Mini Nightmare!

[Wildhound]

I was driving back from Belfast with two of my work colleagues and as we passed the Balbriggan exit on the M1 I noticed my water temperature gauge was maxed out. Obviously I pulled over immediately to see steam billowing out from under the bonnet.

So I cracked it open and sure enough all of the coolant was boiling off, but I noticed the radiator fans weren't turning. Sure enough I waited for it to cool down a bit and started the engine, the fans span for a second and cut out.

Clearly the thermostat is gone! Not a big deal in itself, but being 30 miles from home and requiring a tow certainly wasn't pleasant. It hurt my wallet and my pride in my machine.

What's worse is I noticed today that my oil level has peculiarly dropped to about half and there's a some fresh looking oil coming from underneath the manifold. When it rains it pours!

[Muad_dib77]

Ah jaysus - that's some terrible luck! If you're near enough Paul Nolan (Artane) I'd give him a call straight off the bat!

[Wildhound]

Unfortunately I'm way over on the southside! Luckily I've a great mechanic around the corner. He has no first hand experience with FTOs, but he knows his stuff.

He whipped out the thermostat for me and gave me a bit of advice. No charge. I have a feeling this car is going to be a bit of a cash black-hole over the next few months!

[CJ]

I would consider the 'stat to be a consumable, they need replacing from time to time and should be checked periodically for seal wear etc. You shouldn't need to replace with a FTO specific unit, a lot of Jap cars share the same stat in terms of the pressure rating.

CJ

[Wildhound]

More worries, I spotted a bit of rust today in the engine bay on the metal plate above the drivers side wheel arch. It's in the same general area as the engine mount. I picked away at it and it's only a couple of milimeters deep but I'm very worried that it might continue under the metal plate and go deeper.

I can't explain it very well so here's a picture:



Any advice is very welcome as I'm VERY worried about this. I don't know how to go about finding out how bad it is, or indeed what to do afterwards.

[Muad_dib77]

I've seen rust in that same spot on a different FTO - Red - can't remember who drives it though - but I remember building foam had been used to try and stop it from expanding..

If you cant' poke a screw driver thought it - sand it back and protect it!

If it's rotten the whole way through make best friends with somebody who's very good at welding..and you might want to consider moving those bits and bob right out of the way as well..

Lazy mans solution is get some of that fluid that converts rust to stuff you can paint on - then paint it to match the surrounding area.

[CJ]

I've seen rust in that same spot on a different FTO - Red - can't remember who drives it though - but I remember building foam had been used to try and stop it from expanding..

Sounds like The Bulls botch job

This is a very common problem on FTOs, you'll find that its just as bad under the engine fuse box. Clean it up as good you can and use rust treatment. If its serious then you'll need to have a plate welded in - its a potential NCT fail.

CJ

[steelroe]

I have sen 2 FTO's, failed "extremely dangerous" for this reason. Have seen a number of uk imported fto's rusted straight through. Cet it sorted asap and then scutch the underside of the wheel arches.

[Wildhound]

From what I can tell it's not too serious (fingers crossed), but I'll be having a proper look on the weekend. I definitely can't poke a screwdriver through it anyway! I had a look on FTOOC and I've noticed a good few people have had similar problems on there.

My mechanic knows a good panel beater who can do the welding if it comes to that. Bah, looks like I'll have to put those leatherette seats I've been thinking about on hold and get the more important stuff sorted first.

[pergau]

Hi Wildhound I was going to post this in spotted as I passed you yesterday (on the other side of the motorway! - otherwise I would have stopped) At least it wasn't something big.

Re the rust by the engine mounts, I have it too and its a bit worse than yours but I gave it a good dose of Krust and some primer and it seems to be fine as well as getting through the NCT so don't worry about it too much.

I would check out the oil loss too - I presume that you have a manual gearbox so I would be worried that you have head gasket or water pump problems.

[Wildhound]

Hey thanks Pergau, the input is much appreciated!

The rust is really weighing on my mind so I really hope you're right and it's not too big of a deal. I'll have a good go at it tomorrow and see how far it goes. I'll check on the other side under the fuse box too.

As regards the oil, you're correct I have a manual and I had already considered that it might be the head gasket because I've noticed visible exhaust that looks a lot like steam... The water pump was changed along with the cam belt and tensioners about 4000 miles ago.

Given that the rear plugs are so hard to get at I'm going to assume it wouldn't a simple task to do the head gasket myself? Anyone know how much I could expect to pay a mechanic to do it?

[CJ]

I'm going to assume it wouldn't a simple task to do the head gasket myself? Anyone know how much I could expect to pay a mechanic to do it?

Easier said than done, bit of strip down involved. The rocker cover gasket on the other hand is a piece of cake.

Re the oil leak, its very likely that the cam seals need attention, this is a very common FTO problem. Its a labour intensive job and can be costly to fix. Its not serious, just make sure and keep the oil level topped up, low oil in the V6 engine (or any engine for that matter!) can lead to seizure.

CJ

[Muad_dib77]

just make sure and keep the oil level topped up, low oil in the V6 engine (or any engine for that matter!) can lead to seizure.

CJ

I 2nd this - keep a close eye on your oil level! - this applies to everybody out there.

You cannot check oyur oil too often!

I check mine atleast weekly - sometimes even two or three times depending on how much driving I'm doing..

[Myfeckin FTO]

............ keep a close eye on your oil level! - this applies to everybody out there.

You cannot check oyur oil too often!

I check mine atleast weekly - sometimes even two or three times depending on how much driving I'm doing..

You sound like a man speaking from experience!

[Wildhound]

Thanks for all the input, it's a great help with deciding where to direct my cash first!

On the subject of checking things I'd advise everybody with an older FTO to check for rust on their wheel arches! May not be very obvious without a closer inpection.

[Wildhound]

Well I went at the rust today and I got a screwdriver right through it so somehow I don't think Kurust is going to solve the problem.

This is stressing me out a lot. I don't know what to do now. My lovely car is starting to feel more and more like a pile of scrap!