Gettin really pissed off!!

**leeroy73** · 7-11-07, 12:09

Hello, im not happy with the work carried out by my local garage, although ive paid for the works and driven the car away ... im no mechanic so i dont understand certain things, but i do realise that she's not running right. white smoke from exhaust, the main water hose from rad to the thermo swtich is really pressurized, should it be like that ?? also while engine running if i remove the oil filler cap,. it stalls!! wtf! is going on. 700 quid labour only and me car has turned out worse than when it went in! it is booked in on friday though, if i had the choice i'd certainly go elsewhere. but seeing as they have done the work i feel that they should be the perons responsable for correcting it, any siggestions on the stalling? and the white smoke? not a lot of smoke but a little now and then,

regards

leeroy

**Oddball** · 7-11-07, 12:43

The engine SHOULD cut out when the oil filler cap is opened, so thats a good thing.
Now as for the white smoke, its normally a sign of water in the combustion, and if you are worried about the water pressure, you may need to have the water thermostat checked and the water filler cap on the right of the radiator.

As for paying for these to be checked, i would be suggesting to the mech that these are issues not experienced before it was brought in, but since you got the car back after work they had done.

Paul.

**clivjoo** · 7-11-07, 13:08

stick to your guns, you have entrusted your vehicle with them for work to be carried out, and they have cuased more problems, they should rectify those problems until your are satisfied the car is in the condition it should be in. Nobody can turn around and say your trying to get more stuff done, and blaiming them for other issues, they are te mechanics an dthey should put it right. £700? I would be absolutely furious if I got my car back with more or different problems than what it went in for. I have had similar problems before, some garages will sort it out, MOST wont, but if they are funny with you, just threaten them, then steal one of their spanners and run off.

good luck.

**Einstein** · 7-11-07, 13:41

As Paul says, it should cut out, as the system is sealed, and you just created a huge airleak..

White smoke is water (steam) and with the pipe being very pressurised, I suspect a blockage somewhere, and the pressure may be forcing the water into the chamber, or past the head gasket..
Does it overheat?

What did the car go in for?
this should give us an idea what they did (wrongly)

John

**Ian F Chequer** · 7-11-07, 16:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by leeroy73

the main water hose from rad to the thermo swtich is really pressurized, should it be like that ??

It will start to warm up as the engine reaches operating temperature and the 'stat starts to open. It should not be excessively swollen though. If there is a significant volume change in the cooling system this will cause problems with the water flashing to steam locally and causin a sudden pressure increase.

The engine stalling when you take the oil filler cap off is perfectly normal.

Does it steam all the time or only under certain circumstances?

ifc

**leeroy73** · 7-11-07, 16:33

Firstly i'd like to thank all you guy's n girls on here as you lot have been so much help to me lately, either it be bad luck or just bad timing, but things do go wrong!

ian,, the car just seem's to smoke every now and then, it didnt before i took it in the garage, its white smoke, and a friend following behind said it seem to come out more when im letting off the gas rather than putting my foot down,

einstein, the car went in originally for a water pump as i was loosing water, water was spilling outa the pump and onto the PAS belt ect, and making it diffucult to steer, but the temp gauge never moved passed 3/4, its always been around that temp since ive had it going for a while. took it in to get w pump done.. got phone call next day saying problem the car isint holding water or something like that,.cant really remember what the guy said but he said its the head gasket, even offered 2 show me the test. fair enough, so basically after the heads were skimmed and appaerntly they didnt need pressure testing, and new cam belt too. plus new tensioners, it was ready to go. ( from the garage)

hope that gives you some idea of what's been going on,

thank you all for giving advice and helping,

leeroy

**Einstein** · 7-11-07, 16:44

My guess is there is a problem with either a cracked block, warped head or head gasket..
The buildup of pressure, and white smoke would confirm that for me..

basically, they haven't done the job right.

John

**Ian F Chequer** · 7-11-07, 18:15

At one with John here.

If you have this problem look for white deposits on the filler cap & constant overheating.

Normally, though, with a blown gasket, you just get constant streams of steam from the exhaust. Puffs of smoke on the overrun are normally bore wear or stuck / worn piston rings.

Reading between the lines of what you've said (feel free to correct me if you want) this sounds like a pretty reasonable and communicative garage - try and work with them if possible.

ifc

**leeroy73** · 7-12-07, 5:55

further to our previous conversations, i have inspected a bit more. the white smoke smells like fuel. first time starting in the morning i get no missfire, but after a mile the fan comes on..... the main hose from the rad which goes into the engine is quite swollen and very hot and pressured. there is no white marks on the oil filler cap,, the water supply is clean, but quite hot even though she's only been running for 1 mile. heater inside works fine and i get no unusual smells. ive yet to try to start from 1st thing with water cap off. the car has had both heads skimmed and was informed that they didnt need pressure testing. i purchased the gasket set from the USA gaskets for less, i did purchase the HQ set. do you think that it could still be the gasket again?

regards leeroy.

**Postal Dude** · 7-12-07, 9:54

It sounds as if it's running rich! I would have a good look around the head and make sure all the sensor wires have been put back on. The timing could also be wrong which could give these symptoms. Pull a couple of plugs out and have a look at the colour of them, they should be golden/brown not black or white. Pull the codes, if there is a sensor faulty/ disconnected it will show.
I would say that if you are consuming no water that more than likely the heads are ok.

Gerry

**Einstein** · 7-12-07, 15:11

It shouldn't get that hot within a mile, and running rich won't cause overheating.. running lean will though..

Still possible there is a partial blockage somewhere... you need to check the temp of all the hoses as it warms up..

John

**Postal Dude** · 7-12-07, 16:15

He never said it was overheating!
Check the stat is ok, if in doubt replace it

Gerry

**MX6 addict** · 7-13-07, 0:53

(but the temp gauge never moved passed 3/4,)

Did the temp sit at 3/4's all the time? If it did I think this is a bit high, mine and quite a few other members sits at 1/2 quite happy even under heavy use.

I had two occasions when mine crept up to 3/4's for a short period of time (till I could get off the motorway!) on a long journey, never got to the bottom of it and only happend the twice, I put it down to an air lock.

Mark

**clivjoo** · 7-13-07, 6:03

my temp gauge sits at just under 1/2 all the time, no matter what, the ONLY time it went over is when my radiator broke.....

**leeroy73** · 7-13-07, 11:03

hi, i have had results back from garage from the compression test, its giving out 240. not sure what its ment to be, does it sound like the head gasket again??