Water leak..

[kebabman 0]

My VR is losing water, I'd say about a pint a month, seems to lose more if i leave the car standing more but that could be my mind playing tricks i guess :?, I had thought it was just low from the previous owner but i DEFINITELY topped it up to the Max line last time and sure enough it's on Min again now....

 

Thing is i've jacked it up and looked everywhere i can think and there's no sign of a leak, there's no water on the ground and none of the pipes, the rad itself or the area below the rad look wet. The only place i could see that looked vaguely wet was a drip of what looked like water at the bottom of the flat bit that sticks out where the gearbox joins the engine, but i looked thoroughly above this and there don't seem to be any coolant pipe joins etc in the right area.

 

So, is there a usual place the VR is prone to losing coolant? And just how bad would using a product like Radweld to cure this minor but hidden leak be?

 

Cheers :)

[Beetlebug_2001 0]

Had a water leak on my car 1.8 16v, later found out it was down to a split pipe but i remember my dad saying that it could be the water bottle cap could be knackered as in not holding pressure said to check it by putting an empty bottle somwhere in engine bay and putting over flow pipe from water bottle into empty bottle, if any water shows in empty water bottle then your caps knackered, failing that could be your head gasket on its way out.

[kebabman 0]

I had thought about the head gasket but it's got none of the other symptoms of it failing....I'll check the filler cap cheers, but wouldn't there be staining around the area from coolant drying off?

[dr_mat 0]

If you're holding consistent water and oil temperatures and the engine is running fine, it's unlikely to be the head gasket.

Trouble is, if it's coming out under pressure, it'll evaporate before you see any signs of it. The first point that VRs tend to blow is the hose attached to the rear of the cylinder head, underneath the cable tidy at the top of the engine. The hose that runs up to the bulkhead and enters the heater matrix.

This is due to a combination of old age and soggy engine mounts causing excess flexing at the joint.

Judging by postings around here I'd say the second most common is the radiator, followed by the water pumps (both) and the heater matrix.

[stevemac 0]

Replace the header tank cap - cheap as chips........lol

 

Next - run your engine until it's hot - very hot. Water leaks are far easier to see when the engine is hot & the cooling system fully pressurised. Look for obvious leaks & also look for coolant residue - a sure sign of leakage.

[kebabman 0]

RIght haven't replaced the header tank cap yet so it could still be that, but I ran the engine until it was hot enough for the fans to come on (a couple of times) and there were no hissing/coolant steam escaping noises or smells anywhere I could see....checked the hoses between the head and the bulkhead (heater matrix feed) and they seem fine. :?