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[portomega]

Right just went to start the car and .....nothing. dashlight all came on then dimmed when key was turned and nothing from the engine, did it 5-6 times then it fired up but there was white puffs of smoke from where the exhuast joins to the engine, where theres sort of a silver heat shield over it, and then when idling a fair bit of white smoke coming out of the exhuast , took it for a spin and the smoke seems to have cleared. But then i noticed my coolant had dropped when i looked and when i took the cap off it all of a sudden nearly filled the bottle to the top! any ideas what up with the dam thing now!!! 

[Jimbob]

dunno about the route cause, but if you take the lid of the coolant tank when hot, it will fill the tank very rapidy, and scald you if it gets the chance, its pressurised    .  Release the pressure and the fluid will then boil (and give the volcano effect you saw)

being a 4 pot, it could be the HG 

[portomega]

yeah it was hot and the engine was running, i expected the level to rise but didnt expect it to fill right to the top lol but also there were a fair few bubbles coming from the pipe of the coolant tank at the bottom

[joshwyatt]

When the engines cold take the oil filler cap off and have a look at it and the same with the dip stick. Is there any white/cream gunk you can see?

[portomega]

no both of those are free from any gunk

[joshwyatt]

Oh, that's good news. That is one of the signs of a possible hg failiure, but we can't discount that atm though. Are there any dash lights still on when the engine was running or did any come on whilst driving?

[portomega]

Nope free from any of the warning lights , only thing i can think of was yesturday i had a O ring replaced as it was leaking and ever since i got it back its been blowing the white smoke when idling before been driven

[Andy H]

Did you get your sump changed?

Were any electrical connections undone in the process?

In particular the heavy cable to the starter motor and any earth straps between the body and engine or gearbox.

If there are loose connections or damaged cables or earth straps you could have intermittent starting (and puffs of smoke  )

[Elite Pete]

Could be the water getting into one or more cylinders making it hard for the starter motor to turn the engine

[portomega]

Sump still hasnt been changed as i aint got any time off work until next week  so having to wait until then. its been patched with that epoxy putty stuff and its not leaking anymore

[portomega]

Could be the water getting into one or more cylinders making it hard for the starter motor to turn the engine

is that a major problem? could i drive it for another week or an i ruining the engine? also if it is HG is that a costly job?

[joshwyatt]

I bet it's connected, oil could be leaking and being burnt. How confident are you at a bit of mechanics? I must admit I'm not, but have the same engine as you. You could try taking the heatshild off to have a look, or the top of the engine to have a look at the spark plugs and just a general poke around. I'm afaraid I can't be much more help than that as I've never had a similiar problem.

[portomega]

ive got no mechanical knowledge or confidence at all  wish i did, just cant believe all these problems have hit me when i got no time off work and cant get them sorted 

[Elite Pete]

Could be the water getting into one or more cylinders making it hard for the starter motor to turn the engine

is that a major problem? could i drive it for another week or an i ruining the engine? also if it is HG is that a costly job?

If it is using quite a bit of water with no apparent leaks I would say its the head gasket.

[portomega]

Could be the water getting into one or more cylinders making it hard for the starter motor to turn the engine

is that a major problem? could i drive it for another week or an i ruining the engine? also if it is HG is that a costly job?

If it is using quite a bit of water with no apparent leaks I would say its the head gasket.

well the coolant level had only dropped slighty and ive just had a look now and the level is right where it should be, so i dont think the coolant has been lost , with hg failure would the coolant be lost completey and not return to the tank when i took the top off?