Every day since I\'ve had my beloved FD I\'ve checked the coolant and have always had to add some even though I\'ve not driven it over long distances.
My method of topping up is to remove both caps, centre and the black expansion tank. I top up the centre one very slowly until the coolant is just above the horizontal flap in the expansion tank, at this point I replace the expansion tank cap and continue slowly filling the centre one until it\'s at the top.
Today I took the car for a four mile run and, when it was suitably warmed up, gave it a little bit of stick. When I returned and turned off the car and it had stood for a couple of minutes it started throwing water out of the overflow, a local mechanic suggested that maybe I\'d over filled it but I\'d filled it in exactly the way I\'ve said above which I believe is the recommended method.
Any ideas anyone?
how much do you normaly have to put in and has it spewed out water before?
Phil.
To my understanding you dont need to top up the overflow tank on the left of the engine its there to hold excess water when the engine runs hot then suck it back into the system after its cooled down.(mine once threw a load of steam out of the expansion tank and that was because i over filled it.)
Im not 100% where the level in the center cap should sit though, mine sits about half way down bellow that little hole. You never know you might be over filling it constantly. or you may have a leak! obvious things to check can you see water underneth the car, ore are you getting excesive white smoke on startup etc?
When you say "black expansion tank", do you mean the expansion tank on the left behind the headlight (clear with a black cap on the dipstick), or the AST on the right hand side near the front of the car (all black)?
Not sure I know what you mean about the horizontal flap?
Where is the water level on the expansion tank dipstick? Could just be you\'ve over-filled and the level is dropping back down to the correct level by pushing coolant into the expansion tank. Over time, this could have got steadily more full until it reached its limit and spat out of the overflow hole.
I\'m new to all this, but have been reading up on the system, just my guess!?
Thanks for your replies they are VERY much appreciated, I\'m putting around half a litre in it a day but it\'s definately not blowing white steam out of the exhaust
It\'s a bit confusing because there are three points where water can go in the engine and I\'m probably using the wrong terminology which is confusing the issue so I\'ve uploaded a photogragh of the engine bay
Looking at the photo my understanding is that the process to follow is to remove the steel cap on the black AST (sorry I referred to it as the expansion tank in my earlier post) tank (I know it needs replacing with an alu one at some stage but it\'s not leaking at the moment) to the right just behind the headlight where, if I\'m understanding it right, there is a horizontal flap.
Then take off the steel centre cap and start adding water slowly until the water goes just above the horizontal flap in the AST, at which point I replace the cap on the AST tank and continue filling the centre tank until it reaches the top
I\'ve seen the plastic dipstick on the plastic tank on the left but to be honest I find it very difficult to read and someone said in another post that it didn\'t appear all that reliable anyway as his car definately needed water but the dipstick was showing that it was ok.
This is driving me up the wall, someone said to me yesterday after it had lost the water that it was probably the car finding its own level and that maybe I should just drive it around like that and keep my eye on the temp gauge. The worrying thing is that this morning when I\'ve checked the level in the centre cap its obviously dropped and needs another half litre of water and I don\'t really want to drive it like that when everyone recommends that this chamber should always be up to the top.
Fun & games eh!
(http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z309/bestcara1/engine.jpg)
Im not sure to what extent this could affect the problem that you are experiencing, but as far as I am aware your AST and Filler caps seem to be the wrong way round...
When filling with coolant, you do not touch the AST cap at all. Fill from the filler neck by the alternator.
Quote from: danrx7Im not sure to what extent this could affect the problem that you are experiencing, but as far as I am aware your AST and Filler caps seem to be the wrong way round...
Well spotted! :)
There was a recent post where somebody had advice from Pip at WGT saying that you take off the AST cap when filling through the proper filler neck, up to the point the AST is full, then replace the cap and continue to fill.
Just to clarify, looking at the engine fron the front of the car: The black cap on the left hand side near the wing is the expansion tank. (not sure if thats the correct term but hey it fits.) In the center of the engine (litraly, near the alternator.) Is where you fill the coolant system. The one on the right near the front of the car usualy a greyish green plastic box is the AST.
I can say when i bled my coolant system i had the ast cap off (just to litraly let air flow out, also had the tb hose off) But back to general filling, you only need to be using the one in the center of the engine nexto the alternator.
Make sure that you have the caps the right way around the Center one near the alternator is an UNSPURNG cap (if you look under it it will be flat) the one of the ast will have what looks to be a spring.
Back to your Water problem :Thumbs-up have you had a look under the car when you top it up to see if any water is diping down onto the floor or can you see pools of fluid on the tray.
Yes I switched the caps around when I first experenced the problem but as it didn\'t solve anything I have since changed them back
You do hear different recommendations when topping up coolant, some like Pip at WGT say take off both caps which I\'ve always done, others, as in this post, say just the centre one which is the next thing that I\'m going to try.
Interestly though when I\'ve had both caps off and examined them they both have a hard plastic/rubber type washer underneath which is spring loaded, if you push it with your thumbs it springs back, now everyone keeps saying that the one in the centre shouldn\'t be sprung loaded which may be another part of the problem
The good thing is that the car doesn\'t appear to have any leaks, all of the water that it\'s thrown has come from the overflow on the AST
Update:- filled the centre chamber to the top without removing the AST cap, took it for an eight mile run, got back on the drive turned her off, turbo timer ran for three minutes and everything was ok but when the engine stopped there was initially a few drops then it started and looked like it was taking a leak, excuse the pun, this went on for a couple of minutes by which time I guess it\'ll have lost half a litre easily.
I can\'t get underneath the car on my drive but as I was laid down in front of the car the water seemed to be coming from an area to the left of the centre of the car.
Any ideas anyone please?
Quote from: danrx7Im not sure to what extent this could affect the problem that you are experiencing, but as far as I am aware your AST and Filler caps seem to be the wrong way round...
sort of right but as mike says below both caps are spring loaded,took my cap round today for him to try out,hope it goes some way to solving it on sunday.went for a short run after topping up saturday maybe 4 miles fair bit leaked when stopped,left it to cool off retun trip pulled up small leak that stopped.
Quote from: danrx7Im not sure to what extent this could affect the problem that you are experiencing, but as far as I am aware your AST and Filler caps seem to be the wrong way round...
sort of right but as mike says below both caps are spring loaded,took my cap round today for him to try out,hope it goes some way to solving it on sunday.went for a short run after topping up saturday maybe 4 miles fair bit leaked when stopped,left it to cool off return trip pulled up small leak that stopped.has intermitted stutter under acceleration but only sometimes,suggested new plugs & if still the same trip to pips - otherwise nice looker :Thumbsup! smoke free on start up hot or cold
Pete the only one thats spring loaded on mine is the AST! the other (engine filler) is more of just a cap! and i think that is how it should be!if the engine filler cap is spring loaded it may interfere with the hot coolant venting to the AST! hope that makes sense!
Bob
Don\'t think Pete was disagreeing with anyone Bob he was just stating a fact, mine HAD spring loaded caps on the AST AND in the centre so Pete has kindly let me borrow his centre non sprung loaded cap until tomorrow to see if it makes a difference.
I\'ve just been down the road in it and the throwing of water is exactly the same when the engine stops running, the only difference is that this time by using a torch I\'ve been able to see where it\'s coming from, there\'s a rubber hose about 15mm diameter behind the radiator, just to the left of centre as you look at the car from the front, that is just hanging loose and protruding past the bottom of the radiator, as soon as the engine is at rest you can see the water exiting from this hose, first of all it\'s just a few drops but after about 30 seconds it comes out like a slow running tap
Any ideas? Is this hose supposed to just hang loose or should it be connected to something?
thats prob the pipe that should go to the expansion tank, if your car will drive ok bring it to the meet on tuesday and weel get you sorted, if not send me an emale with your number and ill see if i can get over to you (i might be close to goole tomorrow).
matt
arrouk@ntlworld.com
Cheers Matt, the only way I\'d risk taking it to the meet, which I\'d love to do, at the moment would be on my trailer and it\'d probably be a nightmare to get it on with the bodykit. You\'ve got mail Matt.
QuoteDon\'t think Pete was disagreeing with anyone Bob he was just stating a fact, mine HAD spring loaded caps on the AST AND in the centre so Pete has kindly let me borrow his centre non sprung loaded cap until tomorrow to see if it makes a difference.Quote
No i know matey, i was just wondering now which is correct, mine only has a sprung cap on the AST and thats how the car was when i got it, but wether that is standard i\'m not sure, i feel it is, but it\'s in all are interests to get this right which is why i replied, i wouldn\'t want anyone to have coolant problems because i did not point out something,
From what you say about your leak, it is the hose to the expansion tank that has come off its connector, mine slid off as well once so i fitted it back on with cable ties, the pipe runs under the IC. and mine had more than one connector, it\'s been ok since 3 years! i think the water your seeing is the flow to the expansion tank from the AST, which would normally be sucked back in to the coolant system as the engine cools.
Hopefully someone will reply to confirm wether there should be 2 sprung caps or one, i feel it is, one rated at 0.9, on the AST , if there are two both rated at 0.9 i\'m worried that would cause problems, hope you get on with it ok,
Cheers Bob
your right bob, and thats my thoughts as well with the pipe.
have a look tomorrow and give me a ring ill mail you my no
matt
Quote from: ro284Pete the only one thats spring loaded on mine is the AST! the other (engine filler) is more of just a cap! and i think that is how it should be!if the engine filler cap is spring loaded it may interfere with the hot coolant venting to the AST! hope that makes sense!
Bob
Bob you are spot on, what i lent mike was non sprung filler cap - possible pressurised cap might have blown pipe off ?
Quote from: arroukthats prob the pipe that should go to the expansion tank, if your car will drive ok bring it to the meet on tuesday and weel get you sorted, if not send me an emale with your number and ill see if i can get over to you (i might be close to goole tomorrow).
matt
arrouk@ntlworld.com
nice one matt - helpful as usual.hope kevins gearbox goes in ok this weekend
You were bang on the button Matt & Bob, just got her jacked up and the off side front wheel off and I can clearly see the white plastic connector hanging loose, unfortunately due to the confined space I\'d need hands the size of a new born to have any chance of clipping it back together without removing what looks like a mountain of stuff so it\'s going to have to go in the garage across the road tomorrow for them to work their magic
if you go from the top ist easy, remove air filter/s and the pipe is clippred to the cross brace underneath. have a look befor you spend your money.
sorry i didnt make it but ive just got home as it is.
matt
I\'ll give that a go tomorrow Matt, cheers
A few thougths.
The AST tank must have a the spring loaded pressure cap.
The filler (Near the alternator) should be a plain cap,but it will not make a difference if it is a pressure cap,it is just a cap that is all.This sometimes get changed by people to a pressure cap if they have one lying around that looks a bit better that\'s all.
The pipe that goes to the expansion tank can blow off cos of issues with the cooling system,buy a new pressure cap for the AST,as these often get weak and allow too much coolant to go into the expansion tank.
To fill the coolant take cap off the AST,take pipe off the back of throttle body,but fill only at the filling point near alternator until AST is full,make sure AST is settled and full.When it is then replace AST cap,and continue filling normal filling point until full.Put filler cap on,then fill the pipe that you have pulled off throttle with small funnel until water literally pours out of the spigot that it attaches too,when this is happening deflty put that pipe back on.
Now drive the car for a few miles,and leave over night.When cool over night top up the normal filling point only and engine should be fine.If some coolant comes out of the expansion tank after a run that is probably cos the tank is overfull.Just let it settle and don\'t touch it.
Regards
Carl
Cheers Carl, that sounds like VERY solid advice
Many thanks for clearing that up Carl, while on this subject i have an alloy AST, with the larger type sprung cap, however i can only just make out 13 pounds,marked on it. i don\'t know if that relates to 0.9 or 1.3 ! anyone know please,
cheers Bob
13psi is 0.9 bar. as 1 bar=14psi
Phil
Quote from: FD Type RCheers Carl, that sounds like VERY solid advice
Mike how did you get on today with pipe ?
Thanks Phil, its a bit scrubbed off i thought it read 1.3! till i saw the lbs!
cheers Bob
Quote from: peterwoldsMike how did you get on today with pipe ?
I started to take off the air filter box but got a bit stuck for time as I had an A3 TDi that I had to take to auction so I\'m going to let Wrights finish it off on Wednesday when they change the lambda sensor and plugs.
I am right in thinking that green coolant is the correct one Pete aren\'t I?
Wrights said the green coolant needs changing every 3 years whereas blue needs changing annually
I\'ve been to the end of my tether with a similar problem with our Grants car. The problem was eventually solved-I hope -when I replaced the small 90degree pipe underneath the throttle body. Silicon pipe is best for this as its a tight bend on a small pipe. Its a ball ache to get to as the throttle body has to come off. If,as you say you are losing the same amont each day, then run the car for 2-3days, keep an eye on the temp guage, then top up. If its only the same amount you have nowt to worry about, the so-called \'expansion tank\' is a waste of time, I never check coolant level there. You do need a small amount of air at the top of your system to allow for \'after boil\' due to the latent heat in the engine when you turn it off, the turbo timer would not stop this. Also try parking the car overnight on a large sheet or similar(Don\'t use wifes/mothers/birds new sheets). Hope I\'ve been of use, Bob Monkhouse
Cheers Bob but I\'m REALLY hoping that once the expansion hose is re-fitted with a snug fitting hose clip and a new cap is put on the AST that all of my coolant problems will be solved.....for now anyway :Thumbs-up
Quote from: FD Type RI started to take off the air filter box but got a bit stuck for time as I had an A3 TDi that I had to take to auction so I\'m going to let Wrights finish it off on Wednesday when they change the lambda sensor and plugs.
I am right in thinking that green coolant is the correct one Pete aren\'t I?
Wrights said the green coolant needs changing every 3 years whereas blue needs changing annually
Mike
coolant as important as anything to change regularly if you keep the RX its the life blood for it as i understand it, dont keep coolant in for 3 years wants a flush out & renewing at a guess from my little knowledge at least once if not twice a year
Noted Pete :cheers
Finally bit the bullet and trailered my rex to A & E at WGT, Pip was superb although his advice hurt......a £3,000 rebuild, so caught between delivering her straight to the nearest auction or spending a load of dosh I decided on the latter, at least when I get her back I\'ll know that any future problems will be merely cosmetic!
When you get your car sorted we will have to have mini-meet in Hull. My car is nearly ready!
Quote from: FD Type RFinally bit the bullet and trailered my rex to A & E at WGT, Pip was superb although his advice hurt......a £3,000 rebuild, so caught between delivering her straight to the nearest auction or spending a load of dosh I decided on the latter, at least when I get her back I\'ll know that any future problems will be merely cosmetic!
Mike sorry to hear the all too often £3000 but as you say will be spot on when you get her back,how long did Pip say to be ready ?
Quote from: peterwoldsMike sorry to hear the all too often £3000 but as you say will be spot on when you get her back,how long did Pip say to be ready ?
4/5 weeks Pete so I won\'t driving her too much this year [:(] Look forward to it Daz, I\'ll post on here when I get her back, there might hopefully be others locally that fancy a meet at that point
Oh Dear ! Sorry to hear about that £3k !!!! Ouch !
Mind you, good thing its being rebuilt now, rather than letting it overheat and then rebuilding !
Quote from: dazsirWhen you get your car sorted we will have to have mini-meet in Hull. My car is nearly ready!
will be a mini meet Darren as far as i know only other 1 is a red RX in hull apart from you,me & mike & he isnt on here
Yowch! 3k is harsh, but as you say it\'s all good once you get it back! Hull\'s one of my regular haunts, was going to be there this weekend with the FD visiting friends, But a last minute change of plans see\'s me sticking around leeds trying to mend things with the other half :2Rolleyes
Quote from: leonYowch! 3k is harsh, but as you say it\'s all good once you get it back! Hull\'s one of my regular haunts, was going to be there this weekend with the FD visiting friends, But a last minute change of plans see\'s me sticking around leeds trying to mend things with the other half :2Rolleyes
You\'ll have to come and have a look when I get her back Leon
Cool cool, I usualy go around that little area of flats just off the end of that roundabout. (after the square one!) if you were coming from the M62 and just kept going untill you ran out of road :driving
Quote from: leonCool cool, I usualy go around that little area of flats just off the end of that roundabout. (after the square one!) if you were coming from the M62 and just kept going untill you ran out of road :driving
Leon do you mean into the sea ???????:Giggle cant picture where you mean
its one of those new blocks of flats near the deep is it? Its litraly a 3 minute walk to the sea from the building, Over the square roundabout. around the bridge then turn Right at the roundabout.:Tongue1
Quote from: leonits one of those new blocks of flats near the deep is it? Its litraly a 3 minute walk to the sea from the building, Over the square roundabout. around the bridge then turn Right at the roundabout.:Tongue1
5 minutes from my house am just past the north sea ferry terminal
Been there! Left my MR2 there at the begining of the year when going to amsterdam :wiggle I did get some funny looks from the guys at the loading terminal, after i asked them where the carpark was :o somehow i drove past a multistory! And gained an empty carpark for a few mins with wet weather.:rolleyes:
Got my Rex back from WGT yesterday, £2,500, two months and one replacement engine later, still she drives lovely now :3gears-rh
When Pip opened up the original engine he found that it was badly corroded suggesting a lack of maintainance whilst it was in Japan, it\'s only been in the UK since 1st August, so much for buying a freshly imported \'well cared for\' Jap car, at least the body\'s in good nick :cheers
Anyway if anyone fancies a local East Yorkshire meet, I know there\'s at least three of us, I can now drive my car further than two miles without having to top up the coolant :chat
Mike glad you have it back & a bit cheaper than you thought most unusual - running in time now i presume ?.was it a rebuild or did Pip find a low mileage engine for you ?
Increased number of RX\'s in Hull now that graeme (trotter on here)from edinburgh now lives on victoria dock just 5 minutes from me we had a run to brid a couple of weeks ago he has a silver one like yours.Unfortunately darren\'s engine went pop has a replacement by now i think.
will have to sort a meet out soon hope for some nice weather.
Quote from: peterwoldsMike glad you have it back & a bit cheaper than you thought most unusual - running in time now i presume ?.was it a rebuild or did Pip find a low mileage engine for you ?
Increased number of RX\'s in Hull now that graeme (trotter on here)from edinburgh now lives on victoria dock just 5 minutes from me we had a run to brid a couple of weeks ago he has a silver one like yours.Unfortunately darren\'s engine went pop has a replacement by now i think.
will have to sort a meet out soon hope for some nice weather.
Yes £500.00 saved, still feels a lot though :eek: Pip took one out of a damaged car that he said looked as if it had been rebuilt about 18 months ago, let\'s hope so I really don\'t want a repeat of the problems I had.
Only one problem, the dash lights and rear lights aren\'t working. Do you think it could be a fuse Pete, are they on the same circuit, or has Pip not re-connected the wiring properly:confused:
Mike any joy with checking fuses ?
Quote from: peterwoldsMike any joy with checking fuses ?
Yep, a fuse had gone Pete, it had put out the tail & dash lights, I replaced the fuse today but it has blown again so I\'m floundering a bit as to what the problem is exactly, I can only assume that Pip has done something when changing the engine over but where do you start to look:confused:
It\'s a long way back to Middlewich:mad:
Quote from: FD Type RYep, a fuse had gone Pete, it had put out the tail & dash lights, I replaced the fuse today but it has blown again so I\'m floundering a bit as to what the problem is exactly, I can only assume that Pip has done something when changing the engine over but where do you start to look:confused:
It\'s a long way back to Middlewich:mad:
have you called Pip ? at least he could suggest what the problem could be then get a local auto electrician to sort instead of long haul trip after all you have parted with a lot of cash.
Quote from: peterwoldshave you called Pip ? at least he could suggest what the problem could be then get a local auto electrician to sort instead of long haul trip after all you have parted with a lot of cash.
I\'ll give him a call tomorrow Pete, it\'s annoying though, I can\'t really think what he could have done whilst replacing the engine to create this fault as it certainly wasn\'t a problem before, the thing is with something like dash & rear lights blowing fuses where do you even start to look :xconfused
Never mind at least I can use it during daylight hours :rolleyes:
suppose if you look on the bright side (no pun intended Mike ) at least you can drive it without the worry over coolant loss