Newbie with little knowledge

Hi there

I've just bought a VW LT 35D Horsebox, 1988, with, I'm told, an Audi 2.4 engine in it.

The engine seems to run a bit hot, although it's not boiled up or anything.........in fact when it stops after a run, there is no sound at all from the engine.

But the warning light will sometimes come on after a few minutes' of running time, and comes on intermittently during journeys.

The other day I noticed a drip of water underneath when it was stationary, after a short journey.

Also, it's emitting a lot of black exhaust. I'm being told a change of oil and filter may help here.

There is a man near me who does a lot of work for fellow horsebox owners, and I'm taking it to him this week, for a check and service.

Is there anything anyone can tell me about this model which may help?

I want to keep it, and I am prepared to spend some money to get it right.

Thanks.

would'nt put the cheapest antifreeze in......forget which it is but some of the cheap stuff is no good better of with a quality one,esp if you want to keep it.Black smoke is generaly fuel perhaps injectors could do with checking plus air filter change be good....

Forgive me if you know the following ...

mine never runs hotter than 1/4 up the guage except when im towing the caravan uphill ( have we been here before?}

Ok thanks everyone.

The needle goes quite quickly up to about the 3/4 mark and hovers around there for a while, then dips back to just over halfway. If I come to a bit of a gradient, it rises again to about 3/4. It's never gone higher.

As for the warning light.........it can flash from the word go, or it can go out after a few seconds, but may come on at any time without seemingly having any correlation with the needle. The light can flash with regular 'beats', or it can flicker as well, so I'm not entirely sure about the electrical connection of it either.

Having very little understanding of engines and their workings, I am at a disadvantage when it comes to good advice from folks like yourselves, but I am making an effort to familiarise myself with this particular one, and I am determined to identify and tackle the various systems and any faults they may have.

The coolant reservoir seems not to be losing any water, although I did notice a drip of water below the engine when at the service station the other day. I watched for another drip and waited about twenty seconds before I saw one..............is the reservoir the only point at which I should top up, or is there another way of getting water into the system? I know some engines require the rad to be topped up, regardless of the level in the res. I do suspect a minor leak in the system, and I imagine that may lead to airlocks, so I'll try to suss that first.

I'll find my way around this engine, with help, in due course...........I'm off to look at it now.

Thanks again.

The coolant gauge needle movement seems normal. The red lamp means top up the resevoir (which is under the engine cover, right at the front  - by your bum!). 5 minute job.

The lamp always rapidly flashes on key-on then should go off. At other times it will come on if the sensor sees a low level. But it may well go off again if you go down a hill (water level rises), or even as the water heats up (expands). But it could be simply be a poor connection - you will know when you see the level.

 

As you say, you may still have a small coolant leak which should be checked - are you sure its water that is dripping (smell it?) Where does it seem to come from (front or rear of engine)?

I checked all the hoses yesterday, and found no leaks. Then I topped the water right up in the reservoir and ran the engine whilst keeping an eye.

The red light had stopped flashing, due to the top up but, as I watched, I noticed a bead of water appear through the cap of the reservoir and, as the water expanded, the bead turned into a trickle. It seems someone, at some time, has cut a cross-shape in the cap for some reason.

This is allowing the water level to drop fairly rapidly, as the light started flashing within a mile of the house when I went for a short run.

Would there be any valid reason for this, or should I replace the cap with a waterproof one?

Please excuse my ignorance.

Edited by AengusOg - 14 Aug 09 at 08:20

Can you post a photo of the 'damage'?

Make sure you get more than one opinion. Sounds to me like a few things you have been told are suspect and you will end up paying a fortune for no reason if you are not careful. 

As Thal said, the system needs to be under pressure. The increase in pressure increases the activation energy of the water so effectively increases the boiling point of the water.
No pressure = boiling coolant = bad
Scrap yard guy is also right, if you have pressure over and above normal you need to check the coolant gasses. You can get a simple tester you put in place of  the reservoir cap to check for combustion gasses in the coolant. If you've got combusion gasses in the coolant you've got problems.