VR6 engine overheating

[kie39 0]

Hey! Driving to work this morning after topping up coolant levels my engine overheated and water boiled over header tank. After work i refilled the cooling system with antifreeze and water but engine still over heated, gauge is reading over 110 degrees c. Ive noticed the fans are coming on very early to and it being cold surely are not necessary. Only owned the car for bout 3months so lacking in knowledge about the car. If any one could help by suggesting what may be wrong i would be so grateful. My theory was the thermostat, but surely the fans wouldnt come on if thermostat wasnt opening.

 

Apologies if i have put this in wrong section of the forum!

 

Any help would be appreciated, cheers.

[steve @ 0]

Umm thermostat stuck closed. is the bottom rad hose getting warm??

[kie39 0]

No the bottom hose seems to be staying cold

 

Is there any way i can tell if there is an air block in the system?

[Supercharged 2]

Hi there - have you got a blue cap on the header tank??

 

As above, it sounds like a stat issue and you need to make sure water is moving into the radiator...

 

Also check the water pumps are working...

[kie39 0]

Yer i have got a blue cap. Its always really difficult to remove aswell so not sure if this is knackered. How would i go about checking if water is flowing into radiator?

[Toad 0]

Yer i have got a blue cap. Its always really difficult to remove aswell so not sure if this is knackered. How would i go about checking if water is flowing into radiator?

 

The bottom hose should warm up as water passes throught the radiator, that's the best wat to tell.

 

The VR6 main water pumps do loose the vanes on them too, quite cheap ~£30 and not too bad to replace as well.