Coolant leak - may be dead engine \\o/

[leon]

Yeah its coming out over the brake duct but thats from the expansion tank (you had the same problem from a leaky hose?) I did the champers test and get foam rather than a bubbles (Then again the chamers test is un reliablei read) I think im going to have to replace the thermostat and all the coolant hoses to get to the bottom of this :rolleyes:

[leon]

Okay something has defo gone bang in the coolant system, found myself a peice of rubber today! Whats the best way of finding out if the seal has gone and its not one from say the turbo or part of the thermostat?

Reason i say turbo system is that i got a nice ploom of white smoke today out the back while running down from 8k  and the champers test just gives me fizz rather than definitaive bubbles.. however the coolant does froth up once it leaves the filler neck o.O

Would popping the lower spark plug and turning the rotors give me a definitive answer to if the seals on the engine are gone?

[Hayward North]

Rubber in the coolent ? if so then what colour is the rubber ?

[leon]

it was a black thin piece, rather indescript i know, light was fading and being a cluts i dropped it back into the neck twas about an inch and bit long though so not a small thing.

[BenLewisMav]

Did it look a bit like an elastic band? If so it sounds a bit like a water seal...
But dont just jump to conclusions, pressure test it! If that doesn\'t give you a definately answer, there\'s a product you can use to test whether hydrocarbons (produced during combustion) are present in the coolant.. Do both of these and you should know the answer!

[leon]

Cheers for the help guys its really appreciated  I know I may sound like I dither on a bit but I prefer to be methodical. I\'m going to pull the plugs today and hand crank the engine to see if i get wet. other than that try and find somebody local who has a pressure tester or DIY make one?

[BenLewisMav]

Not sure if you\'d be able to pressurise the cooling system enough just from cranking to cause it to leak into the chamber enough for you to notice? Definately worth investing time/money into buying or making a pressure tester

[leon]

Yeah that\'s the job now (First version was a failure now for version 2!), I did the ol test of taking the bottom spark plugs out and rotating the engine, did not get a single drop of water out of the holes  least that tells me i don\'t get water sitting in the rotor housings! but its still not 100% definite.

[leon]

Oh hell now im confused dot com! I made a pressure tester and put it on pressurized the system near to 20 psi (factory manual test) and the coolant is audibly heard pushing into the expansion tank! as well as accompanying wet foot.. :2eek Thats not right is it?

[leon]

Im being blond.. ofcourse 20psi will empty the car the ast only has an 13psi cap.... anway the coolant system seems happy to sit at 13psi and holds :3Confused