Coolant problems

[Andyhot]

First post!

For the last week or so my car has been having some problems with the coolant,
i was driving along and my temp seemed to creeping higher upto the 3rd mark and then it would drop back down to between the 1st and 2nd marks as normal,
The next time i drove it within 10 minutes the temp went straight upto to over the 3rd mark so i pulled straight into a garage turned it off and when i popped the bonnet the water pipes were pressurised rock hard.
i let it cool a bit and then opend the header to let out what i expected to be steam but it was just air i topped up the water and bleed the system and all seemed fine.
about 2-3 days later i noticed the temp starting to rise again so i had a look and thought maybe the thermostat was gone so i took it out and while i was at it i flushed the rad. i again topped up and bleed the system and everything seemed alright until last night when yet again the temp started rising i popped the bonnet and again the pipes were hard and it took about 1 litre or water to get back to proper level.
The car seems to be running fine,
there is no smoke,
water in the oil,
oil in the water,
i read in another post to put a ezibleed on the header and pressurise to 30psi, so i did that today and all i could find was a slight dribble which i tightend the clip up and the drip has stopped. there didnt seem to be any drop in pressure and as i say apart from that drip there are no other leaks or hissing.
I cant imagine that the drip was bad enough to lose a litre of water in 3 days.

Sorry for the long post.
please let me know any other suggestions as to what it could be as i am puzzled.
thanks andy

[ollyhock]

rads not blocked is it? maybe only using 2 thirds of it

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

dont think so.
i took it off the car and flushed it through and there didnt seem to be any muck coming out.
is there a way to check properly.

[ollyhock]

yeah feel the rad , there may be a cool spot

[ollyhock]

dont put ur hand down in the engine bay if youve got a low temp sensor, im not responsible for turning you into mince

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

thanks for the advice.
i will check later when im out in the car.
i still think there is something else though.
the water has got to be going somewhere.

[Tiny Tim]

Yip, out the exhaust.

Out of interest, what do you consider the third mark? the angled mark or the vertical one at the very top?

[ollyhock]

how much you losing? have you checked the obvious?
anything coming out of the exhaust?
i wouldnt be driving with it going to the 3rd mark ion the guage, youll be heading for a melt down

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

it doesnt go straight to the 3rd mark i can use it for about 2-3days before the temp starts rising past the 2nd mark.
in 3 days it seemed to lose about a litre.
like i said i have pressurised the system and found a slight dribble on one of the pipe joins but it seems impossible to me that it would lose a litre in 3 days.
maybe it was leaking worse when driving i dont know.
there doesnt seem to be any white smoke from the exhaust but if i hold my hand by it i can feel a bit of spitting on it but i thought that was normal.

[Andyhot]

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tinytim
i meant the angled mark not the vertical red one,
how do you mean out the exhaust.

[ollyhock]

it is if its just from cold, i dont think it should be constantly doing it. you can get that seal stuff that you add to the coolant, and it only works when theres a leak, but if your losing that much!.. the expansion tank lid is ok isnt it, if the spring weak or the rubbers perished it may be that

[Andyhot]

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i think it does stop when its warmed up but will check later,
as for the cap it seems ok as like i say when it was pressurised the lid was sealed and it was holding the pressure.

[Tiny Tim]

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tinytim
i meant the angled mark not the vertical red one,
how do you mean out the exhaust.

Ok, if you referring to the needle getting close to the third mark up (including the bottom line) then you have no need to worry. How long have you had the car? - sounds like you're not familiar with them?

If you're running a low temp fan switch, you shouldnt see the needle go over that third mark. If it does, not a massive concern, just dont let it go into the red.

As for losing water, if a decent pressure test has bought up no decent results, then you could be looking at the early stages of head gasket failure... hence the 'out the exhaust' comment.

[ollyhock]

yeah it will retain some pressure , but it may have already blown off some and lost water
id just check all the obvious points , thermostat blockages and rad,
hope you solve it

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

i have had this car for about four months and it never really went much past the 2nd mark and never touched the 3rd.
but twice now it has gone past the 3rd and been heading towards the red.
i did think maybe headgaket but there doesnt seem to be any other symptoms.

[ollyhock]

does the sump oil look all mayonaisy

[Mart]

Sounds like headgasket failure to me.

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

i think the next step is to get a compession tester and check that,
or to get a garage to check coolant for hydrocarbons or whatever they do to check for H/G faliure.
any other ideas.

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

not a hint of mayo in oil

[Tiny Tim]

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not a hint of mayo in oil

Any hint of oil in the water? - rainbow affect on the surface?

[Andyhot]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Mart i did think maybe H/G but it just puzzles me that there are no other symptoms such as mayo in oil or water or white smoke or misfire etc.

[Andyhot]

no rainbow effect that i can/could see but the water was a bit brown when i flushed it

[Andyhot]

The bit of water spitting out of the exhaust does seem to go away when car is upto temp.
tried to check rad for cool spots but cant get to it properly due to fan but what i could get to was warm/hot.
will check properly tomorrow as i will remove grill.
Any other suggestions as to what i can check.
thanks andy

[Mart]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

Mart i did think maybe H/G but it just puzzles me that there are no other symptoms such as mayo in oil or water or white smoke or misfire etc.

Doesn't always have to be a mix of fluids, but the fact that your coolant system is pressurising (hard top hose is a classic symptom), and that you're losing water, are 2 good signs of a headgasket on the way out.

Compression check for sure.

[Andyhot]

Will get a compression check done tomorrow.
Was hoping it wasnt H/G but i just want to know so i can fix it now.
Thanks everyone

[Mart]

you can get that seal stuff that you add to the coolant, and it only works when theres a leak

If you mean Bars type sealing fluid, that's a big no go. Under no circumstance put that sh1t in ya engine.

[Brigsy]

Probably h/g mate, comp test it to be sure. If the cooling system is pressurising might be blowing water out of the header tank cap.

[Andyhot]

will defo get it tested tomorrow.
will let you know how i get on.

[Shane P]

New poster! (less than 10 posts)

[quote=Andyhot;7539]First post!

i could find was a slight dribble which i tightend the clip up and the drip has stopped. there didnt seem to be any drop in pressure and as i say apart from that drip there are no other leaks or hissing.
I cant imagine that the drip was bad enough to lose a litre of water in 3 days.


Have you bled the cooling system properly after this, to get the air out that you sucked in?

Losing a litre of water in 3 days from a pressurized water sytem with a drip in it is perfectly possible.

[Sparkie]

thats a coke cans worth a day...id say its possible too, especially with up to 15psi of pressure behind it.

thats 13.875 ml an hour approx....

[Mart]

Doesn't explain why the top rad' hose is/was going solid though...