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Overheating
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Chevrons   
Mon Apr 08 2013, 11:02am
Joined: Apr 10 2010
Member No: #85
Location: N. Staffs
 Update:

There is oil in the coolant, so Citroen, Crewe are 'taking the head off'.
Chevrons   
Mon Apr 08 2013, 05:56pm
Joined: Apr 10 2010
Member No: #85
Location: N. Staffs
 Update:

The cooling system is full of oil and most components, external to engine, need replacing at £2 - £3000. To diagnose the fault requires engine removal at £1300. Worse case is replacement engine at a further £6500.
michaelb   
Tue Apr 09 2013, 03:16pm
Joined: Nov 17 2009
Member No: #14
Location: London
 Holy ****.
Tjensen   
Tue Apr 09 2013, 08:11pm
Joined: Jul 17 2012
Member No: #954
Location: Bergen
 Any warranty to save you ?
travlician   
Tue Apr 09 2013, 10:25pm
Joined: Jan 22 2011
Member No: #350
Location: Paradera
 We may have another C6 at the breakers yard soon... Sorry to hear this bad news Chevrons!
gmerry   
Wed Apr 10 2013, 09:20am
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Chevrons, if you are interested in salvaging the car, get on the phone to some landrover specialists and see what they have to say.

Traditional fix for failed head gasket which is what you have by the sound of it, was always to remove heads, strip them down, machine flat and refit.

The block should be OK to leave in the engine bay.

Regards
G
smihaialex   
Wed Apr 10 2013, 09:49am
Joined: Sep 18 2012
Member No: #1031
Location: Bucharest
 Holly [%*^#@!]! Sorry to hear that!

Best of luck,
Sam

PS: maybe it won't be the worst case scenario...
cruiserphil   
Wed Apr 10 2013, 06:45pm

Joined: Jan 24 2010
Member No: #38
Location: Celbridge
 Sorry to hear the outcome of the overheating! Do you mind me asking what some of the external components external to the engine are deemed in need of replacement?

Regards,

Phil C.
cruiserphil   
Wed Apr 10 2013, 07:23pm

Joined: Jan 24 2010
Member No: #38
Location: Celbridge
 G.,

I like your solution for wiring a coolant level sensor. Hearing Chevron's outcome I feel I was lucky when the thermostat tank burst. My journey only lasted another 3 mins from where I now reckon it burst. When I stopped and got out of the car, the steam coming from the wheel arches was what drew my attention to a problem. But if I had been driving non stop for longer, or it had happened on a motorway run, I might be sharing Chevron's grief.

I think I have a spare level sensor for an XM...and if I recollect correctly this was a push fit in the XM coolant tank.

Regards!

Phil C.
gmerry   
Thu Apr 11 2013, 08:17am
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Phil, I have a potential float switch lined up.

See
- Click Here -

The supplier is DEETER 01494 566046 50 Series Vertical Float switch in PPS plastic rated to continuous service of 2 bar and 125 degree C.

Installation would require removal of the header/expansion tank, drill a 12mm hole in the top flat service, install via filling hole and mount/install via M12 washer/nut supplied with the switch. The switch can be made to be NO or NC depending on the orientation of the float. There is limited ability to calibrate but all we are looking for is something to trigger alarms on loss of coolant.

The switch is so cheap it is probably worth buying one and checking it out from there.

Thanks for the information on the coolant thermostat failure. I was hoping that the failure mechanism was a leaking/weeping seep rather than catastropic loss of coolant.

BTW, I spoke to a couple of Landrover Indies yesterday and thay has not ever had a Discovery with the 2.7 with a head gasket failure: this makes me convinced that the initiating event is to do with the external cooling circuit (eg thermostat housing) rather than the engine itself.

Regards
G
cruiserphil   
Thu Apr 11 2013, 05:36pm

Joined: Jan 24 2010
Member No: #38
Location: Celbridge
 G,

Fair play to your research. I had a look at the site. Looking at the table would you reckon a DE55-10C01 would be suitable spec?

On the coolant tank issue, I remember noticing initially the header tank was low on coolant and then I topped it up. I checked it over a week or two but the loss was very gradual. I couldn't see any sign of leakage. As it happens the coolant tank sits in the V between the heads so I reckon a small leakage will evaporate before it appears. When it burst, there was a peculiar wheeze sound from the engine bay. I was actually turning on a roundabout and obviously water spilled on the auxiliary belt because the steering went heavy momentarily and then corrected itself. After that the car was running fine and I drove on the further three minutes to my destination. It was only when I got out, I saw the steam coming from the wheel arches and water splashed on the driver's side arch. When I looked underneath there was water spilling from the underguard. As I said, if I was on the motorway I don't think I would have noticed anything until it was too late!!!

When I did the repair, I was playing around with a new video camera and recorded the replacement and the split in the tank. I apologise that I just haven't had time to edit it and upload. I will endeavour to do so, because in the light of Chevron's unfortunate experience I think it would be useful.

I welcome your opinion on the switch model as I will order and trial a modification on the car that hasn't had the tank replaced. Hopefully, the modification could end up as an inexpensive handy DIY project for owners.

I suppose a word of warning to all owners is that with the cooling system in order there should be no coolant loss whatsoever. If there is suspicion of a leak on a 2.7 and it can't be found easily, the coolant tank will need to be inspected!!

Thanks again to Chevrons for the alert. The only consolation for him is that we can learn from his experience - the benefits of the forum.

Regards,

Phil C.
mark28   
Thu Apr 11 2013, 05:57pm
Joined: Apr 28 2010
Member No: #102
Location: Hampshire
 There is also a known fault with the cap on the expansion tank, leaking when warm
gmerry   
Fri Apr 12 2013, 09:42am
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Hi Phil, I have a float switch on order, see attached jpg.

Once I have it, I will decide if it needs a mounting adaptor to get the switching level lower in the tank.

An alloy adaptor with a female M12 thread and an O ring seal to the tank surface should do the job.

In the meantime, if you or anyone else feels inclined, it would be useful to break into the loom to the ECU and insert a terminal into the oil pressure switch to allow this to be switched to earth with the engine running. This is what will happen if the level switch is activated by loss of coolant.

The loss of coolant switch would be activated well in advance of any overheating alarm (usually too late).

An an anecdote, I had a BX GTi suffer a head gasket failure due to loss of coolant caused by a failed air bleed cap (very similar to the air bleed cap on the C6 heater circuit). It was made worse by the timing: we had been overseas on our honeymoon and were driving up the country after that.

Regards
G

Note to self, probably time to start a new thread
gmerry   
Mon Apr 15 2013, 02:46pm
Joined: Dec 11 2009
Member No: #21
Location: Scotland
 Hi all, it seems some variants of the Peugeot 407 had a coolant level sensor or switch fitted as standard (same tank in all cases). - Click Here -

I always did wonder why there was a circular reinforced boss on the top.

Regards

G
Chevrons   
Wed Apr 17 2013, 09:31am
Joined: Apr 10 2010
Member No: #85
Location: N. Staffs
 Update and Final I Expect:

My C6 will now go to the highest bidder on Ebay, sold as a runner but with symptoms clearly stated. So I'll be leaving as I won't be able to make many more contributions now I guess.

Bought from Citroen at eighteen-months-old and 10k miles, I have done 70k in it over three years and it's been a joy and oh-so different, and prettier, than a BMW 5 or Audi A6. Two Citroen company cars, a BXGTi in the early 90s and the C6 - both of them unique and pure joy.

I doubt whether there'll be another true Citroen again - for me at least.
A true Citroen has Hydro-pneumatic suspension, unusual, pragmatic appearance and, to quote Clarkson, 'a stick of rhubarb for a handbrake' (or something like that).
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