Omega Owners Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

News:

Search the maintenance guides for answers to 99.999% of Omega questions

Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Coolant Tank only stays half full  (Read 1451 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

TestOmega

  • Junior Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Mississauga, Canada
  • Posts: 158
  • Been helped, will help.
    • View Profile
Coolant Tank only stays half full
« on: 23 November 2019, 16:33:54 »

I have filled/topped up my coolant reservoir a few times. I don't know why it always wants to settle down to half full and no warning lights, etc. My gut feeling is that there is perhaps a leak in the plastic but there are no apparent tell tale marks of that.

There are no discernible leaks noted under the car or the driveway.

Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated.
Logged
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  May I be blessed to give more than I receive  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BazaJT

  • Omega Lord
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • SLady bitshorpe N.Lincs.
  • Posts: 9086
    • Omega 3 litre Elite
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #1 on: 23 November 2019, 17:47:59 »

When mine developed a leak it took ages to find.Turned out there was a crack in the top of the plastic side tank of the radiator and when the system pressurised there was a very fine spray from it that hit the underside of the plastic bit that runs across the car between the headlights.The spray was so fine it dried off without leaving any sign of the leak.
Logged

Diamond Black Geezer

  • Omega Lord
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • N E Lincolnshire & Warwickshire
  • Posts: 5694
  • Diamond Black '96 CDX V6 - 'Pissy'
    • & a silly coupe coming...
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #2 on: 23 November 2019, 17:51:24 »

There are a few 'likely' areas, however, as I've found recently, as these cars are all around 20 years old, the leak could really be anywhere. The only thing is a failed head gasket is pretty much the last place on the list - some cars it's the first, so pat yourself on the back for choosing a better car  ;)

This list is sort of in likelihood order... sort of. Happy to be disagreed with!

Ok, so the oil cooler plate is a common one, these corrode, however as they're at the very middle of the engine, the coolant evaporates/boils away before you ever get to see any 'drips' anywhere

HBV, this is at the back of the engine, looks like a black starship enterprise, known for failing.

Hoses - quite obvious, but worth looking at the easy to access ones. Just see if you can feel any wet at the joins - some are fairly inaccessible, check the easy ones first!

Water pump, these can leak (Not as  bad a job as it sounds, actually, should/could have been replaced at last timing kit change.

Thermostat o ring/coolant transfer pipe. (worse job than it sounds, still doable for the DIYer, but a lot more of pain to get to than many cars)

Coolant bridge ('joins' the two banks) these can corrode where hoses meet. Necessary to remove this if you are looking at replacing the oil cooler plate, so worth cleaning up as preventative maintenance anyway.

but first port of call may well be... the cap. Yellow header tank cap are often found to have leaky seals, and a tenner could be a cheap fix.

If you want to strip things down there's a 'cold pressure test' than can be done with very simple tools to 100% check for leaks everywhere..   :y
Logged
Ex-Dealer Kent-Moore Rear Wheel Bearing Tool available for hire, PM for details.

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." 4th Doctor

Diamond Black Geezer

  • Omega Lord
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • N E Lincolnshire & Warwickshire
  • Posts: 5694
  • Diamond Black '96 CDX V6 - 'Pissy'
    • & a silly coupe coming...
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #3 on: 23 November 2019, 17:53:19 »

When mine developed a leak it took ages to find.Turned out there was a crack in the top of the plastic side tank of the radiator and when the system pressurised there was a very fine spray from it that hit the underside of the plastic bit that runs across the car between the headlights.The spray was so fine it dried off without leaving any sign of the leak.


And then there's obscure stuff like this which sometimes you can't ever predict - as Baza says, took ages to find. But me and Baza are OOF Royalty as owners of the Omegas with the most issues and problems in Britain  ;D :D
Logged
Ex-Dealer Kent-Moore Rear Wheel Bearing Tool available for hire, PM for details.

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes." 4th Doctor

BazaJT

  • Omega Lord
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • SLady bitshorpe N.Lincs.
  • Posts: 9086
    • Omega 3 litre Elite
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #4 on: 23 November 2019, 18:11:42 »

That's very true DBG which is why mine will stay shut away in its lock up untouched until next year when the weather warms up!
Logged

TestOmega

  • Junior Member
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Mississauga, Canada
  • Posts: 158
  • Been helped, will help.
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #5 on: 23 November 2019, 18:18:54 »

Thank you. I will check as per the suggestions. I have previously replaced and worked on the HBV on my previous car(s). These have usually failed going from bad to worse to a flood.

My curiosity is why the plastic tank will stabilize at half full! Perhaps the cap is only allowing pressure buildup to half tankful of air versus much less air space and greater pressure if it were to hold up to the recommended mark filling of the plastic tank. I think I am going to try Diamond Black Geezer's suggestion that,

"but first port of call may well be... the cap. Yellow header tank cap are often found to have leaky seals, and a tenner could be a cheap fix."

I will definitely post back if it helps someone else.

Thanks.
« Last Edit: 23 November 2019, 18:28:57 by TestOmega »
Logged
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  May I be blessed to give more than I receive  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amba

  • Omega Baron
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Medway towns
  • Posts: 4824
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #6 on: 23 November 2019, 19:01:33 »

Stick a bottle of florescent dye in the header tank then have a good look with an ultra violet torch.Will show as snot green and give you all the clues you need as to what and where things might be leaking.

Fixing them is another story and may or may not be viable depending on your skill set/time/and desire to fix it
Logged

78bex

  • Omega Knight
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • 0
  • Posts: 1051
    • 2.2 CD AUTO / FAZER 600
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #7 on: 23 November 2019, 19:42:17 »

I did notice my coolant level dropping  ??? but only very slightly over a couple of months. Looked thru my stash  for anti-freeze to top up the  Red stuff, but needed to get some . rather then just use water with winter approaching. Monday lunchtime I`m in a large supermarket & can only find what looks like the green stuff in a yellow bottle. I get talking to a shelf stacker & ask him if that`s the only  antifreeze available, so he jogs off to check & then returns with his supervisor.
She then recommends the only other product available on the shelve which is Radweld   :o I wonder how many times  she`s offered that product to unsuspecting customers.
Logged

Doctor Gollum

  • Get A Life!!
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • In a colds and darks puddleses
  • Posts: 28089
  • If you can't eat them, join them...
    • Feetses.
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #8 on: 23 November 2019, 21:41:00 »

I have filled/topped up my coolant reservoir a few times. I don't know why it always wants to settle down to half full and no warning lights, etc. My gut feeling is that there is perhaps a leak in the plastic but there are no apparent tell tale marks of that.

There are no discernible leaks noted under the car or the driveway.

Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated.
Bleed it as follows:

Cap off, engine on, heater set to Hi both sides, fan set to 1 bar. Run until fans kick in. Check and top up coolant. Repeat. Refit cap and call it done.

And report back  ;)
Logged
Onanists always think outside the box.

Andy A

  • Omega Knight
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Gender: Male
  • Bristol UK
  • Posts: 1101
    • Omega 2.2i CD manual 2003
    • View Profile
Re: Coolant Tank only stays half full
« Reply #9 on: 27 November 2019, 14:55:46 »

I have filled/topped up my coolant reservoir a few times. I don't know why it always wants to settle down to half full and no warning lights, etc. My gut feeling is that there is perhaps a leak in the plastic but there are no apparent tell tale marks of that.

There are no discernible leaks noted under the car or the driveway.

Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated.

I've had similar for the past few years. I removed the plastic cover that's over the top of the radiator today and there was a small crack in the plastic on the top of the right hand side where the hose from the thermostat connects to the rad. I didn't notice it before because it was a small leak and was hidden by the plastic cover.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.035 seconds with 22 queries.