Coolant / engine temp

[C180 Chris]

Hi All,

I have recently aquired an "M" plated C180 and noticed the temp guage went up whilst the car was ticking over ( for about 10 mins) and also an overheating smell was present just wondered if its a known problem with these cars as i noticed the fan was a viscous fan rather than an electric one
i had thought it may have just been the fan not cutting in. The coolant level in the header tank had dropped quite a lot and i could not see any leak, the heating in the car works well so thought that the thermostat may be faulty??
Also it may be worth mentioning that the gauge dropped back to normal (just over the halfway point) and the smell went quickly as i started to drive again.

Would appreciate any thoughts as to this being a fault or normal on these older C 180's

All the very best,

Chris.

 

[keith100]

Welcome to the forum.

Your symptoms are pretty common on a lot of older cars - as they age the radiator becomes a bit clogged or just dirty and is less efficient at radiating heat, until airflow moves through it. Often holding it at a fast idle will start to reduce the temp. Does the fan operate OK?

Re the coolant level, has it dropped since you bought it?

HTH

Keith

 

[C180 Chris]

Hi Keith,

Thanks for your reply,

The fan seems to operate fine, i am not sure if the coolant level is dropping yet as i only got the car yesturday and this is the first time that i have noticed anything wrong. I have filled the water up today and will check after doing a few more miles to see if it has dropped.

Thanks for your reply and fingers crossed that it is just that and not a head gasket or something awful like that.

Many thanks,

Chris.

 

[keith100]

Hi Chris

Hope its not the head gasket.

When you fill the header tank its best to leave the rad cap off and the motor running. (only do this when the rad is really cold!) until the thermostat opens (this lets the water circulate though the whole system) A surprising amount of air bubbles may come out and the water level drop - just add more coolant until the water level stays the same in the header tank, then tighten the rad cap. ( I assume here that you can get at the rad cap, because I can't on my 2008 C)

If the water level drops after this, then unfortunately you have a leak somewhere.

Good luck

 

[C180 Chris]

Hi Keith,

Have ran it for a couple of days now, was stuck in town traffic the other day and it started to rise but then i managed to get into a clearer area and the temp returned to normal again. Water level has remained constant, also i tried the carrot test on my visco fan, the carrot was almost unscathed so i may need a new coupling. Had thought of adding an electric fan that i have lying around from an old Saab too, just to help out in traffic but may have problems finding somewhere to get a good strong supply from as mercs put the battery in the back

Fingers crossed that i have not missed anything and end up damaging the engine, i suppose the temp guage will tell me if things are not right though

Many thanks for your help and advice,

All the best,
Chris.

 

[television]

Just for reference, the Visco fan does not cut in until 80c, you can hear the click as the Bi metal strip engages it, so you cannot chop a carrot under 80c

 

[C180 Chris]

Hi Malcolm,

Many thanks for that, i will try again with a new carrot in the morning after the school run.

All the best,

Chris.

 

[C180 Chris]

Hi Malcolm,

Got the engine up to temp this morning and tried the carrot, very little damage to it and the fan stopped.
New visco coupling??
Would i be correct in saying that i should not do any damage to the engine by still using the car until i get it sorted, as long as the temp guage does not go too high of course?

Other than that and the bulb behind the clock being out i am very happy with the car.

Many thanks to both Malcolm and Keith for the help.
All the best,
Chris.

 

[television]

Thats no trouble, we are still in Winter mode with more cold weather to come,, if it starts getting too hot, open a window and put the heater on full, and that will take it down.

 

[C180 Chris]

Hi Malcolm,

Will do, thanks for that.

They say we have Snow to come next week up here in the outer hebredes (Newcastle Upon Tyne) Overheating should not be its first thought

All the best,

Chris.