I\'ve had a slight coolant leak that I had thought was coming from a dent/indentation on the front face of the radiator. But the other day I noticed that it seemed to be running down the side of the radiator. Anyway, was checking my coolant level & as I put the cap back on the expansion tank, I noticed that the neck where the filler tube (whatever i you call it???) connects is pretty much broken away. So, would this be the source of the leak? I\'m pretty certain it is, but it\'s always better to get advice from others, too.
Thanks!
Do you mean the AST (plastic tank on the side of the stock IC) if so there common problems and WGT sell alloy ones for about £100.
Yep. I think so. The one that goes down sort of below the drivers-side headlight.
At least it looks easier to replace than changing the rad!
If you want some advice don\'t buy a second hand one, I\'d buy an Alloy one but i belive the new AST\'s are good too.
I think they get Brital with age.
Think he\'s on about the expansion tank that\'s tucked down ahead of the O/S front wheel. The coolant level shouldn\'t be reaching the neck. As the coolant heats up and expands in the motor, some of it forces past the AST cap down to the expansion tank when the coolant pressure in the engine exceeds the cap rating (0.9bar on a stock FD cap). When the coolant cools down and contracts, coolant is drawn back from the expansion tank through a little return valve in the AST cap. If your expansion tank is overflowing it points to a dodgy AST cap. Also, you don\'t want to be filling up the expansion tank (it should remain roughly half full), top up engine coolant at the cap on the engine itself.
Well, the leak appears to be coming from somewhere around the area of the expansion tank (close to the drivers side headlight) But it\'s hard to actually see where it\'s exactly coming from.
Might be worth taking off the undertray and wheelarch trim on that side and having a good look around for the source of the leak. Since the health of these engines is so dependant on them being propely cooled, you really wanna fix any leaks there might be.
Well, I know the neck of the expansion tank is pretty much snapped off. And the coolant tends to be close the the side of the radiator, sometimes runs down the side of it, too. So I will definitely be having a better look as soon as I can.
Well, I topped up the coolant and noticed that it appears to be leaking even when the engine hasn\'t been running. I haven\'t started removing anything to get a better look yet. But it appears to be somewhere near the expansion tank. Seems to run down the side of the radiator & also some of it makes it\'s way through part of the rad\'s front face.
So, in case I can make life easier, any ideas where it might be coming from, to save me searching around too much?