Technical Top radiator elbow keeps blowing off

[Sillystu84]

So back here with another problem after sorting out and replacing ( turbo, dpf, lpegr, hpegr ) and some other bits had the van running fine for about a wk now my issue is I can’t get the coolant right, heating fine m, temp fine, new thermostat fitted but it keeps blowing my top hose the one with the stupid clip in it, I’ve replaced the elbow with new one and again today it’s blow the top elbow off,

What is causing this to happen ?
Also is there a bleed screw anywhere as I can’t find one ?

 

[bugsymike]

So back here with another problem after sorting out and replacing ( turbo, dpf, lpegr, hpegr ) and some other bits had the van running fine for about a wk now my issue is I can’t get the coolant right, heating fine m, temp fine, new thermostat fitted but it keeps blowing my top hose the one with the stupid clip in it, I’ve replaced the elbow with new one and again today it’s blow the top elbow off,

What is causing this to happen ?
Also is there a bleed screw anywhere as I can’t find one ?

A photo of the type of clip / fitting may help.
I had problems with 2010 1.6 Doblo with the plastic elbow with a rubber inner seal and the wire clip arrangement.
In the end I made new O ring and lubed it up with silicon grease , then was able to firmly push elbow into place locking the clip arrangement securely.
I then pressure tested to be sure.
Fiat have used various types and it forces you to use their expensive hose arrangements.
I started making my own O rings from a Loctite kit after Fiat charged me £37 odd for two O rings, which came in a Fiat sealed bag marked PRC (Peoples Republic Of China)!!!

 

[Sillystu84]

A photo of the type of clip / fitting may help.
I had problems with 2010 1.6 Doblo with the plastic elbow with a rubber inner seal and the wire clip arrangement.
In the end I made new O ring and lubed it up with silicon grease , then was able to firmly push elbow into place locking the clip arrangement securely.
I then pressure tested to be sure.
Fiat have used various types and it forces you to use their expensive hose arrangements.
I started making my own O rings from a Loctite kit after Fiat charged me £37 odd for two O rings, which came in a Fiat sealed bag marked PRC (Peoples Republic Of China)!!!

Good morning thanks for reply it’s driving me crazy now this is lol I’m thinking of getting another hose to go straight to rad and use a jubilee clip lol

 

[bugsymike]

Good morning thanks for reply it’s driving me crazy now this is lol I’m thinking of getting another hose to go straight to rad and use a jubilee clip lol View attachment 453861

Providing the plastic groove in the radiator is not damaged, try and see if the clip secures the elbow with the rubber sealing ring out temporary so you know it has pushed all the way on.
You can usually see by the way the wire parts of the clip sit in their grooves if that is the problem.
Afterwards try refitting the elbow with it's O ring and well lubricated ideally with silicon grease, if it will push on all the way and you can see the clip lock in, if so and you can't wriggle it off then refit the hose and jubilee clip and test as before. I agree they are a stupid idea, probably done to keep cost down and quick assembly in the factory when brand new!

 

[Sillystu84]

so after spending nearly 3k on sorting this van out with the lpegr issue ( new turbo, new dpf, new lpegr and hpegr) I’ve found reason as to why the hose keeps blowing off, did a block test this morning and is showing as a blown head gasket not a happy man this morning

 

[bugsymike]

so after spending nearly 3k on sorting this van out with the lpegr issue ( new turbo, new dpf, new lpegr and hpegr) I’ve found reason as to why the hose keeps blowing off, did a block test this morning and is showing as a blown head gasket not a happy man this morning

Sorry to hear that.
Modern vehicles are over complicated in trying to meet ever more stringent regulations, that no repair is cheap it seems.

 

[spidermania]

a blown head gasket not a happy man this morning

Nothing anyone can truly say to ease the pain of that. It's now become an engine rebuild job, thousands of pounds.
Might look into a rebuilt one with a warranty.

 

[jackwhoo]

The pressure relief valve in the rad cap should blow before any part of cooling system fails.

 

[Sillystu84]

The pressure relief valve in the rad cap should blow before any part of cooling system fails.

We changed that twice one of another van we had and one brand new and still happened, Did block test this morning which has confirmed ( head gasket or cracked block/head ) within 20secs it went from blue to green

 

[bugsymike]

The pressure relief valve in the rad cap should blow before any part of cooling system fails.

I agree , although many years ago I had a VW Golf (1.5 Auto I think from memory) that had been standing and the rad cap didn't relieve the pressure and blew the end off the plastic radiator much to my surprise.
Strangely enough I did manage to recrimp that one using a pair of sash cramps so was lucky and did replace the rad cap.
It was a bit of mismatch car that started off as with a damaged 1500 cylinder head and I got a 1.6 GTI head from a burnt out engine, had some blanks fitted and drilled to match oil ways in the block, fitted blanks in the injector holes using 10p pieces and then used the original carb and manifold, after all that it was quite reliable for a shoe string budget!

 

[bugsymike]

We changed that twice one of another van we had and one brand new and still happened, Did block test this morning which has confirmed ( head gasket or cracked block/head ) within 20secs it went from blue to green

Hopefully if it is that bad, when stripped down it should be fairly obvious which cylinder.
When only slight I tend to do a "Leak Test" using compressed air, it takes a long time but pin points the faulty cylinder.

 

[jackwhoo]

We changed that twice one of another van we had and one brand new and still happened, Did block test this morning which has confirmed ( head gasket or cracked block/head ) within 20secs it went from blue to green

Oh no.
That has answered question I was thinking of asking.... how quickly did the block test show result... 20seconds is quick.

 

[Communicator]

Nothing anyone can truly say to ease the pain of that. It's now become an engine rebuild job, thousands of pounds.
Might look into a rebuilt one with a warranty.

That soudns expensive for a head gasket, if that is the problem. Takes me back 60 years ago when I bought my first vehicle 2.25 litre diesel Land Rover. In those days it was fashion? to take the head off a pre-used vehivle to inspect valves, gasket, and look for wear ridges in the cylinders. I duly did this in my parent's driveway, but in those days you could see the cylinder head on opening the bonnet.

I do remmber that a possible weakness in the three main bearing engine, was the shorter distance between cylinders 1/2 & 3/4.

 

[Sillystu84]

That soudns expensive for a head gasket, if that is the problem. Takes me back 60 years ago when I bought my first vehicle 2.25 litre diesel Land Rover. In those days it was fashion? to take the head off a pre-used vehivle to inspect valves, gasket, and look for wear ridges in the cylinders. I duly did this in my parent's driveway, but in those days you could see the cylinder head on opening the bonnet.

I do remmber that a possible weakness in the three main bearing engine, was the shorter distance between cylinders 1/2 & 3/4.

Sorry for late reply been flat out with work but the truck is all back up and running with no issues ,, had to get head skimmed a little and also got it pressure tested, I’ll add some pics you can see where the water was leaking into cylinder

 

[bugsymike]

Sorry for late reply been flat out with work but the truck is all back up and running with no issues ,, had to get head skimmed a little and also got it pressure tested, I’ll add some pics you can see where the water was leaking into cylinder

Good job
It is nice to have a definite fault when you remove the head, some times it is such a slow leak that only something like the leak test I mentioned will accurately show which cylinder the fault is.

 

[Sillystu84]

Good job
It is nice to have a definite fault when you remove the head, some times it is such a slow leak that only something like the leak test I mentioned will accurately show which cylinder the fault is.

I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be nice tho as is was the back pressure that was popping the hose of rad which is so weird same hose back on and stayed on lol