Brake and Cooling issues

[Rubyoptics]

Hey all, after some more advice from you fine guys 'n' gals please!

Firstly, brakes. For a couple of days now (top down action helping me to hear this i think!) i have noticed a strange sound when applying the brakes. I will do my best to describe it but it won't be easy. It sounds like a mix of a clicking/ticking and a jingling sound. It isn't particularly loud and doesn't happen on every brake application. I don't think it is brake pad wear indicators as it certainly isn't a screeching type sound and again it doesn't happen on every brake application. Any ideas? Braking performance hasn't been affected in any noticeable way.

Secondly, cooling. During the winter months Lizzie kept at a nice steady 91-92 degrees, however now that we are hitting 32+ degrees that temp is hitting the one hundred mark which i'm not at all happy with. I want to replace the engine coolant, and i'm relatively happy with the process for doing so (first car remember so not done this before!). My questions are this...do you think a flush and replacement of the engine coolant will help me with this, and secondly i checked the owners manual which only states that the coolant lasts for 'lifetime' which is as helpful as a chocolate fireguard. I'm aware that the coolant colour is important but i don't know which one to use...is it the blue or the pink colour?!

Many thanks as always for any help or advice!

[gazza82]

I always used pink in our 2.0.

You might want to check the cooling fans are cutting in as planned .. sensors fail, relays fail/stick .. and the rad isn't furred up ..

Flush might work .. blocking the rad outlets and filling it with cheap coke may also help! It's amazing what that does ... (worrying what it does to people though!)


Brakes might be a loose pad clip or fitting .. I think the ones on the rear have a thin metal plate between pad and caliper piston. Check also the pistons aren't sticking .. maybe pop the pads out and a thin smear of copper grease on the plates. (Rear pistons need a wind-back tool)

[Rubyoptics]

Please forgive my ignorance Gazza, but would you be able to give me a run through on how to check the cooling fan? I must admit that I haven't heard it kick in at all at any point and I should have mentioned this in my initial post. If the explanation is too complex for here, would the Haynes manual give a run down on how to do it? I believe that it is the black cover Haynes for the 2.0??

Edit - Sorry for not checking myself (I'm at a tabletop RPG session!). Just had a quick browse during some downtime and it seems that this is a fairly common issue. I'll do the mention A/C and fan check tomorrow when i'm at home and report back my findings.

Thanks for the feedback on the coolant colour. Even if it doesn't solve my specific issue i feel that changing it on a near 16 year old car certainly can't do any harm!

[gazza82]

If the temp gauge is getting to 100+ stop and open the bonnet. The fan running or not should be obvious. Leaving it idling for a while would also get the temp up enough to cause it to kick in.

The Haynes is likely to be as useful s a chocolate teapot ... it's more a case of working out when fuses and relays are used in that circuit then making sure they work. Getting 12v to the fan motor should prove that is ok too.

[Rubyoptics]

Ok, so as i have a car with ac i started the engine and checked the cooling fan and no movement on srat-up, which makes complete sense. I then turned on the AC and again rechecked the cooling fan and we have movement, so it seems that the relay wiring assembly is functioning as intended. The coolant level was slightly low, and to be honest i have no idea if the previous owner used coolant or tap water, so this will be replaced ASAP. On this topic, and useful tips on reading the level in the coolant header tank? Mine is made of a white-ish plastic materiel which makes reading the level damn near impossible!

[IanL]

Shine a torch lamp from the rear of the tank and observe at the front. The level shows up quite clearly with mine.

[gazza82]

It's mounted hard up against the bulkhead ... not that simple. I did consider trying to buy a new one in the hope the plastic was less opaque ... or thinner ...

[Rubyoptics]

I did try using an LED worklight Ian, but as Gaza states couldn't get behind the tank and shining it from the side didn't help much. Gazza - I tried a quick Google search for custom header tanks but no luck. I'm assuming the rad block is aluminium so it might be possible to fabricate something??

[Capncol]

Gazza gives good advice here. Only thing to add is don't use blue and pink antifreeze together. it will turn to jelly. You must fully flush complete system including engine and heater if changing from one colour to the other.

[Rubyoptics]

Thanks all of you for the helpful advice. If I do a full flush and refill of the system, do I just fill through the header tank?

[Capncol]

Yes but you need to undo the bleed screws.