit of the old stuff out, and you need to ensure the product is suitable for use with the exact components the system is made out of.

Simple old little world hey?!

It is pretty complicated all the different types. It's something we sell in our shop and we have an a2 size chart with all the colours, makeup and compliance with different vehicle manufacturer standards. Usually someone will say I've got soandso car and expect you to know of the top of your head! Usually though the best place to start is colour; its only a dye yes but it gives you a clue as to what you're dealing with. As this situation proves though it doesn't mean the right stuff is in there to start with! Also the water round here is really hard so I only use de-ionised water. It's either that or chuck in a Calgon tablet! :-D

tara100 wrote:

daisydon wrote:probaby out the  exhaust  via the head gasket?

Enough to send the needle into the danger section in approx 3 mins of engine running?  The water must evacuate immediately then.  

How come the water level was dropping before my eyes whilst topping it up?  The engine wasn't running when I did that, so what's sucking the water away when the engine is at stand still? (just curious really)

Thanks

just a thought, if its not going in the road and its leaving the cooling system it must be leaking into another connected part of the engine, when mine eventualy gave up it would over heat pretty quick, i didnt get steam out the back but putting a bit of cardboard near the exaughst and it would get coverd in splaters of coolant, mine was slightly different in that it was purging a lot of water into the expansion tank when it over heated too, the rad was totaly blocked up with rad seal stuff which prevented me being able to top up the system from there, several small pipes were also blocked, i had to take the whole coolant system apart and clean it all before doing the head  
hope you manage to figure out what your vans issue is and hope its an easy fix  

Hi all, I've followed these threads for some time now & have now joined the forum as I've come to the conclusion it's time to tackle the head gasket, but not without hopefully getting us much support as I can first. I can say my HJ 1.3 is experiencing of all of the above overheating/coolant loss symptoms. I've found the manual that has much of the info needed, but as someone who has never tackled a head gasket yet is there a step by step guide (idiots guide let's say) to do the head gasket? I've checked hoses, replaced filler caps, flushed rad with viakal... I'm left with overheat after tackling any hills after a 20 minute run (I'm in mid devon so you don't go far without a meandering hill to climb). 40 minutes on an A road without a junction... I'm sure you've heard it all before. Would be grateful for any guidance as I was hoping to use the van for a run to a festival in September. Thanks...

Logi wrote:Holiday in.sunny Devon for HJ?

2 now, could be worthwhile  

Not so sure I can be arsed with that holiday

Depending on how skilled, patient and confident you are, a head gasket on a hijet isn't a big job.

It depends on how well tooled up your are too.

Everyone has to have their first try at stuff though otherwise you never do anything new.

Taking the head off is the easy bit really, it's getting all the other stuff off that takes the time.

Logi wrote:

Logi wrote:Holiday in.sunny Devon for HJ?

2 now, could be worthwhile  

That had crossed my mind, but if I can sort one...

HighlyJetted wrote:Not so sure I can be arsed with that holiday

Depending on how skilled, patient and confident you are, a head gasket on a hijet isn't a big job.

It depends on how well tooled up your are too.

Everyone has to have their first try at stuff though otherwise you never do anything new.

Taking the head off is the easy bit really, it's getting all the other stuff off that takes the time.

Thanks, I'm ok with following instructions & there's a lad who's tooled up in the barn next to mine so it's all do-able. I've been building up courage & looking for the right instructions for the last couple of weeks... I'm still looking.

If your proper serious i'll write something just for you, I have plenty of pictures to use to build an illustrated guide.

Have you ever done a cam belt before? What sort of stuff have you done?

I would definitely be up for that, thanks! I'm fairly mechanically minded just not had much experience around engines, but I've stared at this one for hours:) . I've not touched a cam belt before. I've sorted the brakes after the front pads were jamming, changed the thermostat & dropped the radiator out to flush it. That's about it.

daisydon wrote:

tara100 wrote:

daisydon wrote:probaby out the  exhaust  via the head gasket?

Enough to send the needle into the danger section in approx 3 mins of engine running?  The water must evacuate immediately then.  

How come the water level was dropping before my eyes whilst topping it up?  The engine wasn't running when I did that, so what's sucking the water away when the engine is at stand still? (just curious really)

Thanks

just a thought, if its not going in the road and its leaving the cooling system it must be leaking into another connected part of the engine, when mine eventualy gave up it would over heat pretty quick, i didnt get steam out the back but putting a bit of cardboard near the exaughst and it would get coverd in splaters of coolant, mine was slightly different in that it was purging a lot of water into the expansion tank when it over heated too, the rad was totaly blocked up with rad seal stuff which prevented me being able to top up the system from there, several small pipes were also blocked, i had to take the whole coolant system apart and clean it all before doing the head  
hope you manage to figure out what your vans issue is and hope its an easy fix  

I didn't know I had any replies as I'm not getting notifications by e-mail anymore  

Your response above is concerning, as the K-Seal arrived today, but I don't want to make things even worse!  
Did you add the K-Seal yourself in the past?

Also, when you added water to your van, did it disappear when the van wasn't even running? (and the water wasn't pouring out from underneath?)

Thanks
Tara

i didnt put kseal in myself before, i think it had been in for some time, and there was possibly more than one kind in there some of it was pretty crusty, i did put some in after doing the head gasket as the rad had a small leak (probably caused by me putting harpic limescale remover in to dissolve all the crud in it!) i ran it around for a week or so till the rad stopped leaking then flushed it all out, and no, didnt lose water when filling it up without engine running, i dont think it will make the problem worse in the immediate future, what could be worse than it not working?!

So tara, how did it all turn out?