There wasn't anything to post here after the a/c was fixed, till this week when I got a nasty scare while on a normal outing in the city.
We had got around to watching the movie Kumbalangi Nights only a week ago and while we loved the movie, the locale it was shot in just blew our mind. And to think its just 12kms from Ernakulam and we didn't know. So me, wife & kids visited the place on 29-Sep Sunday, spent a few wondrous hours there taking in the beauty of the place.
Then sis & kids drop in for the 2-Oct holiday and since they want to see the place, we decide to do an encore. We first drop in at Dominos MG.Road for lunch. As I walk to the Pizzeria after parking the car, an auto-driver parked on the roadside hails me. Wondering what he wants, I walk over to him and he tells me that he was behind me from the Atlantis railway gate and noticed the radiator leaking fluid. I look back at the car and see drops of water dripping, but I tell him that its the a/c outlet and normal.
After Pizza, we drive on to Kumbalangi. We are just 2 kms before the place, when the engine dies. I think maybe I let go the clutch in a higher gear in slow-moving traffic & try to start again, but no use. I slowly push the car to the side. The fuel gauge is in the red reserve area, but I know from experience that there is enough fuel to go 35 odd kms. Since temp gauge is at normal position, I don't suspect over-heating.
I think maybe the fuel gauge is off and go buy 4 litres of petrol from a petrol-bunk 2kms away, after pouring which the car starts at first crank and off we go. We reach Kumbalangi and park at the side of the narrow road. I try to start the car again to move it a little more to the edge of the road, but it won't start.
Now I am worried. This isn't a petrol issue & its a holiday and I am deep inside a place with a very narrow road that might be tough for a tow-vehicle to reach. I open the bonnet & slowly open the radiator cap. No trace of coolant in the radiator, though there was in the reservoir tank. So over-heating was the cause, but then why didn't the temperature gauge show it ?
Anyway, I decide not to spoil the outing for the family and off we go on a 2-3 hour walk in the Kumbalangi village. On returning, the engine has cooled down and I pour water into the radiator. It takes in 2.5 litres & then water starts dripping out from the thermostat case / housing area. Due to lack of light, I can't see the leak, but we clamber in and drive off. As if by some divine intervention, just at our apartment gate, the car stops and then won't start. I push it inside and park it.
The leak was from here.
The leak area in the big picture.
The next day I trace the leak to a break in the thermostat case - the metal (cast-iron?) has kind of corroded off at a point in the edge. I call MASS and they say the part is available at Bangalore and can be got here in few days. But in the meantime I need the car for a 200 km highway round trip. I ask my FNG mechanic if I can do this trip by MSeal-ing the break - he says it can be tried.
Time for some DIY and getting the hands dirty :
I unbolt the thermostat case & the damage is now clearly visible. I MSeal it and let it cure overnight. Next day I fix it back and then again add water to the radiator to test my fix. The sealant plugged the hole fully & I was feeling all proud about my DIY capability.
Till I noticed a drip-drip at another position of the joint.
That area had no breaks whatsoever and so the only culprit could be the gasket which looked worn off. I buy a new gasket from the MGP store at Vyttila, fix back the thermostat case and voila, no leaks. Need to anyway fuel the car, so combine that with a test drive and after a 5km drive, the temp gauge is at normal position, there is no leak whatsoever and the radiator water level is good. The main test will be the 100km drive today evening.
The break area clearly visible after unbolting thermostat case.
After MSeal-ing the break.
Only question I have is why did the tempGauge not show overheating ? The sensor is mounted on the thermostat case. Since the leak was at that point, the sensor couldn't get a correct reading ?