S60 D5 Cooling issues

[5cilinder]

I think its going in at one possible way but the bleedvalve needs to be at top like you say

[5cilinder]

Originally Posted by webbyd5

Hi 5cylinder,

I will check these points and come back to you. My father in law has an infa red lazer thermometer so I will try that this week. I have checked the hose for the thermostat opening and today it doesent seem like it is doing even at 93°c due to the pressure build up.

It shouldnt buildup pressure at 93 degrees and no open thermostat yet
If you heatup the car at idle there is not much waterflow needed to cool it down so the top hose can take long
if it is warmed up take it for a (gentle) drive
Try to fully blow the heater to ensure enough cooling capacity and see if the pressure stays down ,if thats the case you can rule out the headgasket for sure
Then turn down the heater and heat it up more (take a gentle drive again )to check for hot/cold spots in the radiator that are out of the ordinary

[webbyd5]

Yes 100% mate

[webbyd5]

So if there is pressure after the drive with the heaters on full it could be the head gasket after all?
I will try this as it's the easiest thing to do at the moment my time is restricted due to children and work

[webbyd5]

Ok drive completed.

Car went up to temp. I pulled over the top pipe was going to burst it was that pressurised. So I closed the bonnet and set off again this time heaters on full heat full blow. Pulled over pipe was soft and no pressure. I felt the radiator for hotspots after about 5 mins of idling. The top was too hot to touch bit the bottom couple of inches were cold. I think my radiator is blocked what do you think?

[Dancake]

As the problem only started after putting some leakstop into the coolant system, my guess would be that the leakstop has blocked something or ended up as a pile of goop at the bottom of the radiator. It really is nasty stuff. If you ever seen the inside of an engine that had been treated with such a product, you would never use it. Seeing as how it's too late for that, I would disconnect the upper and lower rad hoses and run quite a bit of fresh water through the rad.

One other thing to have a look at is your coolant expansion bottle cap. This is where the pressure escapes from. If the cap is stuck or faulty, the pressure will continue to build up in the system. The head gasket is still a possibility, but it would be too much of a coincidence that it failed around the same time the leakstop was added.

[webbyd5]

Hi mate,

Yeah I've had a hose in it already and even got my jet wash hose in for a bit more pressure. Like you said the damage was already done after I put the Radweld into the system. (Lesson learnt) I've just ordered a second hand radiator off ebay. Let's see how I get on. I've made myself a promise that if this isn't the be all and end all, the car is gone. Seriously as much as I like having my head under the bonnet I'm getting a bit sick of it now and my wallet is rapidly getting thinner.

[5cilinder]

Originally Posted by webbyd5

I think my radiator is blocked what do you think?

It has to be i almost think (also with that radwell) good that you ruled out it isnt the headgasket

[green van man]

It is surprising how blocked a rad can be and still function. Many years ago I had a 1600E. Corrina that sported a high capacity radiator, temp gauge ran just over the half way mark on the gauge and heater was red hot. I had occasion to remove and flush the radiator, surprisingly little water flowed through it so I de solderd the top with a blowlamp, of the 38 tubes only about 10 in the centre of the rad were clear.
Fitted new radiator, gauge read just under half way mark, heater was not as hot and I flushed the rad every year to ensure it stayed that way.
Having learned the symptoms was regularly finding cars with the same problem.

Despite the improvements in antifreeze I doubt the problem is fully cured on modern cars, it's just that we now look for technical problems rather than basic engineering ones.

Paul.

[webbyd5]

Update folks....
I've changed the radiator, pressure still there. It must be the thermostat as the pressure is rediculous in the top hose. Even after the temp has gone past 90°c up to 100°c the hose is solid. I Think I'm going to buy a thermostat and go against my word. If that fails, a big hammer is coming out!!!