Whats wrong now?

[barmar]

Ok so I\'ve just spend £5.5k on getting the engine and turbos rebuilt, aluminium AST, decat and exhaust and still its giving me problems.
 I left for work this morning and the coolant warning buzzer comes on. As I wasn\'t even 1/2 mile away from home I went back and check. Sure enough its needing topped up. Top it up and check nothings dropping right through and leave for work. When I get to work I\'m still worried so check under car and theres a leak coming from (vaguely) centre of engine just in front of axle. Topped it up before leaving from home and drove home gently. When I get home again theres a puddle forming under the same place and a gentle boiling sound from engine bay (not good). The expansion tank is full and I haven\'t taken the cap off the AST.

Can anyone help me with where its likely to be coming from, will it just be a hose or something simple to fix or am I likely to need expert help. Bearing in mind all the money I\'ve spent recently (only got its first service after rebuild on Wednesday) I don\'t want to have to get rid of it but its really trying my patience now. Oh yeah and don\'t just tell me to take it back to the garage as its over 300 miles away and I\'ll just fry the engine doing that.

Hope someone can help

Barry

[grinder]

im not an FD man - but is the engine drain plug tight ?

[John Yorke]

You seem to be pointing in the general direction of the rad / hose area bearing in mind all the engine is behind the rack, silly questions 1st, do you have new rad caps and are the rad caps the right way round? pictures might help. I would be supprised if it is anything to do with the engine it is more likely to be rad / hose / ancillary related seeing as you have had a re-build and Im sure if you went to a reputable engine builder he would have advised if you had any other isses relating to the cooling of the engine assuming you have a warranty.

[barmar]

Cheers Stu,

I\'m going to have a look at it in the morning, If the drain plug was loose it would keep on dripping out until the rad was empty (correct me if i\'m wrong). What i\'m getting is loss of about 1/2 litre then it stops. If I top up it slowly drips out but when i stopped after driving home it came out quite quickly then stopped, again about the same level(more loss when it was warm but not a huge amount).

Had another look at where its leaking onto the ground and it is ever so slightly forward of the axle centre line. I\'ll let everyone know how I get on tomorrow. If anyone has any more tips though they\'ll be gratefully received.

Cheers
Barry

[grinder]

the drain plug - there are 2 ( i think )

1 - rad
2 - engine

check them both - it at least eliminates them out of the equation !!

so are you looking more when the car is running - under pressure ??

not a simple thing to trace to be honest

start cheap - which is make sure everything is tight and on secure

then look into the stuff which costs !!

can you see it drip - or is it simply dripping off the under tray ??

[barmar]

Hi John,

Yes it was done at WGT and I do have a warranty, I\'m going to give Pip a phone in the morning, obviously i\'d like to take it back to get a professional to look at it but its just too far and too risky with a problem like this. I\'m thinking it must be a loose or split hose too. As I said in last post i\'m going to get underneath tomorrow to have a look, i\'m skinny but not skinny enough to get under an FD (I need to borrow some axle stands off a mate). It hasn\'t got new rad caps apart from the new AST (I assume you mean the filler caps or am I just being stupid there and if you don\'t the only people to touch them have been WGT)

Cheers for your help

Barry

[barmar]

Every time I write a post I get a reply when i\'m writing, I love you guys (not in a gay way though).

Stu
It doesn\'t seem to loose much when driving but does dump some when I stop (bearing in mind I\'ve only driven it 1 very short journey and one short journey - enough to warm it up pretty much) In the last 2 days its been used quite a bit though. It got its post run in service Wed morning and I drove it home (300 miles) and yesterday I did about 65 - 70 miles in it. Then this morning was when the buzzer came on.


and no I can\'t see the drip, its further back from the undertray but not much so its hard to tell if its leaking above the undertray and running down or dripping directly down. I\'ll be able to tell more tomorrow when I get underneath.
Again thanks for your help and time

Barry

[johnf]

I think I\'d be finding a garage with a 4 poster and bung em £20 or so to let me get it up in the air and have a good look around underneath.

You usually find the machanic is pretty interested and has a look with you.

Did it with mine when I had a suspension knock. The nationals can\'t do it, due to insurance limitations etc. Find a small independant they always like a drink.

Good luck

John

[Warthog]

Which side of the engine bay is it dripping from--f/n/s or f/o/s.

If it\'s the f/o/s it may just be coming out of the overflow from the expansion tank which is underneath your f/o/s pop up light. There is a filler neck with a dip stick made of white plastic in it. Check the level when you stop and see if it\'s full.
If it is, the next problem is why is the engine forcing coolant out of the system?
I would be on the phone to Pip asap with as much info as possible.
Another option is to take out RAC cover that includes onward transportation and set off to WGT by appointment, if she starts to show warning light of low water then stop, call them and let them take you to WGT. Just an idea. :wave

[barmar]

OK now I\'m super confused, I had to work yesterday so didn\'t get a chance to get underneath to find out whats wrong. Checked the level this morning and although its gone down a little its still visible at the bottom of the filler, topped up and took it out for a short run. When I get home I check under the car and where on Friday there would have been a small puddle forming now there is nothing, let it cool for a few hours and checked the level again and again its at the same level as this morning (just above the bottom of the filler neck)

Is it possible there was an air lock in the system and some coolant was forced into the expansion tank and escaping out the overflow when it got full (the leak was at the centre of the car though not at the o/s). The level in the expansion tank is full so anything extra forced into it would overflow.

When I spoke to Pip he said I\'m best to take it to someone local get them to check for leaks and get back to him and he would try and sort something out. So I think thats what I\'ll do tomorrow just to make sure theres nothing wrong.

The trips I\'ve made in it have been short (just enough to get the water temps to normal) should I risk trying a longer journey to see if that has any effect or just wait until tomorrow and get it checked out by a mechanic.

Cheers for everyone help
Barry