Please help - Car Overheating!

If Silverton is the place in Salt River (or there abouts), I'd add a vote for going to them. They sorted my radiator out when it had a leak. Caps, hoses, pumps- I'm sure they'll be able to assist with all of that.

If you need an Opel Mechanic, PM me. My dude (Paul, in Rondebosch) has looked after my cars for years. My old Monza got up to 315 000km :p My current Astra is on 160k. Paul'l sort you out :D
 
Just got back
yes genetic, I have a Opel Corsa. oak reckons it's a leaking pipe - apparently the water will boil if it doesn't have pressure...

thanx for the input guys!

I need to check my oil out more often! So if you are reading this, Check it today if you haven't in a while!

i'll report back soon and we can see who was the closest :D
 
Check your oil if it is milky you have water in it this is normaly a head gasket that has blown.
 
I suspect a stuck Thermostat.

Just remove it completely till you get a replacement one. Also depends on the car though as some has it as a unit where you can't remove it but need it replaced. In each and every golf I owned I removed it and the car never ran at even mild :o (Golfs are overheat prone that is why I did it).

Doubt the head gasket went, you would have known as the power in the car would be gone.
 
I had this issue not so long ago, changed the cap and didn't help, on my way home the radiator exploded. Not lekker.
 
Claymore said:
No, it doesn't.
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Absolutely!! Just another example of some of the "interesting" advice that one gets when asking a question of some of the resident "experts"...:D

Anti Freeze raises the boiling point of the water, and has sweet bugger nothing to do with keeping the temperature down!! :D :rolleyes:
 
Check you aren't overfilling with coolant. I suspect otherwise a radiator/hose issue. Possible pump faulty.
Might be a vacuum. I doubt very much the gasket.
 
Since you drive a Opel Corsa I can tell you now, the number 1 cause of overheating on that engine is a stuck thermostat as mentioned before. After that I'd say a leak somewhere is the next likely suspect. Haven't really ever seen the water pump break/seize on a Corsa.

Either way I'd suggest you not drive around with the car in that state, if it gets to the point where the fan kicks in rather just stop and let the car cool off because the alternative is a blown head gasket and all kinds of other headaches.

What Corsa is that Corsa B/C/D? Year? Model?

Fazda said:
Anti Freeze raises the boiling point of the water, and has sweet bugger nothing to do with keeping the temperature down!! :D :rolleyes:
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It does raise the boiling point but the water is under pressure so it'll still boil if you relieve the pressure regardless if there is anti-freeze in there or not, in hot areas in South Africa the primary purpose of AF is to prevent corrosion, since it doesn't get cold enough for water to freeze and it's under pressure so the water won't boil.
 
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The cooling air flow from the fan isn't required when the car is moving at a fair speed, so I would say that if it overheats while moving then the likely cause is a thermostat stuck closed and not a fan problem, or the air or water passages of the radiator are blocked.

As mentioned by others, I also suspect its a thermostat problem.
 
Gnome said:
It does raise the boiling point but the water is under pressure so it'll still boil if you relieve the pressure regardless if there is anti-freeze in there or not, in hot areas in South Africa the primary purpose of AF is to prevent corrosion, since it doesn't get cold enough for water to freeze and it's under pressure so the water won't boil.
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The only reason I brought up antifreeze is because somebody, in his wisdom, said that antifreeze would cool the car down which is utter rubbish! :rolleyes:
 
Fazda said:
The only reason I brought up antifreeze is because somebody, in his wisdom, said that antifreeze would cool the car down which is utter rubbish! :rolleyes:
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Yeah wasn't really disputing what you said, I should have said added that the fact that there is no anti-freeze isn't the reason his car is overheating/boiling/etc.

It may have been caused by the lack of anti-freeze (IE. corrosion, I've seen plenty of 1998 model Corsa's that have never had coolant changes, the water literally looks like liquid rust) but adding anti-freeze isn't going to solve it, the damage is already done.

Delta didn't have a change interval for coolant on the Corsa, GM has subsequently set it at every 4 years, so I suspect the fact that so many Corsa's are driving around with rust colour anti-freeze that hasn't been changed since day 1 might have something to do with the high rate of thermostat failure.
 
Yes, I think there are many poor cars out there running on liquid rust!

My Fazda took two days of back washing and rinsing before I got the rust out of the system when I bought her....then cleaning the header tank was another story...boiling water and carbolic acid did the trick in the end.

Antifreeze should be flushed out and changed approximately every two years...do that religiously and there shouldn't be a problem.
 
Fazda said:
Yes, I think there are many poor cars out there running on liquid rust!

My Fazda took two days of back washing and rinsing before I got the rust out of the system when I bought her....then cleaning the header tank was another story...boiling water and carbolic acid did the trick in the end.

Antifreeze should be flushed out and changed approximately every two years...do that religiously and there shouldn't be a problem.
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Seconded. Back in my ignorant days, I had no idea why my Ford Sapphire's heater radiator rusted through. When I sold it, I checked the water, and it was essentially mud. I don't think Ford had ever checked it at services.
 
Glad it's only a broken pipe. easy to fix.

For the other guys and future reference, here's an experience I've never had before. On Sunday a relative's Feista started overheating. Radiator, rad cap, waterpump, thermostat, and pipes were OK. It turned out that a welsh plug in the cylinder head needed to be replaced. The Ford agent replaced both and all is cool again. I learned something new.
 
Hi guys. Don't want to hijack the thread, but I am having this exact problem with my Opel corsa since Monday. The car however doesn't get hot as long as it's moving. It's only when I have to sit and idle in traffic. Does that point to a specific problem? The water was boiling when I opened the bonnet yesterday. Checked oil and water - everything seems fine.
 
The cap on the water bottle is often overlooked when it comes to overheating.

Let the car idle until engine is hot and the fan kicks in, at the same time watch the water level in the bottle, it is rises, then the cap is the wrong size and/or not sealing properly.
 
Jhercules said:
Hi guys. Don't want to hijack the thread, but I am having this exact problem with my Opel corsa since Monday. The car however doesn't get hot as long as it's moving. It's only when I have to sit and idle in traffic. Does that point to a specific problem? The water was boiling when I opened the bonnet yesterday. Checked oil and water - everything seems fine.
Click to expand...

have you checked the thermostat???
 
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