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[PAULCDX]

Hi Guys,

Driving home from work just now and noticed whilst sitting at the lights my temp gauge was creeping up towards 100c, went down slightly when I started moving but then noticed steam / smoke coming from under the bonnet in the area where the header tank is.......

As soon as I got home and turned the engine off, I could see lots of coolant coming from that area running along side the kerb down the road. On checking the header tank it was wet on the top and it looks like I've lost a lot of coolant / water?, as that happened the coolant level warning came on the display.

I'm just waiting for the engine to cool down then I'm going to top the bottle back up and have a look for any drips under the car.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance 

Paul

[Entwood]

several possibilities come to mind ...

Have you recently removed the header tank cap ?? if so it might not have been put back on correctly

Header tank "Neck" that the cap fits on .. prone to cracking .. check for tiny cracks around the neck .. if present it will leak when the system pressuirises

Header tank cap seal .. if perished this will leak

Header tank cap .. has two "internal" valves for inward/outward pressure refief .. if these fail then the system does not pressurise and the boiling point is lower .. if it boils it will leak through those relief valves

Header tank has several hose connections, check these if it not just the tank cap that leaks ...


HTH 

[PAULCDX]

Cheers Entwood, I will take a look shortly and see if I can see any leaks etc........ Cap was last removed when I had the stat changed but that was over four weeks ago....... Been using the car daily with no problems until today

Cheers 

[PAULCDX]

Well, just been out to the car only to find the header tank completely empty......... So I've topped up and started the engine to see what I could see. The temp gauge rose to 100c again and then I heard the fans kick in.......... I had another look under the car and could see I'm still losing water / coolant and the header tank is now half empty again?

Have I got a faulty tank / cap or could it be HBV? or perhaps something else? Car has been running fine for weeks until today 

Thanks in advance

Paul

[Entwood]

My answer was due to your comment about the header tank being wet .... If the leak is from somewhere else then those ideas don't apply !!!

HBV is at the back under the scuttle ... you need to accurately pinpoint where the leak is coming from ...

[PAULCDX]

From what I can see it seems that when the car is running hot and at max pressure, water is seeping out from tubes and running down onto the floor causing a puddle and trail down the kerb. Guess it could be coming out from the header cap also?

As I say I topped up the water, and then saw the car temp gauge rise and then more water loss?? Bottle is now half empty again.......

Cheers 

[Elite Pete]

Is this the first time you've had cooling problems Paul?

[PAULCDX]

Yes Pete, all been fine since the stat was replaced mate, is it worth changing the header tank and cap?

Not sure what the problem is. Don't really want to use the car at the moment if I keep losing water and overheating

Cheers Pete 

[Dr_X]

It might be worth flushing out the system just to see what comes out.....is your rad in good condition?

[PAULCDX]

Ummm I think so? I will have to ask someone to help me as I'm not a mechanic I'm afraid.

From the symptoms I've mentioned, what is the likely problem? I will buy a new header tank if that's worth a try?

Thanks for all the advice 

[dbug]

Have a good nose under the car mate to try and pinpoint leak - if its HBV you will see coolant dripping around join between back of engine and gearbox driversv side.  Feel under and around header tank for wetness.

[Entwood]

Ummm I think so? I will have to ask someone to help me as I'm not a mechanic I'm afraid.

From the symptoms I've mentioned, what is the likely problem? I will buy a new header tank if that's worth a try?

Thanks for all the advice 

Paul .. attack this with some logic ....

Remove header cap, top up with water, run engine without cap on - this will prevent any large pressures building up - look for any obvious leak over quite a few minutes. Given the amount you are losing you should be able to spot it !!

Places to look, HBV at the back of the engine, Radiator  .. along the top and sides - where the pipes join the rad are plastic connections these can break, header tank already discussed

As the engine warms up, do you get bubbles/boiling inside the header tank ??

If the answer to all the above is "no leak" .. the water level does not change .. then on to the next step .. if the level HAS changed .. you have a leak but have not yet found it !!!

Place the cap back on the header tank and as the pressure starts to build look carefully for leaks, same places as before..... but this time you are looking for a pressure leak ... might be a spray/jet/ooze ... probably more than a drip.

Just "guessing" its the header tank is pointless.. diagnose BEFORE rectification

HTH 

[PAULCDX]

Hi Entwood,

Thanks for that explanation, I will have a go at this tomw mate and update 

Anybody passing through west mids / Wolverhampton over the weekend please feel free to drop by 

Thanks

[amba]

Several pipes around the back of the engine all with the potential to leak under pressure especially if work has been done around that area which causes stress and movement on the joints.

Would think loosing that amount will show up pretty quickly though.

Best of luck and lets hope it is just something simple to fix.

[JamesV6CDX]

hi paul, got your PM in my email, am away at mo, using phone, best to text me as my phone won't let me reply to PM's. I can have a look next weekend. Maybe a blockage, or unwanted introduction of air. Unlikely, but the stat we fitted was an unknown, may have stuck shut, is the top hose hot? Catch up on phone sunday night if you like, don't run her while she is overheating