frozen engine

[dieselink]

forgot to put anti freeze in,got car started and running,but i think thermostat is now jammed shut,where is it please,so i can remove and replace,its a 2002 110 hdi,reason i say this coz as soon as i drive it,temp rockets up and my heater still strone cold,left car ticking over for an hour to thaw it out,any help pllease.

[madmadmax]

if it was running the the water pump has snapped off and needs replacing rather than the thermostat

[DaiRees]

Without anti freeze, when you start to move through the cold air the water in the radiator freezes. This then stops the circulation, so the water in the engine gets really hot, hence the temp shooting up. I doubt that the thermostat is knackered, I wouldn't have left it running though in case you cook the engine. Best bet is to let it thaw (have you got access to a garage and a fan heater?) then drain out some of your water and add the correct amount of anti-freeze.

You could also try the old trick of covering the radiator with cardboard / plastic / foil etc, but running the car without antifreeze will end in tears

[steve_earwig]

That only helps to get the car to warm up quicker. Thermostat here - http://peugeot406coupe.nl/catalogus/D9G/1/13E98A.HTM

Hopefully the pump isn't goosed but it'll probably take quite a lot of heat to defrost everything, if pipes are frozen then there's no way water will circulate. Garage, fan heater, bloody long time - I used to drive a Commer van for BT, the antifreeze on that got diluted (not mine, why should I care?) and the cooling system froze, after driving it a while it stopped overheating but to defrost the heater matrix took a good few hours in the MT workshop with one of them bloody great heating oil flamethrowers pointing at it.

[dieselink]

thanks guys,dont have any where to put it out of cold,the top and bottom rad pipes were frozen solid,i let it run for an hour on tick over till they had defrosted totaly,then put anti freeze in, 2lts.whene i went for a short run it got hot very quick,when on tick over it stayed just below 90,not sure what to do now,how do u know if water pump is pooped.also the rad was realy realy hot,to hot to touch after running for an hour,whilst ticking over i kept an eye on enging temp all the time and did not go over 90,only when i took it for a quick blast,but only for about 60 seconds,as it got hot to fast.

[madmadmax]

that sounds like a head gasket or the water pump, i would start be taking the timing belt off and inspecting/replace the water pump then move on the the head if no fault is found with the pump/ new pump dose not fix.

open the thermostat bled point and rev the engine this should make water spurt out, if not water pump has failed. if lots of air then look at the head/other fault

[Welly]

Sounds to me like the shaft of the water pump had separated from the pump impeller, this would have happened when you turned the key, lucky it didn't snap the cambelt.

Classic sign of water pump failure is the rapid over heating, you probably got away with idling the engine in these low temperatures but be careful not to let it get too hot - might pop the head gasket. For some reason the expansion tank cap seems to let the system over pressurise.

[dieselink]

well chaps,have filled up with water and undone bleed nipple at thermostat.reved engine and no water comes out.only comes out if i squeeze rad pipes,so i guess its the water pump pooped,have ordered a timing belt kit and water pump, 76 quid altogeather,dont think thats to bad a price,garage want 90 quid to do job,any comments if u guys think that price is ok,any other thourghts greatfully taken.to all u guys who have had an in put,many thanks,as always on this site very good help. thankyou.

[jasper5]

well chaps,have filled up with water and undone bleed nipple at thermostat.reved engine and no water comes out.only comes out if i squeeze rad pipes,so i guess its the water pump pooped,have ordered a timing belt kit and water pump, 76 quid altogeather,dont think thats to bad a price,garage want 90 quid to do job,any comments if u guys think that price is ok,any other thourghts greatfully taken.to all u guys who have had an in put,many thanks,as always on this site very good help. thankyou.

You should be doing all the other checks on the cooling system before looking at the water pump.....which may be damaged, but check everything else first

The bleed screw on the thermostat housing will only bleed air and water when the thermostat is open.

You need to bleed the radiator at the knurled plastic screw in the center of the radiator at the top first, then bleed the system at the heater pipes at the back of the engine compartment.....you will get an idea of the water pump condition if the water from the heater is pumped out fast (or not) from the bleed screw.

[dieselink]

car was hot before i opened bleed nipple,also i can see fragments of ali floating in the water,i have never changed timing belt since i got car in april last year,so it needs that doing realy.do u think 90 quid is a reasonable price to do job,have been quoted 200 at other places.thanks for your advice jasper,it just snowing like mad and bloody freezing out side,so have ordered parts now and surcome to it needing doing,as timing belt being changed not to much more to do water pump is it.????

[jasper5]

car was hot before i opened bleed nipple,also i can see fragments of ali floating in the water,i have never changed timing belt since i got car in april last year,so it needs that doing realy.do u think 90 quid is a reasonable price to do job,have been quoted 200 at other places.thanks for your advice jasper,it just snowing like mad and bloody freezing out side,so have ordered parts now and surcome to it needing doing,as timing belt being changed not to much more to do water pump is it.????

£90 labour to change timing belt is reasonable, no, not much more to change the water pump in labour terms, only a few minutes extra time, maybe £30 or £40 for a new pump.

Not snowing at all here, a tiny bit on the ground....I was working outside this morning, cold, but nothing unusual here.

[dieselink]

Pump was 18 and timing kit was 57 from that site carparts4less also free delivery.its just like europarts but on line only and much cheaper.have a look i find them very good and have used them loads.might be of some saving to somebody.worth a look.will now book car in for tuesday.gana be loet without it lol.thanks again for advice.

[rwb]

£90 I paid £130 for parts and £280 labour, although that included an oil change and rear top links being fitted.

[jonsowman]

£90 is unbelievably cheap!

[lozz]

iagree with jasper5

check everything before replacing the pump,
Take the pipes off the heater matrix and see if the thing is froze solid

ive only had one car freeze up on me,and that was a nissan,
as soon as istarted it icouid hear the crunching of ice, if a water pump freezes normaly you hear the crunching noise,

it will take days to Defrost if the full system is frozen