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Engine water loss.

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cwill144:
A few weeks ago I went to London and my 3.0L MV6 overheated.
I topped it up and it has ran fine. But ever since it has been using water.
Can’t find a leak anywhere but needs about 2l of water a week. There is no water in the oil, or oil in the water. Has anyone experienced anything similar on a V6? The only think I can think of is the head gasket and it is burning off the water.
Have already changed the engine twice so if I can’t sort the issue may have to scrap the car.
Thanks.

Doctor Gollum:
If your go to reaction is headgasket, no wonder you keep replacing engines ;D

More obvious places to look, in no particular order:

Coolant cap. They fail.
Coolant bottle. They crack around the neck, almost impossible to spot.
Radiator leak, usually the left hand end where the thermos witches live.
Heater core. These fail if poor coolant maintenance has been a theme
Heater Bypass Valve. These are a service item. If adjusting the cabin temperature to HI or LO reduces the leak, then it's the HBV. Every time.

cwill144:
Thanks for the info, the 2 previous engines one had the big end go, and the other a massive oil leak so changed to the current one. I still have old one in my garage.
When it first over heated it was dry for a couple of weeks, and there were never any wet patches on the ground. The HBV was replaced a couple of years ago along with all the hoses when the engine was fitted and a new radiator.
I will check all the things listed above, but can’t find a leak. Any more ideas would be great.
Thanks

Nick W:
You need to do some proper testing:


leak down test, and check that the pressure isn't leaking into the cooling system - that's caused by head gasket (or worse) failure.


cooling system pressure test. Allows you to investigate where the pressure is going(if it is!) without the engine running.


Sniffer test in the coolant for combustion gasses - a different way of achieving the first result.


Pull the spark plugs and see if any of them are getting steam cleaned -do this first as it's quick, easy and free :y


The only repairable massive oil leak that can't be fixed for less work and expense than changing the engine is the crank rear main seal - that requires removing the engine or gearbox.

robson:
I have just replaced the water pump for a similar problem. Antifreeze seen on front centre engine shelf

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