Coolant on floor

[Squealy]

Heres one for ya!

My FD3S has taken to occasionally dumping some coolant on the floor after being driven for some distance.  It only ever does it after being switched off?!?!?  The temp gauge only reads about half way so it isn\'t overheating.  It just pisses coolant from the drivers side front under the light as if it was coming from the oil cooler and an alarm screams in the cockpit while the add coolant light lights up.The weird thing is it doesnt always do this. Just once in a while!!!
I cant figure out where it is actually coming from or why!  The radiator is fine (had it checked) and the rad cap and filler cap seem fine.  Is it pressure forcing it out some form of overflow somewhere?

[bnaellis]

Best bet is to take off the induction box and then run the engine to see where it\'s leaking from a lot easier this way. Can still be the radiator, the main core can be alright but the plastic end tanks can have hairline fractures that expand as the pressue builds( pressure builds when switched off) and will then dump coolant. You got a couple of pipes down there as well you can check.


rgds

[clive]

Hi And welcome to MRC,

The leak you describe sounds like it\'s coming out of the over flow hole in the water reservoir bottle.

Couple of questions, do you hear gurgling even when you do a short run ? and when you top up do you fill the one on top of the engine to the brim ? and do you have any white smoke just on start up ?.

At best it could be that if too much water is added it could be that the water is expanding and pushing out the overflow.
At worst and especially if your hearing gurgling you have the starting of a water seal going in the engine which unfortunately will require a rebuild shortly

[ think of the water seal being the same as a head gasket on a normal engine].

Hope this helps.

[iaint]

I used to have a problem with the engine occasionally dumping coolant after a run.  The dumping was caused by excessive heat-soak causing an expansion of the coolant and it overflowing.

Turns out my radiator was on flowing at ~40% capacity.  Water seals failed and engine needed rebuild.

If the car regularly needs topping up with coolant then get the cooling system checked out properly including the radiator, it could save money in the long run.

Iain

[Squealy]

Hey Clive.  Cheers for the welcome fella.

There is a very faint gurgle now and then.  Fairly random.  Not after every run though.  I hav never topped the coolant up yet as only bought it in Sept and it has only done this twice and it is off the road at the mo due to me freaking out about the whole oil smoke on start up thing. (see my last post - smokey engine).  It was full to the brim when I bought it.  It is now maybe about an inch to inch and a half down from the rad cap.

There is no white smoke.  Just the wee blue puff and some steam till the engine warms a bit.

If it was the water seal would it mix with the oil?  Just ask coz I have done a change and the oil was smooth and clear, no gunk or emulsification.

[clive]

Originally posted by Squealy
There is no white smoke.  Just the wee blue puff and some steam till the engine warms a bit.

If it was the water seal would it mix with the oil?  

All sounds O/K\' ish, because where it is cold now l would have thought you would get a bit of emission from the exhaust on start up.

And no unfortunatly the oil change would not show up a water seal.

If your only adding a very small amount very very occasionally, the only thing l can say is that perhaps you should use the car and just keep an eye on things and see if \'\'things develop\'\'

Hope this helps.

[Hound Dog]

i had the same problem on my other fd turned out the water o ring was faulty , check your plugs mine had a white pva looking stuff on them , if you dont run the car for a few days is it hard to start ? mine was , this was a sign water was getting into the engine .

[Squealy]

Engine starts fine.  Haven\'t checked spark plugs as haven\'t a puller that fits way down there.  I\'ll speak nicely to my local garage and see if he has one I can borrow.  He likes me as it costs me a fortune every time I go in!!!! Bloody upgrade parts:D

Anyhoo

Cheers for the help everyone.  Much appreciated as I am still getting to grips with this whole rotary lark!

Neil