Coolant Issues!!!

Jono FD3 · October 30, 2006, 03:49:57 PM

Can some one please help???!!!!

I fitted an after market temp gauge the other week, and fitted the probe in place of ont of the allen key boults in the thermostat housing, and since then the car has been loosing water!!! There is no sign of any water being thrown out anywhere which is odd!! I\'ve done the champaign test yesterday to check the seals, and there were no bubbles at all!!!! Water temps ar fine (When the Aux probe is in the water it reads 195-200 degrees F)

The car starts first time every time hot or cold & runs like a watch!!!

I was topping the coolant up lastnight and noticed that the water was overflowing the header tank in the drivers wing as the water was dissapearing down the thermostat housing???!!
Any sujestions on the problem as i\'m starting to loos my rag, and thats when things start to fly, and other things get bent (all inanimate objects, no people involved)!!

Also want to do a coolant flush and put fresh in...... should I use the coolant flush stuff from motor factors, or just drop the coolant, put fresh water in and run it up to temp, drop it again (once cooled) then replace with antifreeze (neat or part water??)

Cheers

Jono

nikp · October 30, 2006, 03:55:17 PM

If you\'re filling up in the correct place - which i assume you are, as you\'ve been on this forum a while now! And water is dissappeaing down the filler neck, but coming out of the overflow on the drivers side front wing, then there is only one conclusion i can come up with: The pressure cap is stuck open.

Jono FD3 · October 30, 2006, 04:21:38 PM

Hia nik!!

The cap does look a bit, errr..... used shall we say!!! but even cold with out the cap you can see it going on it\'s merry way down the TS housing & flooding out of the bottle in the wing?!!!
Worth while removing the sensor and putting it back to how it was and give it a test???

Was thinking about tapping the sensor in to the top hose anyway??!!!

Jono

nikp · October 30, 2006, 04:26:50 PM

With no cap on the AST (The AST is the one that has the pressure cap.....which leads me to wondering - you sure you have the caps round the right way. That would lead to the same symptoms. The cap on the AST is meant to be the pressure cap - the one with the spring in). As i was saying, with no cap on the ast, it will allow coolant to flow straight to the overflow tank.

The only other thing it could be is if the coolant hoses are plumbed up wrong. The small diameter hose going from the middle of the rad is meant to go to the bottom of the AST, and the small diameter hose going from the thermosta housing is meant to go to the middle pipe on the AST. The top pipe on the AST is not a pressurized one, and goes to the overflow. HTH.

Jono FD3 · October 30, 2006, 04:34:59 PM

Oh....... on my AST (attached to the stock IC) there is a cap with a yellow sticker that says do not remove (or something along those lines!!) and the cap on the engine (by the air pump) is a standars rad cap with 0.9 bar stamped on to it. is this the correct way around or should they be the other way around???

nikp · October 30, 2006, 04:42:39 PM

Ok, easiest thing to do is ignore the \'do not remove\' sticker - it\'s ok. Your car won\'t blow up. The one on the AST should have a spring in it and a cap - i suspect that if this is on while you are filling, then this cap is stuck open. Or, if it does not have this spring in, it is not the correct cap. It must be a pressure cap type thing. From memory it sounds right - but it\'s not sealing (Actually, may not be stuck open, it could have just had the rubber insert broken up and therefore not seal properly).

The other cap, on the filler neck, is just a plain cap with a rubber insert in it.

Jono FD3 · October 30, 2006, 04:48:03 PM

Sweet, Cheers for that fella!!! I\'ll check that tonight & change my pants aswell:Thumbs-up

Strainge that it\'s only happend since I put that sensor in though???
Possibly coincidence i suppose!!!

If you right mate I owe you a hug & a pint:Thumbsup!
But prob wont see you till RS4!!!

Jono

nikp · October 30, 2006, 04:54:39 PM

It\'s almost certainly a coincidence.

IF i am right is the correct term!

Jono FD3 · October 30, 2006, 05:29:52 PM

DOH!!!!:spank

nikp · October 31, 2006, 08:32:17 AM

Quote from: Jono FD3DOH!!!!:spank

doh!? What was the issue?

Martiny · October 31, 2006, 08:52:46 AM

Well, I think he has swapped the caps round.

Jono FD3 · October 31, 2006, 10:12:55 AM

Double checked it last night and found a bit of crap on the seal on the AST tank!! so took them both off to clean them & check the water level........ all seemd to be fine?

water level in the AST was up to the cap ( Is this correct??) and the water on the filler neck was just above that little hole in the filler neck so that was A-OK!!! Bizzar.. going to take it out the weekend & give it a good flakein, then give it all another check!!!

What is the best coolant flush to use, or should I just drop the water & run fresh coolant for a month, then change it for the good stuff???

Jono

Initial-D · October 31, 2006, 10:20:37 AM

I had a sealant prob with my AST before, I couldn\'t tell by looking at the AST itself but the tell-tale dried in stains on the bonnet where a clue as to the culprit!!

Try and borrow someone elses working caps and see if that solves it.