G'day guys,

I am new here, mostly been lurking around and checking everything out, but now is my time to post.

I have an ef glie, yesterday, I was driving down the highway when I heard a beep beep beep, I looked around and saw that the engine had hit red so I pulled over to let it cool off for a half hour and then took it home ever so slowly. I got it home and checked the coolant, non existant, however it was full a week ago. So I went down the shop this morn and bought 4L of coolant, filled the thing up completely and away I went. I drove around for a while doing what I had to do before i noticed the engine had hit red again and beep beep beep. I pulled over and heard a knock knock knock type of gargling come from the engine, so I got out upped the bonnet and there is the coolant tank tank bubbling like crazy. So I let it cool down for a half hour and away i went. I get 5 k up the road and it is red again. and again same problem bubbling and knocking. However this time the air conditioner is clicking ever so loudly when it is switched on and off and when it clicks over in the motor. So i get home eventually upp the bonnet again and there is no coolant left at all, 4L gone. I look around for leaks, under, above, side to side in and out. nothing.

Any ideas guys???

Maybe a blown heady Gasket?

Cheers fella's...

I will just add that there is a repetitive gargling kind of knock knock knock coming from the engine as well as the bubbling hot coolant. Should have clarified that. Oh and I do not thrash it either.

sounds like the head gasket is blown causing the coolent system to over pressurise. you might find water splatter marks around the overflow tank from it escaping the rad cap.

take it to a mechanic and have him do a teekay test

cracked head is likely also....very common on these motors

could try some chemi-weld as a last desperate effort to save it, else its head off and have it tested / machined and new H.G.

gunna cost u a s**t if u cant do it yourself

Unfortunately I can not do it myself............i am not a mechaninc, dont know much about engines, im an acupuncturists and i dont think that is gonna help this patient.

if it is the head gasket, should i get an au gasket thrown on?

I wouldnt say its absolutely necessary but most people on this forum would say yes....they are only $60...but then u need all the others as they dont come as a kit like the other normal gaskets do...

youll be lucky if the head doesnt need some sort of repair work to it like straightening or welding also the coolant passages have a tendency to corrode as most cars this old dont run proper coolant

when you say proper coolant, what do you mean by that

not just water but coolant at a decent concentration...

how long have u had the car?

have u checked the oil? is it milky? does the motor run as good as before, power wise? or does it run rough?

could also be that the thermostat is stuck, buggered water pump, possible leak at the heater tap or the fans arent coming on, it may not be the headgasket, although it is a very common issue

I have had the car about 3 months actually. the motor runs as good as it did when i bought, and checked oil and everything today when checking out the radiator and coolant and all was fine. besides the coolant overheating problem their is the airconditioner which in the last 2 days when switching it on and off clicks very loudly and when the motor ticks over with aircon on it clicks over very loudly.

can you tell me also, i have been running it in economy, getting a few extra k's off of a tank and this has been on constantly, only being switched off today to try and find the problem. could this have any effect???

the airconditioner actually sounds like the loud clicking noise is coming from that tube shaped thing down infront of the radiator behind the grill at the bottom of the car.

i should say that the car even with its problems is still running fine as the day i bought, no power loss or anything.

i have no idea about the A/C

you have to work out why it was overheating in the first place....it could have been a leak that has now caused some further damage due to the overheating.

or it may have been a stuck thermostat or water pump or radiator blocked or thermofans not coming on, this may have caused the overheat and now you have water leak problem...

and how do we go about fixing that, if that is the case???