Lat night driving home from Birmingham (around 50 miles) when I was around 2 miles from home, I suddenly got an 'ENGINE OVERHEATING' warning on the dashboard. The dashboard was adfvising me to stop. The temperature gauge was mid-way into the top range but not all the way over. I imediately dropped the revs and slowed down and coasted which allowed the temperature to drop below the top zone and I managed to limp the car the last two miles home.
I then let the engine cool down for some time and checked the coolant level which was very low indeed. I did not see any water anywhere below the car so there did not appear to be a leak. I never had an issue with the coolant level before, but admit that I haven't checked in a long while. This morning still no leak so evidently the water had evaporated off.
I am guessing that the thermostat has probably failed. Like most things on this Clio, it is difficult to get at, so what should be a 5 minute job is probably going to take me half a day. Before I do that, I wanted to ask whether there are any tests I can do to confirm that its the thermostat? The other thing that concerns me is the possibility of a blown gasket?
Now that the coollant tank is replenished, would a short drive to observe whether the temperature gauge settles at the expected level be safe to do?
I then let the engine cool down for some time and checked the coolant level which was very low indeed. I did not see any water anywhere below the car so there did not appear to be a leak. I never had an issue with the coolant level before, but admit that I haven't checked in a long while. This morning still no leak so evidently the water had evaporated off.
I am guessing that the thermostat has probably failed. Like most things on this Clio, it is difficult to get at, so what should be a 5 minute job is probably going to take me half a day. Before I do that, I wanted to ask whether there are any tests I can do to confirm that its the thermostat? The other thing that concerns me is the possibility of a blown gasket?
Now that the coollant tank is replenished, would a short drive to observe whether the temperature gauge settles at the expected level be safe to do?
