Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[PaulW]

Got another little niggle with the car...

Came to it yesterday afternoon after getting back from uni, and the windscreen on the inside had a mega amount of condensation on it and the car had a god-aweful stench of damp in it.  The condensation was more severe on the passenger side, and took bloomin ages for it to clear!

I also got the low coolant message on the gid (as per) but I always check it every time (I know the sensor is a bit duffed but still) and I did notice the coolant has dropped about 1cm from where it was about 400 miles back.  Probably nothing tbh...

Today again (this morning) the condensation was more apparent on the passenger side, and the damp smell was still there slightly, altho not as bad.  I checked the coolant level again and it seems the same as last night.  I will check it more and more over time...

Now, at the weekend it had been raining stupidly heavy, and I always check the drain plug on the drivers side, but never the other side...  The night before the car got smelt and had the condensation, it was parked on a slant so the passenger side was lower down.  So could this be another drain plug on the passenger side I'm not paying much attention too??

Also today I think I could smell some coolant in the car when I was pulling off, but then again I was also following an old peugeot so it could of been that    BUT just incase, does it sound a bit like heater matrix??  If so, how much of a job is it to sort??

Notes::

The HBV and Coolant Bridge replaced about 3 months ago.
Thermostat was replaced 3 weeks ago
The coolant bottle is the original from what I can tell (I replaced the cap though when I got the car) and there is cracking around the neck...

Ideas??

[geoff]

have you had a look at the pollen filter,under the pssenger side plastic wiper scuttle panel,lift bonnet,lift rubber of passenger side,lift flap up ,my need replacing, should be done every 2 years,mine had water in the well drain was blocked but o.k now,you my have the same problem 8-) 8-) 8-)coolant could be sensor at the bottom of the coolant header tank,brother in laws has same problem keeps saying coolant check and coolant is fine,can unplug wire and bridge across with piece of wire or replace sensor,or tank

[Marks DTM Calib]

Sounds like the passenger scuttle drain is blocked......if the heater matrix was leaking you would be loosing coolant much faster and would have a windscreen which is smeary on the inside.

[amba]

Lift the passenger side scuttle panel where the poeen filter lives and would be certain that the drain plug at the bottom is full of crud and water.Pull up your sleeve and reach down int the bottom and pull out the rubber bung.then get a hose pipe and give it a really good rinse and clean.wash the plug and replace and job done.Feel certain that is the problem with condensation.

[cem_devecioglu]

the heater matrix  loose coolant very slow at the begininng ..I went to the Opel service and they check the carpets..Nothing but after several months.Coolant smell inside the car was more visible..Then I insist them to do it (services here dont like this job ..too many hours for one car instead of many) .. When we take the dash out was a small leakage from matrix.After the replacement the mist on the windscreen and smell inside the car is lost.

ps: if you decide to go for heater matrix , dont try to change without taking the dash totally out..There are hidden screws behind the odometer (behind a plastic pipe) that you can easily break..Nearly a whole day job ( for an expert)

also what suprises me the matrix is not a quality one..Similiar the one used in Fiats..

[Martin_1962]

I'd vacuum out by the scuttle, I tipped water in and Vaxed it out, eventually unclogging the drain.

Put the end over the drain hole.

Eventually water went straight through.

[Darth Loo-knee]

Not sure if your Mrs will be happy getting the Dyson in there when its full of mud and leaves mine wouldn't

It is rather difficult to get your hand down to the drain plug. So I used an old hanger the wire type to push through the Drain Plug then the mud just dropped through, then i kept rinsing clean water through....

[Martin_1962]

I think owning a Vax saved me having to buy new carpets after the floods, managed to get most of the smell out them used odour removing powder daily for two weeks and the carpets were fine.

Drivers side was dry passenger side wet

[PaulW]

Well I checked both the drain plugs... Both clear  :-/ even though the passenger side was an utter swine to get too...

Also took the car for a good blast down the motorway earlier, and the filler cap still has mayo on it  :-? (cleaned it before and half way through the journeys)

Coolant level didn't drop...

I know I need to do the rocker cover still on the passenger side bank, as its goosed... Could this also in some weird way cause the condensation and mayo on the filler cap??

[ians]

Have you changed oil recently?   Assuming there isn't mayo on the dipstick I think you're most likely ok.

Not sure but blocked breathers might increase the mayo :-/    Cold, wet weather certainly would.

[PaulW]

Oil is due for a change (coming upto 2.5k miles since last change) so does need doing...

Will check the breathers and do them again too if need be (they were done at the time of the last oil change just before I got the car)

[Chopsdad]

My wife's car has mayo on the cap and breathers are awful to keep clean but it does 3 motorway runs a week and Vx diagnosed and fixed rocker's under warranty, so you could be right  

[Markjay]

My wife's car has mayo on the cap and breathers are awful to keep clean but it does 3 motorway runs a week and Vx diagnosed and fixed rocker's under warranty, so you could be right  

Yep, had my cam covers done under warranty as well.... and oil cooler....