smokey from bonnet urgent

[chrisandrewc]

took him out for a drive ,window was very steamed up put fan blower on and turned a little knob under gear stick ,had some white smoke coming from under bonnet on drivers side ,turned blower off no more smoke,under gear stick there is two black knobs look like they turn up and down and two white arrows ,can someone help me Renault 4tl thankyou

 

[Tripyrenees]

It may not be smoke, but steam. When you turn the heater on it opens the valve to the heater matrix. Check you do not have any leaks from the heater pipes in the engine bay. Start your engine, turn hearer on and rev the engine by pulling the accelerator cable while looking under the bonnet.

 

[chrisandrewc]

any help on what those button do cant find any info ,online two white arrows under gear stick one up one down,on side of that on passenger side two black knobs like triangle shape that seem too turn up and down,? will have a look under bonnet tom ,which one is accelerator cable,complete novice when it comes to car engines can get someone else to sit in it and rev why I look tom ,sounded a bit clunky after had fan blower on front wind screen when I came to a stop ,like a clicking sound but stopped when engine stopped and didn't happen when I re started it? thankyou for reply

 

[chrisandrewc]

forgot to say temp in car on little reader went very high after this incident on the temp gage on dash and when I got out after getting home car seemed a little hot on drivers side above front wheel in arch?

 

[jonigel]

The arrows are for hot and cold ,up for hot down for cold,one of the levers controls the fresh air vent and the other one directs the air to demist or down for cabin. The reason for the left hand wing being hot is that the exhaust is underneath.Check your expansion tank coolant level if the gauge registers a high reading, hope this helps.

 

[chrisandrewc]

will get out there today get him running where is coolant tank located under bonnet,anything I should check?

 

[jonigel]

On the right hand side near the battery,it is either glass or plastic,depending on year but you can see the fluid and it has a mark to show you where the level is.

 

[Tripyrenees]

Chris - get under the bonnet and just look - find the bottle (normally a cloudy orange) it will be connected via a small tube tot he tope of the radiator. There are two larger tubes top and bottom of the radiator. These go into the engine (water pump). From the same area (water pump) there are two smaller tubes going to the bulkhead (under windscreen). These two smaller tubes are the heater circuit and they go into the car into a much smaller radiator (the heater). This is the small black knob that goes up or down and controls a small valve (tap) that closes the water going into the heater radiator (heater matrix). When you open it to hot the water will flow.

There is also a much smaller tube coming out of the bulkhead with a little cap on it (dead end tube). You can unscrew this cap by hand and water will pour out. This is the air bleed of the water system. It is the highest point in the car and when you fill the water bottle (cloudy orange bottle) you need to run the car for a while. squeeze the big fat pipes going into the water pump and every so often unscrew the little dead end tube to release the air (hot water will come out too).

It sounds like you opened the heater up and one of the tubes leaked onto he engine causing the smoke (steam). You now have a reduced amount of cooling int he system and the red light on the dash has come on.

Don't worry about the heat on the wing, as said before, this is the exhaust and normal.

Just look and follow the pipes and get it into your own mind how it works - it then becomes a lot easier....... I also found out the hard way ;o)

 

[chrisandrewc]

what shall I re fill it with normal tap water ? or get coolant will it be ok to drive garage? thankyou for help

 

[Tripyrenees]

Water is fine to top up but coolant is better.

 

[chrisandrewc]

will he bet alright to go down petrol station get coolant there fill him up about 10 minute drive ?

 

[iMacThere4iAm]

Don't risk it, fill up with tap water then drive to the garage. When you have coolant, you can let out some of the water and top up with coolant.

The main risk of using water is that it can freeze, resulting in a seized water pump and no cooling for the engine block when you try to start it the next day.
Coolant also contains anti-corrosion additives which give long-term protection to your cooling system.

I agree with Tripyrenees' diagnosis, there is probably a leak in one of the pipes to the cabin heater matrix, hence the steam when you turn on the heater.

 

[malcolm]

Don't forget to bleed the coolant system if it has lost water. Otherwise overheating and head gasket troubles are likely.

You would really benefit from buying a Haynes manual rather than asking for urgent help on the forum for relatively basic issues.

 

[Tripyrenees]

I am not sure the Haynes manual is that good in this case.

Best way to learn is to take out the engine and rebuild it

Just wish I could have my car back to put it back in

 

[chrisandrewc]

sorry about asking all the time,just a complete novice with engines my first ever car ,trying to get a Haynes as well sorry to be a pain

 

[Tripyrenees]

Don't you worry, you keep asking. The Haynes Manual for this car is terrible anyway.

As I said, just follow all the pipes so you can get it into your head how it works. The heater inside the car looks exactly like a little radiator connected to those thin tubes. The rest is all on show.

 

[chrisandrewc]

went out to have a look and bottle was full to brim ,too full over max line,drove a little and steam was coming from radiator top left on screw cap,smelt hot,unscrewed dead end tap nothing came out when squeezing tubes top and bottom of radiator, got orange bottle out of harness lifted it a little higher than it was and nearly all liquid started to drain from it ,started to squeeze pipes again and water came through dead end every few squeezes,not sure what to do know

 

[malcolm]

You'll need to bleed the system.
Remove the plastic cap on the radiator and fill it to the top. Replace cap.
Fill transparent coolant bottle.
Support transparent bottle above engine.
Turn heater to hot.
Find little pipe poking out of the bulkhead and unscrew. Wait until water comes out. Screw up again.
Squeeze top hose to radiator repeatedly.
Undo plastic cap on radiator and allow level to rise.
Repeat all above until it feels like there is no air in the top hose.
Fill transparent bottle to max and put back where it was.
That's the system bled.

There is still the problem to sort. From the steam I guess there is a leak.

 

[claude]

I'm not a lover of short term fixes but sometimes they can get you out of a tight spot, if only temporarily. If the leak is in the heater matrix and is not too bad try a can of "radweld or bars leaks". Warm the engine then add it to the radiator (not the expansion bottle) restart the engine and allow it to run at idle for about 15 minutes also make sure the heater valve is fully in the open position, ie the lever in the cabin is on the red spot. These products form a seal at the site of the leak through a chemical reaction between hot water and air but there are limits to the size of the leak they plug and ultimately you will have to repair or replace the defective heater matrix. They claim to form a permanent seal but in my experience this has rarely been the case. Finally a word of caution, be very mindful if you are working on on a car's cooling system when it's hot - there is scolding hot water under pressure so take care.

 

[chrisandrewc]

heres a pic of what the buttons are on know is that ok what is the best position for these ?