Help On Many Levels Required

[SARAHF]

Hi all,
I bought a 2.4EFI about 5months ago it has done 59k. My 6month warranty is about to expire and I think I have a few problems.

1. When I am in a traffic jam recently the temp has been getting very close to the red so I turn on the heat to try to get it to cool down a bit. The heater blows hot and then goes cold again - temp gauge then goes up - then heater gets hot - temp gauge goes down. Only happens when I am in a jam.
2. When I stop and park after having the air con on, a bit of water comes out from under the front.
3. The turbo light is on most of the time (when I start to accelaerate) is this normal?
4. Where can I get the car serviced/ good mechanic in the Stevenage / Hertford area?
5. Do you know where I can get a new warranty and how much would it cost a month?

Sorry that I have a lot of Q's but I am totally clueless.
Would really appreciate all the help you can give me.
Thanks
Sarah

[Mr Stiggy]

Hi the water is just the air con dumping the water in it, im not sure where it comes from but if you have it on for a while it'll do this, but its suposed to so dont worrie
and the turbo should be coming in at 1500/2000 rpm I THINK so it dose come in early other wize your beast would be realy slow, like a boat hahahah yay finaly used the boat smilie

[SARAHF]

Thanks Mr Stiggy. Any ideas on the temp?

And please please please anyone help me witha local mechanic / service etc. Thank you.

[Guest]

Sarah.

Do you seem to be losing any water from the cooling system - check the expansion bottle and when the engine is cool, remove the radiator cap and check in there as well.

There are a number of things it could be:

1. An airlock in the system.
2. Radiator cap faulty.
3. Thermostat sticking.
4. Viscous fan not functioning correctly.
5. Electric fan not working.

It is a little worrying that the heater blows hot then cold then hot again. Generally this is due to lack of water however once the heater blows cold it will generally not blow hot again. It starts to blow cold because there is no water flowing through the heater matrix - due to low levels of coolant.

I know of a good mechanic in Chipperfield near Bovingdon if it is of use, otherwise one of the guys in Stevenage should be able to come up with someone for you.

The drip of water under the front is probably just aircon condensation - there is a drain pipe that drops down on the passenger side at the rear of the engine bay.

The Turbo light will most likely do as you say. Mine comes on at anywhere between about 1650rpm to 2200 rpm depending on load, gradient, how hard my foot is pressed on the accelerator etc.

Not sure on the warranty, and anyway be careful as a lot of the warranties are not worth the money as they exclude a large amount of the things that could go wrong and be costly. Make sure that any warranty you get covers a carcked cylinder head as that is the only real weak point on some 2.4 Surfs (not all of them).

Cheers

[nev]

re sarah and warranty

Sarah,

Not sure anyone will sell you an extended warranty for owt over ten years old anyway..

Nev

[SARAHF]

HI Guys,
You are all brill - such quick replies. So the temp gauge going up could simply need me to get someone to put some coolant in then? I haven't had any do any work or amintenance on it since I bought it so maybe it is running a little low. I realise this is blonde question but where can you buy coolant from (what type) and where do I put it?

Cheers again and again

[Guest]

HI Guys,
You are all brill - such quick replies. So the temp gauge going up could simply need me to get someone to put some coolant in then? I haven't had any do any work or amintenance on it since I bought it so maybe it is running a little low. I realise this is blonde question but where can you buy coolant from (what type) and where do I put it?

Cheers again and again

I would get the cooling system drained, flushed out and refilled with a new coolant mix. You can get good coolant from Halfords - their Halfords advanced summer and winter coolant is good, this should be premixed 30% coolant to 70% water and then put into the system slowly to make sure that airlocks don't form. There is quite a lot of info on here about that.

You shouldn't mix coolant types and if you got the Surf as a new import then it probably still has the japanese Toyota coolant in it. This is why I suggest going for a complete drain flush refill.

You put it in the radiator cap not in the expansion bottle. The radiator cap is on the top of an alloy housing on the front passenger side of the engine.

If you are not experienced with the spanners I would suggest getting someone to do this for you as it can be very difficult to remove airlocks from the Surf engine cooling system.

Cheers

[stara]

if it has red coloured coolant, get this from toyota. if it has blue get it from halfords, if you are unsure, a drain, flush and refill is the safest option (red coolant & blue/green/yellow must not be mixed), also, when the engine is fully warmed, turn off, and try to spin the viscous fan, it should be v stiff, if it spins freely, then this is the cause of your overheating.

[stara]

i must learn to type faster

[SARAHF]

Cheers guys. When I lift the bonnet where do I look to see the colour? sorry what/where is a viscous fan?
Perhaps I should find a mechanic- how much do think I would get charged for a job like this?

Is there any one out there in the Stevenage area who knows of a mechanic?

[stara]

open the radiator cap only when the engine is cold to check the coolant, the viscous fan is a large fan just behind the radiator, there will be a curved cowl surrounding the fan to prevent injury when the engine is running.if you are at all unsure, then best take it to a decent garage, halfords (AA garage) may poss do a free check.

[SARAHF]

Thanks will beg someone to help me at the weekend.
Appreciate all the advise.

[NiftyNev]

Sarah

Plastic bottle passenger side behind headlight.Should be approx half full.Coolant colour may be difficult to determine if very old.If this is the case then just top up to correct level with distilled water and get cooling system flushed.If you pay my airfare I'll come over and do it.:lol:

Neville

[Helen]

Thanks will beg someone to help me at the weekend.
Appreciate all the advise.

Sarah,

If it's covered, i'd get it checked by whoever sold me the warranty.

Describe the symptoms to them and print off previous replies and take with you and ask them to check the things mentioned.

If the warranty is almost out, I'd get it checked asap so any work required ,especially if it cannot be carried out until after the 6 months, is covered by the terms of the warranty and there is no extra cost to you...

Good luck... let us know what happens....

[SARAHF]

Thanks Nifty. I am not to thrifty at the moment so will have to pass on the air fare. I will go and inspect the colour when I get a break from my desk :-)