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I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

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I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby rebuilder86 » Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:10 am

So ive been having some heat issues.. in the wet weather lately, temp has been climbing scary high, but not near the red on the gauge, but significantly higher than normal.
I added about 2 l of water last night, drove it about 50 km today, then whne i opened the expansions tank it was bone dry.
So ive added some copper flakes sealant in hope to get me by. Im saving for a wedding and visa applicaton to bring my girl back here, so this is a bad time and thats all i can afford to do.

However, while doing that and runnign the engine, the msit coming out of the vent on teh oil filler got me thinking, perhasp thats nt oil mist, perhasp its steam, and im now quite certian it is.
oil on dipstick is clean, water in coolant is reasonable not good but certainly not a milkshake, but i can see the rocker shaft down teh oil tube and it looks a bit creamy for my liking.
Its pissing out steam out the rocker cover.
steam engine.png


Where are the most likely water entry points to the sump/rocker cover?
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby knobby1 » Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:47 am

Would really help if you told us what vehicle you have..??

Looking at your pick it looks pre 2000 or pre Mk6..??

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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby gotgcoalman » Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:58 am

Heating and coolant loss could be due to dodgy coolant cap.
System not pressurising and coolant boiling at a lower temp than when under correct pressure.

Vapor from cap could be the engine breathing heavily :idea:

although if the vapor smells sweet (assuming you have antifreeze in)
smell the fumes from the oil filler and also the exhaust (quick sniff not lung fulls)

is there much white smoke from the exhaust?

get the headder tank sniff tested to see if exhaust gasses are getting into the cooling system.
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby gotgcoalman » Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:59 am

knobby1 wrote:Would really help if you told us what vehicle you have..??

Looking at your pick it looks pre 2000 or pre Mk6..??

Lord Knobrot


Mk5 2.5 Td I believe :wink:
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby rebuilder86 » Sat Aug 18, 2018 3:38 am

yeh sorry mk 5 2.5 TD 100PS, didnt think it was relevant to be honest, but i guess pointing out that its a diesel shouldve been on my priority list haha.
Ive been umming and ahhing over this, too early to know definitively yet, but after putting a bottle of seal up in it, and driving about 20 km, it appears to be running significantly cooler, and not loosing any water. YET only time will tell
Interestingly, the only coolant loss has been at worst, from the max line to just below the bottom of the expansion tank, so about 1 - 1.5 L, and there has been no white smoke out exhaust, none whatsoever.
When it got down to below the expanson tank outlet, the temps where high, I guess because the water can no longer be compressed due to the air (or vacuum even) in the expansion tank, giving way to the expanding coolant, and causing the pump to just spin around in aerated water. At higher rpms the pump needs back pressure to work, and if the water has no pressure, it wont work at higher rpms.

There is a bit of blue smoke on acceleration apparently, so at 485000km i guess the rings and bores are only just hanging in there, could that jsut be exhaust im seeing coming out of the filler cap?
Even if it is exahsut with vapour, or even if it steam coming from a crack somewhere, i woudl expect to see milky coolant, and more over, a milky oil cap, but the oil cap is oily and clean looking..
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby rebuilder86 » Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:48 am

can anyone tell me, do they get steam coming out of there rocker cover?
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby gotgcoalman » Sat Aug 18, 2018 9:21 am

rebuilder86 wrote:can anyone tell me, do they get steam coming out of there rocker cover?


I've got a 2.5Di Na with 205000miles under it's belt and yes I get "steam" (engine breathing heavily)
usually this (in my case) is the engine telling me it wasnts an oil change.
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Re: I think i have a Transit Steam Engine :(

Postby rebuilder86 » Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:05 am

sweet well thats excellent news haha.
whats your reason for thnking that its asking for an oil change??
just a joke or u recon there is a scientific reason that it belches smoke out when the oil is thinned out perhaps?
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