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[humbucker]

Hi there. I'm new here and will present myself in the newbie section later as soon as I have updated my profile. I'm a keen reader of these forums but this is my first post... I was hoping your experience might be able to help me out.

I have an Elite 3.0i 24v V6 and I seem to be losing coolant and what I think is quite a rate; I'm topping up once a week at least following the 'Coolant Level' warning inside.

Anyway I took the car to a VX service centre and they found no obvious problem and suggested a new water pump which I replaced. Problem still occurs. Even on the diagnostic sheet they gave me it stated that no problem detected.

No overheating, no obvious leaks, no dodgy oil residue in oil reservoir or coolant tank. Drawing blanks. No steam out of exhaust and A/C working OK. Just getting through it more often than I think I should.

Anyway, I hoped your invaluable advice might shed some light on the problem.

Thanks in advance, I look forward to your responses. Feel free to ask me if there's something you think I'm missing!!

 

I wondered if you had any suggestions?

[TheBoy]

I shall follow this thread with interest!  

[Darth Loo-knee]

Hi there. I'm new here and will present myself in the newbie section later as soon as I have updated my profile. I'm a keen reader of these forums but this is my first post... I was hoping your experience might be able to help me out.

I have an Elite 3.0i 24v V6 and I seem to be losing coolant and what I think is quite a rate; I'm topping up once a week at least following the 'Coolant Level' warning inside.

Anyway I took the car to a VX service centre and they found no obvious problem and suggested a new water pump which I replaced. Problem still occurs. Even on the diagnostic sheet they gave me it stated that no problem detected.

No overheating, no obvious leaks, no dodgy oil residue in oil reservoir or coolant tank. Drawing blanks. No steam out of exhaust and A/C working OK. Just getting through it more often than I think I should.

Anyway, I hoped your invaluable advice might shed some light on the problem.

Thanks in advance, I look forward to your responses. Feel free to ask me if there's something you think I'm missing!!

 

I wondered if you had any suggestions?

HBV, Reservoir Cap, Split in Reservoir, Oil Cooler Plate Leaking :question

[Richard A]

I had a very similar problem which was ongoing for 9 months, replaced 'heater by-pass valve' no change. Finally found the problem in January, a hair-line crack in the plastic side tank of the radiator, just below the top hose connector, only leaked when hot and under pressure, replaced the rad now all things normal, but it took 9 months of constant topping up.
regards
richard

[Dazzler]

As Loo-Knee has stated, HBV or a leak in the V area, ie- coolant bridge, oil cooler plate, thermostate etc....

[humbucker]

Thanks for your feedback. I'm going to be out working on 'The Mothership' as she is known tomorrow so I'll have a look around the rad and pick up the points you mention.

In the meantime if anyone has any further suggestions I'd be more than happy to hear them. Will keep you posted!

 

[Entwood]

Wipe around all bits you can reach with coloured papertowel (kimwipe is good).. this changes colour when wet and is a way of finding small leaks  

[Alex]

Had exactly the same problem on my 3.0 MV6.  In desperation stuck a bottle of Barrs Leaks in the header tank.  Would rather have found and fixed the leak, but it cured the problem.  Haven't lost a drop since and the car works perfectly.

[Albus Dumbledore]

I heard a story, the other day of someone who had a similar problem. He couldn't find the leak, but eventually he found the leak in a coolant hose, and the tiny coolant leak was sprayed from the crack in the hose, onto the exhaust manifold so the coolant evaporated and thus, didn't show when the engine was inspected:)

If all else fails, it's worth a try:)

[Dave-C]

Waterpumps, can seep and then the water can evaporate and leave no trace..  It maybe a good idea to remove the filler cap overnight and look under in the morning for drips...  removing the cap will remove the negative pressure effect and let gravity take it's course....

Good Luck... hope it's a dead simple fix..

DC

[humbucker]

Hi all, thought I'd give a progress report in the hope of someone being able to advise; this one is a bit beyond my limited knowledge.

I'm still losing coolant, despite checking for leaks, replacing Heater Bypass Valve and flushing coolant (put a load of the nice new red stuff in).

The rocker gaskets need replacing but I was a bit concerned about my continued coolant loss. I took it to my local garage to get a second opinion this morning and to get it up on his ramps to have a proper look.

The guy identified the rocker gaskets leaking as I had already and said he thought coolant / water loss was evident from both sides at the back of the head. Suggested it was signs of head gasket failure. Does this sound right?

Coolant is not leaking internally; no oil/coolant mix anywhere.

He then proceeded to quote me £850 + VAT for head gasket work, said he would need to 'remove the engine altogether', replace the rocker gaskets as matter of course and also do timing belt kit replacement.

As everyone says HG failure is rare on the V6's, I wondered a) if there was any conclusive evidence I could look for (or am I just one of the unlucky few) and b) if indeed it IS head gasket failure £850 sounded a lot. Awaiting callback from 2 different VX workshops for alternative quotes.

Your feedback greatly appreciated chaps and chapettes.  

[Markie]

Mark DTM will provide a scientific and factual account of why HGF is near non existant on the v6 - suffice to see if it is it will be the second i have heard of   in 3 years....

EVEN if it was theres no need to take the engine out - none at all !

Is there any water / oil cross contamination anywhere - and by that ignore what will seem like mayo on the inside of your filler cap..

Be very very wary of getting involved in this sort of work as I suspect your mechanics have no idea what they are dealing with

[Markie]

Meant to say - lets get the rockers done, watch the cooland and try to work out exactly how much its losing...

[humbucker]

Mark DTM will provide a scientific and factual accoutn of why HGF is near non existant on the v6 - suffice to see if it is it will be the second i have heard of  

EVEN if it was theres no need to take the engine out - none at all !

Is there any water / oil cross contamination anywhere - and by that ignore what will seem like mayo on the inside of your filler cap..

yeah i did PM Mark and ask him to take a look at this thread... would be interested in his opinion.

my gut feeling is the garage is wrong. that is also my hope!! i did ask if they could do compression test to see if it was head gasket, mechanic said that it wouldn't be of use as it looked like coolant leaking externally, not internally(?).

no example of any water / oil cross contamination. no mayo cak on inside of filler cap; i just replaced oil and filter with all GM stuff this weekend too. the car is only ever used for reasonably long journeys (40 miles at a time twice a day) so even though the mileage isn't particularly low (144k) it is all constant running at constant speeds, no short start stops, hence no mayo. kinda runs fine.

im hoping i can still find a dodgy hose or something, although no evidence as yet. like i said above, replaced HBV hoping this would cure the problem but to no avail.

[humbucker]

Meant to say - lets get the rockers done, watch the cooland and try to work out exactly how much its losing...

well i've been checking the expansion tank level each day and its losing a few mm at a time. i've got no performance issues either. but i guess if i dont identify the problem it's just going to get worse and i plan to drive this car for a very long time to come! i guess im topping it up once a week really. rocker gaskets shouldnt affect coolant though should they?

the good lady says im doing 350 - 400 miles a week and that i should expect to lose a bit of coolant, but im not sure it should be this much...