Hello People

this is my first proper post so please bare with me. I bought my serx7 about 15 month ago after doing ( what I thought was enough research ). Took a train 200 miles to pick it up and drove it back to London. Its standard so i could only do hmmm 70! well just before I got to London I get a buzzing sound...ADD COOLANT so I pull over thinking ok my previous cars ( Vauxhalls ) the faster I drive the cooler they got...WRONG! WRONG! temp went up and up well to make a long story short I now have champagne spewing out of my car. Well I have had the CRC Copper block weld shipped in and the Prestone coolant flush kit and will be doing the temporary cure this weekend as well as a service. So I
will let you guys know how it goes.

 

Just an FYI- If you try the block weld treatment, be sure to disconnect the heater core. The block weld stuff can clog it all up and make a bad situation worse.

With that said, overheating the motor usually results in a blown coolant seal, meaning a full rebuild. I don't think too many people have had good results using that stuff, and some would argue that it makes a rebuild more difficult/expensive. I would try the coolant flush first, and see where that takes you. If you continue to lose coolant, or have starting/idling issues then look to a coolant system pressure test.

Good luck.

 

^^^^^^^

This is good advice - the forum concensus seems to be that block weld, etc., can cause more harm than it's worth. Sometimes it works, but more often it clogs stuff.

 

Sounds to me as if it is a matter of a rebuild now or a rebuild later. If he can't do the rebuild now, the block weld may be a temporary patch. If he CAN do a rebuild now, he should do it. The other option is sell the car now to avoid the costs involved in what is to come.

 

Because of the way the coolant runs through our blocks, using block weld increases the risk of making a bad situation worse. If he can't afford the rebuild now, he'd be better off parking it and waiting, like everyone else. It's better to be without the car for a few extra months/years than to have to replace housings, irons, rotors, etc.

 

Well, I wouldn't jump to any conclusions yet. Some people have not had coolant seal issues after an overheat. It's in his best interest to follow the advice I gave above before pulling the motor, and to avoid the block weld treatment altogether.

I certainly wouldn't advocate selling the car either . I'd tell him to soldier on no matter what!!

 

Not to sound noobish but can anyone give me the low down on a "block weld" and why that may solve his coolant problem.

 

"Block weld" is a product that you put in your coolant that is supposed to stop coolant leaks. In some cases, it does work to stop some small leaks. In reality though it causes more problems than it is worth. Essentially the stuff clogs up coolant passages, radiators, and heater cores and is almost impossible to clean out completely. Imagine that you used this stuff as a stop gap until you could rebuild the motor. You finally have time/money to rebuild the engine, and after it all goes back together the car overheats again because the radiator is clogged up with block weld.

So you see, it's just not worth it to use this stuff.