Ok so I found out the hard way that 3rd Gens need to be treated with a bit of respect in the wet. I rounded a wet bend in a "spirited fashion" and before I could say "Doh!" I had spun 360 only to be stopped by a conventially placed tree. My on stupid fault that could have been a lot worse - I've certainly learnt my lesson.
The body damage isn't too bad, the font right wing is bent a a piece of the nose cone has broken off. I can live with that as after all it was my fault but what is worrying me now is that the engine is being grizzly. The facts are :
1) after the accident I drove home 2 miles with no problems.
2) The next day I started the engine and I noticed a lot of white smoke from the exhaust.
3) I checked the coolant bottle (in the damaged zone) and found it empty. I topped it up again but didn't see any leaks.
4) next time I started it the white smoke had gone but the engine was idling slightly irratically.
5) the following day I turned over the engine for a few seconds and it just about started but was really rough so I shut it down immediately. I noticed that there was a "warm plastic" smell from under the hood.

My immediate thought was that the cooling system has been damaged since the bottle was empty follwing the smash. So what I would like some help on is :
- how is the coolant recirulated? Is there a pump or something that could have been damaged.
- are there any safety shut-offs that trip out in an accident?
- any other suggestions that could be the problem?

I will eventually take it to a decent mechanic but I live in a remote area in england where most mechanics think you are making fun when you tell them your engine has no cylinders!!

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Cheers
Thud

 

which coolant bottle exactly? AST? Filler Neck?

 

Filler neck (I think!). The white plastic one just on the front side of the right hand front wheel.

 

Right. This is your coolant overflow tank. As the engine warms up, the coolant expands. It flows past the pressure cap on the AST (the cap closest to the intercooler), through the tube you see running from the AST, down next to the battery, under thei ntercooler, air box, and into the overflow tank. When the engine cools, if all is well, the coolant shrinks, creating vacuum in the system, drawing coolant back along the path just described, into the AST and thence the rest of the system.

If you've wiped out the overflow tank, then when you got home, as the engine cooled, it sucked air into the coolant system. This, in itself, is not necessarily fatal. You DO need to get the air back out, and you DO need to replace the overflow, or you WILL continually **** coolant out and can eventually create an air pocket over a temperature sensitive area and cause pretty significant damage.

Your subsequent startup white smoke and rough idle would bespeak to me rich running, which is caused by factors most likely other than the coolant issue. I must ask if you were aware of the temp when you shut down the night of the accident. If it wasn't overheating at that point, you are most likely fine with respect to the coolant/overheated and blown o-ring issue.

That's my $0.02, is that "a twopence" over there?