Outer Limits 4x4 Board

yesterday pretty hot here in melb well not as hot as today. Anyway, we went out for while in GV and I put the AC in full. After a while the car suddenly died but it was restarted straight away.
This morning I found that it is missing around 1.8l including from the coolant reservoir. I couldnt find any leak as I filled it up and it is fine after I filled it up.
Any idea where 1.8l water gone??

put a pressure tester on it you will soon findout where its leaking if it is leaking.any mechanic worth a pinch of shit will have one
get him to check the cap aswell

Did you test for leaks with it running and while warm and while warm and not running? I'm betting it's a leak from a hose cause sometimes they seal back up when not under pressure and other times it's on the suction side they only leak when the engine is stopped.

I'll try today...

could of squirted out the overflow
or radiator
or hoses
or waterpump
or heater core
or head gasket
or welsh plugs
or radiator cap
or thermistat houseing
or block
or head
or a 100 other places.
pressure test it hot, pressure test it cold and pressure test it whilst running.
could of had an airpocket in cooling system and getting it nice and hot has bled it out but this is only likely if you have had the cooling system apart recently.
if you cant see a leak it generally means its using it.

have you checked in the sump ?

Zute wrote:have you checked in the sump ?

As the vehicle is stil operating I doubt he will find it in the sump.

Change your raditor cap, most likey yours is leaking and not holding enough pressure.

look for wet spots, around the radiator.

also flush it out, and put some stop leak in just to be sure.

check your hoses for blockages.

found the coolant reservoir is empty again today. Filled it up n went out to the shop. Checked the coolant in the carpark still there. Went home and checked the coolant still there.
waited few hours n checked again n noticed the coolant in reservoir has dropped quite significantly.

So there must be a leak when engine stop ie when no pressure. I am suspecting radiator cap. How do you actually chech whether the cap is still good or not?

dearot wrote:found the coolant reservoir is empty again today. Filled it up n went out to the shop. Checked the coolant in the carpark still there. Went home and checked the coolant still there.
waited few hours n checked again n noticed the coolant in reservoir has dropped quite significantly.

So there must be a leak when engine stop ie when no pressure. I am suspecting radiator cap. How do you actually chech whether the cap is still good or not?

A cap is pretty cheap and should be replaced every so often anyway .. I would get a new one and see how you go.

I'll buy one tommorow. Repco has one in stock which is good. well chrismast is coming n most of the shop will closed.

I saw one the other day in supercheap, a radiator cap with temp gauge. does it any good getting one of those?

leak could be anywhere. As already stated, pressure test the system. You want to find an external leak, because if you don't, it means the leak is internal and that will cost you $$$. Look for any coolant stains around your hoses, welsh plugs, waterpump, radiator & overflow bottle.

Have you looked under your car after the water has gone?

yes and i could not find anything.

if the radiator cap is faulty how the water goes out? as I couldnt find any trace of water around it. Unless it goes as a steam thats why it is losing water after the engine stop and slowly losing water.

dearot wrote:found the coolant reservoir is empty again today. Filled it up n went out to the shop. Checked the coolant in the carpark still there. Went home and checked the coolant still there.
waited few hours n checked again n noticed the coolant in reservoir has dropped quite significantly.

So there must be a leak when engine stop ie when no pressure. I am suspecting radiator cap. How do you actually chech whether the cap is still good or not?

A radiator cap is usually the highest part of a cooling system so chances are it's not leaking out of there when it's not running. I would suspect a hose on the inlet (negative pressure) side of the water pump. Failing that I would check your head gasket (check for milky oil).

dearot wrote:yes and i could not find anything.

if the radiator cap is faulty how the water goes out? as I couldnt find any trace of water around it. Unless it goes as a steam thats why it is losing water after the engine stop and slowly losing water.

Water boils at higher temps when under pressure, so if the cap is faulty releasing pressure there is a chance it is boiling off. But if there is absolutely no traces of water around the engine bay or ground I would think it is leaking into the oil or combustion chamber via the head gasket.

GRPABT1 wrote:

dearot wrote:found the coolant reservoir is empty again today. Filled it up n went out to the shop. Checked the coolant in the carpark still there. Went home and checked the coolant still there.
waited few hours n checked again n noticed the coolant in reservoir has dropped quite significantly.

So there must be a leak when engine stop ie when no pressure. I am suspecting radiator cap. How do you actually chech whether the cap is still good or not?

A radiator cap is usually the highest part of a cooling system so chances are it's not leaking out of there when it's not running. I would suspect a hose on the inlet (negative pressure) side of the water pump. Failing that I would check your head gasket (check for milky oil).

I checked the dipstik n oil seems fine and the level not goes up as i lost alot of water. i also checked the oil filler cap and look inside it n it seems fine too.

viscous hub fan

suzimad wrote:viscous hub fan

where is it n what about it?

its the fan for cooling the radiator , if it spins freely when the engine is at rest , the fluid inside has lost its viscosity. because it cant efficiently cool the radiator , the radiator will push more water out than it can recover , hence a mysterious water loss .

just an idea as it has been one of the problems with mysterious water losses in the past.

suzimad wrote:its the fan for cooling the radiator , if it spins freely when the engine is at rest , the fluid inside has lost its viscosity. because it cant efficiently cool the radiator , the radiator will push more water out than it can recover , hence a mysterious water loss .

just an idea as it has been one of the problems with mysterious water losses in the past.

Interesting. "when the engine at rest", do u mean when the engine on idle or engine stop?
If the fluid has lost its viscosity, should I just add more coolant (concentrate) or I need to flush the cooling system?
Where does the water go?
I am hoping this whats happening not internal leaking.

If you have a viscous engine fan the fan should spin slowish at first start up when cold and fast once warm/hot. Check that.

GRPABT1 wrote:If you have a viscous engine fan the fan should spin slowish at first start up when cold and fast once warm/hot. Check that.

And if the fluid inside has lost its viscosity what happen with the fan?

The fluid won't loose it's viscosity... you'll just loose the fluid.

Steve.

Noones mentiuoned it yet, so I thought I would. After you've been on a drive and the engines nice and warm, get out and have a look at the exhaust pipe while the engine is still running. If you see it dripping any water at all, it could indicate a possible hairline crack letting water into the combustion chambers. It does'nt necassarily have to run rough, it depends on how much water is getting into the chambers

have you had a pressure tester put on it ??? if not your really just wasting your time, it could be leaking in three spots under pressure but you won't see them without one might find just the big one.
besides it will give you a true indication of weather your system is holding pressure.if it wont hold pressure it WILL boil.
ps dont put leak sealer into your system as others have said its bad shit and clogs stuff up like cooling passages in radiatiors etc , find the cause first.
when I have my panel shop we used to pressure test ever car we touched the cooling system on,you'd be suprised how many cars have minor leaks , ie lose hose, pinhole in hose ,bad o ring ,bad cap etc might have been a minor leak but they get worse quickly and cost you a head in the long run.

my zuk always uses heaps of water in summer... i've got no leaks of any kind at all - but under my engine bay gets DAM hot and it simply evaporates from the resovior bottle. I just keep it topped up and its fine - it only really uses a whole heap on a really hot day or if im doing a lot of crawling (higher engine temps).

X Boggedty on new radiator cap. That's the first and cheapest thing to check.

tell ya what, don't bother taking it to someone who knows what they are doing. get random advice from people you don't know and when your motor goes pop buy a new one. easy.

sheps wrote:tell ya what, don't bother taking it to someone who knows what they are doing. get random advice from people you don't know and when your motor goes pop buy a new one. easy.

WIN!