TD5 Water system issues. Pics enclosed, could do with some advice please!!

Hi Guys.

My mates been having a problem with constant overheating and has had the head done already, had a few other things done including fitting another fan on a switch etc etc.
Despite all of this, the darned thing persists, and as its used regularly to tow horse trailers, it really is a problem for him.
Now i've stepped in and suggested he look at his radiator as advised by some members in here, and what i think is the fuel cooler !! see pics below.

Anyhow, got the disco in his barn and among the turkeys and chickens (nearly xmas, yummy) i set too with undoing hoses etc and found the water to be thick with a brown substance coating everything which also shows trace in steamed water marks around the diesel cooler which i'm sure is leaking.

Some pics:

Brown water in hoses shows nicely in this bottle:



Diesel Cooler.. if i'm not right, what is it :crazy:



This one shows more the steamed off browned area:



Now you can get an idea of what i'm on about (i hope) my questions are:

How do i flush this crap out?

do you think i'm right in thinking that the diesel cooler has a leak at the welded pipe joint that is causing that steaming and leaving the brown stain all around it, with traces of spotting directly above it also.
When hot you can see water dropping down onto the engine mount below it so i'm told.

I should add that i have now completely removed the radiator and cooler attached, leaving the oil cooler in situ still. This is being taken to have it looked at, cleaned, serviced or replaced.

Hence i need to get the crap out of the system before re installing it and chocking it up again. I reckon its rad weld or something similar.

Any pointers as to doing this folks !!

Thanks in advance.

there is special radiator flush to fill the system, run it with it and drain it... if i understood well he has an electric fan instead of the viscous unit? ... that will not cool enough if hard towing is involved whatsoever

like you named it "water system" based on how the fluid looks in that thermostat(not bottle) i have the feeling that the ssystem was filled with water rather than the correct 50/50 OAT-distilled water mixage...and then that's what happens, sludge and corrosion builds up in the system

Workshop manual said:

Anti-Freeze Concentration
The overall anti-freeze concentration should not fall,
by volume, below 50% to ensure that the anti-corrosion
properties of the coolant are maintained.
Anti-freeze concentrations greater than 60% are not
recommended as cooling efficiency will be impaired.

Click to expand...

flush that system well, put a new thermostat cos that's already ruined by water, bleed the sytem well and if it was removed put back the viscous fan...then if overheats it's a problem though if it had overheated since the head gasket was replaced now it's gone again...or there's a crack in the head

if it had the correct coolant in the system and it's oily the problem is the oil cooler which is more common

REMEMBER, THAT'S NOT A "WATER SYSTEM", IT'S COOLING SYSTEM, USING PLAIN WATER OR INCORRECT COOLANT WILL RUIN IT

Thanks mate, that's very useful to know.
The viscous fan is still in and working fine. The electric fan is just an additive as he'd borrowed my 90 which has one and thought it was a great idea to switch on for added help when towing.
This was a vehicle purchased at auction, so he's not done anything other than what was a advised by a mechanic he uses, but having done all this and the problem still going on, he was about to chuck it away. Hence i'm seeing what else i can do with your guys help.

I would like to get this crap out before putting the rad back in.. any ideas how i could do that, or should i just put a new one in and flush it through this also?? would be a shame toget it all in new rad i thought.

if its going rusty id be looking at head gasket

he's only had the head done about 2mths ago. He's been wary enough to pull over when he's seen its getting too hot so as not to do any damage again, so pretty sure that's going to be ok.
He's had a new water pump done also, but still has this crap in system, so clearly the guy that did it didn't flush it all, even though stated he's cleaned the system.
Arguably all work done will now be suspect if he didn't even flush it as he should have and only filled with water as previously suggested. Doesn't bode well does it.

You any ideas about getting this out of system with rad off james?

theres a drain bung on the steel coolant pipes underneath rad ,if you remove top hose you can flush engine out and rad

The old rads already off and all pipes are just hanging and covered in this stuff. Probably just going to put a new rad in so would be best to re connect old rad and flush first, do you think that would be best way?

Would have to connect up the other cooler that sits in front also i guess, i could it be run without for long enough to get the flush completed?

if rads of flush through the top hose on head with a hose pipe also through one of the heater pipes, if once clen it goes rusty again youll know head job wasnt a success

yes, undo the top hose and flush it through the elbow with plenty of water... when you fill the system unlclip and raise the tank above the top hose and fill untill clear flow comes out through the bleed hole then refit partially the bleed screw start the engine and keep it revvd above 1500 untill no bubbles are comong out there, at the end tighten the tank's cap well... also faulty or not well tightened cap can lead to overheating if it doesnt keep the system under pressure... when the engine is at working temperature and the radiator is hot try to stop the viscous fan with a rolled newspater...if it stops then that's it, it doesnt lock so no cooling effect..saw that many times

FILL IT WITH PROPER COOLANT

Thanks guys.. looks like i have a plan now.
Was thinking i would blast a power washer through the hoses lol.
Then again, not even sure if there's mains water in the yard !!

Much appreciated.

i would flush it out like others said, then fit new rad, new thermostat and new coolant cap, and the coolant, i would think previous owner has put some head gasket goo or similar **** stuff in it to try and get a cure out of a tin, rather than do the inevitable in the first place,

sierrafery said:

there is special radiator flush to fill the system, run it with it and drain it... if i understood well he has an electric fan instead of the viscous unit? ... that will not cool enough if hard towing is involved whatsoever

like you named it "water system" based on how the fluid looks in that thermostat(not bottle) i have the feeling that the ssystem was filled with water rather than the correct 50/50 OAT-distilled water mixage...and then that's what happens, sludge and corrosion builds up in the system


flush that system well, put a new thermostat cos that's already ruined by water, bleed the sytem well and if it was removed put back the viscous fan...then if overheats it's a problem though if it had overheated since the head gasket was replaced now it's gone again...or there's a crack in the head

if it had the correct coolant in the system and it's oily the problem is the oil cooler which is more common

REMEMBER, THAT'S NOT A "WATER SYSTEM", IT'S COOLING SYSTEM, USING PLAIN WATER OR INCORRECT COOLANT WILL RUIN IT

Click to expand...

Sorry to hijack this thread but this seems appropriate.
I needed to top up my coolant today as I lost some after breaking my EGR coolant pipe! But in my haste I added 3/4 litre of concentrate without diluting it. Will this be a problem? It was added to the Granville sub zero diluted stuff (same colour though).

no probs... much better to be more concentrated than more diluted

sierrafery said:

no probs... much better to be more concentrated than more diluted

Click to expand...

Phew!!

Can someone please suggest a brand / make of correct coolant to use for this system, and the correct mix if it's to be mixed.
Now have a new rad, new thermostat and new diesel cooler, so am going to crack on with it all in next few days starting with as good an flush through as i can.

Thanks everyone.

Chances are the water pump is shot too if it's been run without OAT, might be why it keeps overheating... it sits behind the pas pump and can be a PITA to change - I find best way is to unmount he PAS pump block from the head, but I don't have an A/C compressor sat on top of mine.