Coolant Everywhere!leaking from expansion tank. Over Heating

I noticed today after driving my car for 15 minutes or so.. that the temperature guage just kept rising. It was nearing the "danger" mark so i switched the car off… I then opened the bonent and noticed coolant was leaking out of the "expansion tank cap". Does this sound like a blocked pipe or a blocked radiator or something along those lines??

Cheers

Sounds like its overheated. Is the fan working?

paul_c said

Sounds like its overheated. Is the fan working?

The car was built for the track so the fan works manually(switch) Even using the fan the car still overheats. If i Switch the car off you can hear coolant bursting out the top of the expansion tank  :x . I've let it cool right down but it just seems to be doing the same again…Hence why i thought maybe a blockage

got any antifreeze in this water you speak of?

novocaine said

got any antifreeze in this water you speak of?

Yeah mate there's plenty antifreeze. I dunno if this maybe a problem>> I felt the radiator seconds after i switched the car off. Top was warmish and bottom was stone cold!! That right?

Cheers

It could be a blocked rad, blocked pipe, thermostat stuck closed, air in the system (did you turn the heater full on during filling with coolant?), or something up with the water pump. Also more details please, if its non-standard (you mention track use: so, which engine, which rad, oil cooler? if so what kind(s), coolant strength too, etc).

Its also possible that the temp gauge is faulty but the car is not actually overheating; and that the coolant pressure leak is down to a badly fitting cap or bottle. I had a new cap & bottle (aftermarket parts) and together they leaked, so I swapped out the bottle with the old one and it worked okay (watertight) from then on.

By the way, pure water has a higher heat capacity that water/coolant mix. But its not normally significant enough to worry about, especially in the winter where you'd ensure the coolant strength is enough to offer frost protection.

Could be the cap is faulty, and this caused excessive water to leak out and cause the temp guage to go up.

Could be a few things, check everything you can.

For it to get warm in 15mins sound like it didnt have enough water in to start with

paul_c said

It could be a blocked rad, blocked pipe, thermostat stuck closed, air in the system (did you turn the heater full on during filling with coolant?), or something up with the water pump. Also more details please, if its non-standard (you mention track use: so, which engine, which rad, oil cooler? if so what kind(s), coolant strength too, etc).

Its also possible that the temp gauge is faulty but the car is not actually overheating; and that the coolant pressure leak is down to a badly fitting cap or bottle. I had a new cap & bottle (aftermarket parts) and together they leaked, so I swapped out the bottle with the old one and it worked okay (watertight) from then on.

By the way, pure water has a higher heat capacity that water/coolant mix. But its not normally significant enough to worry about, especially in the winter where you'd ensure the coolant strength is enough to offer frost protection.

Engine is http://www.tsr-performance.com/pages/circuitseries16v.asp
Its the Thruxton 2.1 16v running twin 45 webber carbs.

Pro Alloy Radiator and Allard Expansion tank. Not entirely sure on the oil cooler  :x
The coolant mixture is roughly 50/50.

thanks

How big is a "Pro Alloy" radiator?

Ive just noticed that the top rad hose looks like its seriously flattened..No matter how much i try to re-shape it...It wont. Seems like a block!!!

paul_c said

How big is a "Pro Alloy" radiator?

As in length and height??

Ok…Small update.

Driven the car for the past few days and its been perfect..No problems at all. Drove it tonight and it started overheating. Got it home and noticed that there's a leak from the hole on the base of the water pump–so im guessing my pump is goosed yeah??