[WillOates]

Hi all

I have a few issues on my 2.4 159 which I think are all related (new thermostat needed??)

1) The heating in the cabin takes a long time to kickin and when it does it works intermittently.
2) When I go up a steep hill the temperature gauge rises to 130. This is solved the first time by taking the foot off the accelerator – it goes immediately back to 90.
3) The overheating problem also occurred on the long run to Gatwick airport yesterday (150 miles each way). First time the temp started raising I took the foot off the accelerator and temp dropped immediately back to normal. Second time it stayed at 130 with the resultant power restriction until I stopped and turned the engine off for a few minutes. There are no other signs of overheating
4) Since the above two issues became noticeable, the noise from the fan coming in has become more audible.

Having read other similar posts, I think the thermostat needs replacing. However, could it be the rad or fan as well?

Thanks in advance

 

[JON156VELOCE]

Hi, A failed thermostat will rarely cause any car to overheat, they are designed so that when they fail they fail open and so not cause a problem.
Have you checked the coolant level, an intermittent or heater blowing cold is a sure sign that its low the 2.4's have a known fault with a bleed plug on the ally water pipe above the exhaust manifold so have a good look around there for leaks.
You shouldnt be driving it if its overheating, it wont run at 130c for long

 

[Pud237]

Quite possible you have a waterpump thats starting to seize up. I would advise that you do not drive the car anywhere until you've gotten to the bottom of whats causing the problem. The last thing you want is the pump seizing and throwing off the belt or the car overheating and doing the headgasket.

The waterpumps are very common problems on the 2.4 20v engine.

 

[Pete McK]

Starting with basics, have you checked the coolant level?

 

[Medno84]

Hi all

I have a few issues on my 2.4 159 which I think are all related (new thermostat needed??)

1) The heating in the cabin takes a long time to kickin and when it does it works intermittently.
2) When I go up a steep hill the temperature gauge rises to 130. This is solved the first time by taking the foot off the accelerator – it goes immediately back to 90.
3) The overheating problem also occurred on the long run to Gatwick airport yesterday (150 miles each way). First time the temp started raising I took the foot off the accelerator and temp dropped immediately back to normal. Second time it stayed at 130 with the resultant power restriction until I stopped and turned the engine off for a few minutes. There are no other signs of overheating
4) Since the above two issues became noticeable, the noise from the fan coming in has become more audible.

Having read other similar posts, I think the thermostat needs replacing. However, could it be the rad or fan as well?

Thanks in advance

THIS is my problem too. Have you fixed it? Regarding the water pump, I changed mine 30.000km ago so it should be OK. Water coolant level...hmm, I'm thinking where should it go, and so much of it? Mine is definitely not leaking. My problem only occurs when I turn on the heating (while driving of course). If I turn off the heating, then the temp. of the car is always normal.

Alfa mechanic said that the termostat should be changed, so I guess I'll try that out.

 

[WillOates]

@ Pete MCK was spot on. A £5 bottle of coolant has solved all the problems. A nice easy & cheap fix!!

Now onto the next little things.....

Thanks for your input folks. much appreciated.

 

[Medno84]

OK. Time for a update from me. I wasn't so lucky. My water pump had chosen to die on me. I only had the pump on the car for 50.000 km, so that was some bullsh#%*^. I also (again) changed the belt and what else is included + thermostat. Was a seriously expensive operation

 

[wantan7671]

2009 2.2 JTS

Previously was using this as a "weekend" type car (bought it a month ago) , decided to use it as my daily today (plenty of stop go traffic) and about half hour in the temps were at the red line with "Excessive radiator fluid temperature Stop and turn off engine" message.

Luckily I was already near work, so could park and come back to check at the end of the day. Coolant was low and had it topped up before setting off. Stop go traffic again, but temps were steady at 90c for about 20 minutes before it rose to just shy of the red zone had about 5km of clear road before home, temp dropped back to 90c but when reverse parking it went to 130c with the same "Excessive temp message"

Oil temp was higher than the normal "middle" of 110c , and rose and fell similar to the water temp but no warning was trigged as it did not reach the red zone. Outside temp was 25c - 30c, clear weather.

Anything I can do ? Or is this car just not designed to be part of the congestion ?

 

[johnnyroper]

Seems odd it was at 90 but went to 130 when reverse parking. I know the gauge is only a guide and it will show 90 when it’s in the normal range and not actually be 90 but to suddenly jump like that is weird.

Wonder if there is an issue with temp sender or a dodgy Earth somewhere?

 

[wantan7671]

Seems odd it was at 90 but went to 130 when reverse parking. I know the gauge is only a guide and it will show 90 when it’s in the normal range and not actually be 90 but to suddenly jump like that is weird.

Wonder if there is an issue with temp sender or a dodgy Earth somewhere?

Mystery solved ... coolant tank was basically empty after the drive. Still had drops of red coolant on the driveway so looks like I made it by a slither.

Any guides on what I should do to diagnose a total lost of coolent ?

During the coolant top up, I did try purging it of air by using a screw driver on the release switch. Also made sure the cap was back on tight.

 

[johnnyroper]

Have a good look round for red traces if nothing obvious then get it pressure tested

 

[wantan7671]

so mechanic thinks this part is loose and needs replacing. connector between radiator and hose ?

 

[wantan7671]

just to update, managed to source this (no mean feat, considering Alfa closed its last dealership in the country in 2011) and so far everything is back to normal 😃

any idea what might have caused this part to fail ?

 

[ivo_red]

just to update, managed to source this (no mean feat, considering Alfa closed its last dealership in the country in 2011) and so far everything is back to normal 😃

any idea what might have caused this part to fail ?

yes, being a plastic piece of crap is the reason. BMWs are notorious for this.

 

[wantan7671]

yes, being a plastic piece of crap is the reason. BMWs are notorious for this.

thanks, because my "new" part is from a broken car so hopefully things hold up.

also should the Oil Temperature hold steady at 110 ? This was after an hour drive in 30c weather on B-roads. I've read on other threads it should not go more than the "9 o'clock" mark. I remembered before this part failing my Oil Temps were 90 (2 notches below 110) ...

 

[alfaitalia]

90 is the norm....

 

[wantan7671]

90 is the norm....

Sorry realised my last post was abit messy, what I meant was :

Water Temp is now steady at 90

Oil Temp however is more constantly at 110 (9 o'clock position) , whereas previously it was 2 notches down which I presume is 90.

Not sure if the oil was "ruined" as on 2 occasion it got to the red line with warning, before I got this part fixed.

 

[ivo_red]

i would consider changing the oil. Oil temp shouldn't be your main concern for the moment. If it is unreasonably high, than engine cooling is not working properly. 110 is nothing concerning, but going above that would be indicative of cooling issue. I would recommend sticking in an OBD2 module and recording the data for some long drives. Than you will have something to stand on. Keep an eye on coolant levels and the color of oil.

 

[wantan7671]

Sorry realised my last post was abit messy, what I meant was :

Water Temp is now steady at 90

Oil Temp however is more constantly at 110 (9 o'clock position) , whereas previously it was 2 notches down which I presume is 90.

Not sure if the oil was "ruined" as on 2 occasion it got to the red line with warning, before I got this part fixed.

Just to update, today Oil Temps is back to normal being 1 to 2 notches below the 110 depending on how I drive. So guess I'd hold off on that oil change

 

[Georgew221]

110*C isn't anything to worry about, you should only really get concerned if it goes over 120*C, but even then mine has gone up to that when going up a steep hill on the motorway. How long are your drive times?