This is long but any advice would be good…..
I am feeling really gutted right now :( didnt need another problem in my life, well here it goes, all started 2 months ago on my way back from rotorstock parked the car on the drive way and noticed a big pool of water under my car after inspecting the rad noticed it was leaking slightly so I thought I would replace it one rotary vendor said it was my water seal which had failed hydrocarbons in the water system (rebuild time) finding a weak point and blowing the rad (I thought nah cant be jus an old rad)
So I managed to find a rad for 170 pounds, I fitted that and all was fine till….
I came back from JAE (this Sunday) my car started to over heat in traffic I pulled over and saw it was pi*sing out coolant again! From the rad!, Managed to get it home eventually thanks to a few friends.
I called up the place where I had bought the rad from they said no worries come and exchange it for a new one.
Soo I installed the rad today and went through all the procedures to make sure there were no air locks, went for a drive for about 10 min came home and saw it leaking coolant again !.
:reallymad
I have given up cant seem to figure out what it could be? There are no hydrocarbons in the coolant system I had a friend test this out for me. The car starts up fine no white smoke when I first start it idles pretty smoothly.
Please does anyone have any suggestions?
shaQ
From cool run it up without the main coolant cap on. If you have a water-seal failure then you\'ll see exhaust gasses bubbling up through the neck.
It does sound like the system is getting pressurised by leakage - happened to mine. Initially I just kept topping up the coolant as it\'d lose about 100ml each run. Starting up from cold got worse though (due to coolant in the rotors) - eventually started up on 1 rotor for a while. Ran fine one running though.
It could be something else (like the pressure cap not holding the pressure and thus leaking coolant but it does sound quite drastic. Saying that - a little coolant goes a long way - 1/4 litre looks like a flood.
Apparently having the cooant system pressure tested with the spark plugs removed will often confirm the problem - you\'ll get water running out of the bottom plug holes. I think doing this may mean the engine won\'t run properly afterwards.
Hope it\'s not bad news,
Iain
daft question , is it neat coolant or is it mixed with water ??
check all your pipes , thermostat ( it may be stuck shut or open ) , and try different pressure caps ( im sure they are rated )
not sure if this will actually help or not - buts its cheaper than a rebuild
good luck matey and keep us posted
Stu
some idea\'s before throwing the car across the garden...:
1 - are the coolant caps round the right way? The one ont he AST is a pressure one and you can tell by the spring underneath.
2 - there is a pipe from the AST to the expansion tank - this can get pinched by a stock location intercooler. check this pipe is free and clear
3 - are you losing coolant? You may just find the Air Con pipe that comes out in front of the passenger side firewall is dumping the condensed water out (this is quite correct - and unsettling to begin with)
importantly, can you tell where the coolant is leaking from???
4 - the AST can split if it\'s a plastic one.
5 - the expansion tank is damaged.
really don\'t fret, there are so many other reasons than the engine that could show water under the car...!!!
its really strange, i thought i would have a look at it this moring, went through the usual to get rid of all the air locks no signs of any tiny champagne bubbles, i let the car idle for 20 min no sign of any water leaking, i thought mmmm i then took it for a 10 min drive in this heat bought it back home and let it idle again for about 20 min no signs of any leaks ?!?!
the car is sat on the drive at the mo and rad hose is pressurised and its not leaking ?
not sure what to think now im completely confused
:confused:
Archbish:
I have checked your list thanks all seem s fine
no signs of white smoke on startup
no bubbles when car is running
this is where it was leaking from last night...
Just a quick one mate, what temp is the water going to???
Also when you fill up with coolant right to the limit when it heats up it expands and will chuck it out of the expansion tank from the small hole at the top. Might be that but you have circled a different area in the pic???
mmm.. got me thinking now, where is this small hole on the expansion tank? it may have leaked from there and dropped onto the rad?
water temp today went up to half way and stayed there, but went it was leaking badly back from JAE it crept up to 3/4 that s when i said er no and pulled over.
shaQ
The tank is located behind the driver side lhead light, if you look at it from above and fill it with water you will see the water come out of the small hole once full. ( over flow tank)
It might be this or i might be wrong, power fc would give you a more accurate water temp reading too.
Did you find the problem Shaq???
gsb876
not really sure man, i was at a petrol station on sat temp was about 29 c and the car started to leak again only a few drops tho, wasent pouring out or nothing .
anyway i drove it and all was good?!? no leaks after that i checked the expansion tank and it seems the water level was past the full ! does this mean it was leaking through the expansion tank and then dripping onto my rad ? hence i thought the rad was leaking ?
shaQ
Possibly mate,
when i was at JAE i was stuck in the que to get out and someone come running up and said there was coolant leaking out of my car, i replied dont worry its just the coolants got hot and is throwing out the expanded water.
Checked when i got home and i was correct, as i\'d filled the water to the top when i\'d left home in the morning.
Hopefully it should be ok, but just keep checking the water level until you are happy mate, or when the cars warm just pop the bonnet and see if you can see any coolant dripping.
Gurj
Shaq
A leak on the rubber seal of the pressure cap on the AST can cause water to be pushed out of the expansion tank and on to the radiator. I couldn\'t work out why the top of the electric fan was wet, there were puddles under the car, but no apparent leaky hoses etc. New cap fixed that - Halfords HRC607 seemed a good fit.
Keith
can I just confirm, to do a champagne test you just take off the cap in the middle, start up the engine and let it idle upto operation temp and look for bubbles before replacing the cap?
So basically the car is idling with the coolant cap off?
.......Yep :)
whats all this malarky with a bottle etc then? Just a different way?