where is all the coolant going????

[timpaton]

Hello again, here a tricky one for you to chew on.

Filled up the rad and the header tank to full with 50 50 water and antifreeze, did a 150 mile round trip and the header tank following this was empty, so i refilled

Then did a thirty mile round trip a couple of days later, and again the level dropped but only a cm or two.

Have not used the vehicle for a couple of days, and noticed before i went out in it earlier, that the header tank was again empty.

I can't see its dropping it anywhere, so i guess it might be a head gasket, but i don't understand how if it is a head gasket that the water / coolant loss is not linear?

Has anybody else had this happen, got any ideas?

Also - finally got a diff, and will put on next weekend if it warms up a bit

Cheers, Tim

[Edweird]

It could be coming from anywhere almost.

Sounds like a pressure leak, so you only loose coolant when the engine's hot. Could be the rad, the header tank and/or cap, gasket, hoses. It's one of those annoying problems. Next time you've got it hot, have a careful look, without burning yourself, and see if you can work out where the leak is. The other possibility is that it's going into the oil or the combustion chamber.

[Highlander]

Is your radiator cap sealing ok? is there pressure there when you remove it?

[timpaton]

I put a new rad cap on last week as the seal had gone on the other one, water was coming out of the top and re freezing, so i would have thought that the new cap would have fixed this, there is no loss like this now.

Most of the rubber pipes are a bit aged, but i cant see any obvious leakage or dampness.

Ill try the pressure release thing later with a rag when its hot, i have done this before, and am aware of the danger

CHeers, Tim

[ianedwards]

Just get it hot have a look for obvious leaks, if there isnt any squeeze the radiator pipes , you will soon tell if it's pressurized, stating the ovious it will feel hard, harder than usual. Usualy a good sign of head gasket failure - time for a compresion test and see what u get. You will get proper white smoke from the exhaust, And usually lots of it.

If you got water in the oil it will go like a brown sludge, easy to tell the difference. Then it either your head gasket or something more serious.

I hope it just a leak.

Ian

[charger]

I have this problem I think the rad sucks the water back from the bottle as I have no visible leaks & it never over heats.

[Edweird]

Thing with this kind of problem is the coolant can go just about anywhere. My Mum's old Land Rover has had the head gasket go twice, a header tank, a radiator and a bottom hose.

All of them gave exactly the same symptoms. Temp goes up a bit, then drops as your coolant boils off.

[rgonzobull]

I had this frustrating problem a couple of weeks ago. It turned out to be the hose going to the heater matrix! When it got hot and under pressure it would leak down the bulkhead. Only found it by accident after taking car for a run and popping bonnet up to check timing and i saw a small tell tale sign of steam. Couple of turns on jubilee clip and all ok now

[timpaton]

Finally sussed it today!!! There are two tiny pin holes in the bottom of the rad.

[Darrell]

Glad you've sussed it. I've used this on a few vehicles and it's always worked well and it's cheap .
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/AllTrade-Direc ... 2807380014