Renault Clio Thermostat..??

[Jimbo1978]

you should have wee gasket in the box with the stat. If not you can use a tube of instant gasket to take its place. Dont use a frosties box as they leak after a while. Make sure the instant gasket sets before starting up the engine. Head gasket is something else. dont worry bout it.

 

[jpgetty2win]

ahh the rubber seal thing? 3 different types came in with the thermostat. that what you mean?

 

[Jimbo1978]

When you have it stripped you will see what one you need. Some thermostats have a rubber ring that fits around their outer edge. There may also be a gasket on the housing. If there is then replace it with instant gasket compound or make one from gasket paper which are both available from your local factors. Take your time and take pics on dissasembly if you are not sure.
When you have finished and you have filled the system back up I usually let the engine get to working temp with the rad cap off and give the top and bottom rad hoses a gentle squeeze just incase of air pockets. Let the engine run and make sure the gauge gets to the correct temp and that the heater blows nice and warm. Keep and eye on coolant level for a few days and hey presto. your done.

 

[jpgetty2win]

great thanks for the advice.

one thing im abit worried about is..

when i had the RAC guy round he said it probably wasnt a great idea to clean out the system seeing as its an old car and that messing around inside might dislodge gunk thats actually filling gaps and keeping me going lol.. i think "let sleepin dogs lie" was the term he used..

of course im up for giving the system a good clean through but what do you think about what he said..?

 

[Jimbo1978]

Your damned if you do and damned if you dont. The gunk could build up and block the cooling system. If a wee hole appears somewhere just put a bottle of rad weld in it or replace the faulty bit.

 

[jpgetty2win]

ok sod it, ill do it and see what happens lol

you mentioned earlier that i should take the car our for a quick spin to get it up to temp before adding the flush... now the problem is my thermostat at the minute is broken in the "open" position so the engine doesnt get hot at all really... does this change things? would you suggest putting in the new thermostat then gettin it up to temp and then doing the flush?

youve been such a massive help jiombo thanks so much.

 

[Jimbo1978]

The flush just needs to get round the system for a while. In the past when i have done this sort of thing I would add the flush before leaving work. I'm a Partsmen so it would probably have been knicked off the shelf .
By the time I get home it would have been in the system for a good 20miles or so. Would have a bite to eat and this would give the system a chance to cool. Drain the system via bottom rad hose, reconnect it, fill with fresh water and then run for another 10/15 mins the drain again to make sure the flush has been mostly removed(a little left in wont do any damage). Let it cool again then fit the new stat and wait a while to let any gasket compound set.
Now everyone has a different wait of putting antifreeze in. Some mix it in a bucket or bottle before putting it in the rad or expansion bottle but I just put it in neat then top up with water as the water pump will totally mix it by the time it gets to working temp. Let it get to temp with the rad cap off as this will let any airlocks travel to the bottle/rad.
I still get nervous when do stuff to cars but you get used to it after a while. Now taking apart and rebuilding a race engine is a piece of urine

 

[jpgetty2win]

hi jimbo
did it yetsreday afternoon. just filled it with coolant (let the sealant on the gasket cure overnight before filling it with fluids)

a few things i just noticed..

when the engine got hot i started to see smoke coming off it.. is that normal for a diesel?

when it got hot the water level increased dramatically and started to leak out of the top of my water tank (dont think the lid is that good) - did i put too much coolant in??

last thing was which was the most worrying... when i rev the engine the pipe leading off the thermostat to the radiator contracts... (squashes to together). this was the symptom that gave the RAC man the idea that something maybe up with my thermostat.. have i put it in wrong? dont think i have..

thanks mate

 

[^neo^]

something dont sound right there!
Thermostat 'should' only fit in one way.
It's normal for the expansion tank to overflow with coolant if you have overfilled it. Once the thermostat opens, it will do this.
If you say the cap isn't much good, then change it. Unless the system is working at the right pressure, all sorts of weird things can happen.
As for the pipe getting sucked in........ not sure about that, but sort a new cap out and see what happens. Could be a horrendous air lock in the system i suppose?

 

[jpgetty2win]

hi thanks for the reply

dotn think theres an air lock in there. i released the valves on the top pipe and the radiator and let the air out.

what about the smoke.. that serious? or normal?

 

[^neo^]

is it coming from anywhere specific?
Could just be greasy hand prints or coolant drying off of things

 

[jpgetty2win]

ok novice time here lol... its coming off the area around the spark plugs and the accelrator cable (the wire that if you pull revs the engine).
theres some oil about over the engine. around the plugs area. not massive amounts but its not clean looking

 

[Burnerman]

May I add my pennorth?
As your Clio is a diesel, check the rubber pipes that join the injectors together ( not the tough steel ones). These are called leak off pipes and return unused fuel, at low pressure, back to the fuel tank. They often perish with age, causing small amounts of diesel to collect on the cylinder head. I guess its this thats burning off.
John

 

[jpgetty2win]

thats interesting john thanks. ill check that out!!

is that dangerous?

ive got quite abit of oil appearing in the water tank too. had this for a while... :S

 

[bongos]

ive got quite abit of oil appearing in the water tank too. had this for a while... :S

Is it definitely oil? Is it turning into a gloopy mix?

Not sure but if you have oil and water mixing then it might suggest your head gasket has gone. Although I thought that they were much rarer to go on diesels - i'm far form an expert (not even novice).