VR6- How often you toppin up on water?

[Dub Style 0]

Ive had my car for about 5 months now and having noticed that almost every month the water temp light keeps flashing after start up i check the water and the level is down a touch, after topping up its fine, thers no visual leaks etc.........but it does this i'd say every 4-5 weeks

[Timo. 0]

try a new expansion cap, only a few £. Can sometimes be something as simple as that. I had that problem on mine. Think the new cap was about £6 and it sorted the slow disappearance of coolant.

 

Timo.

[HiAsAKite 0]

I've never had to top the water up... (though I do change it on services obviously)...

 

 

And yep I check it every other week..

[vr6storm 0]

used to have to top my up eevry so often over the first couple of years ownership...........never had the warning light go on tho as i only topped it up when i looked and seen it was just at the seam of the reservoir.....obviously when the engine was clap-cold...........anyway haven't had to top it up since(touch wood) my thermostat housing went.........perhaps you've got a minor crack developing????????

[16VG60 1]

Stands to reason given that the cooling system is closed in operation, if you are having to top up regularly you are loosing water from a leak. A cooling system pressure check will help to determine the source if it is an external loss. Failing this a check of the coolant for traces of monoxide contamination would help allong with other info to determine if you have a cylinder head problem. VR6's have some typical locations to find coolant leaks; weak valves in coolant res' cap, thermostat housing, water pump to thermostat housing transfer pipe O ring seals, auxilliary coolant pump, ageing hoses splitting just above the fastening clip. It is important to find the cause of your water loss, because it will not get better and will potentially be the cause of further damage if not sorted.

[Mike Edwards 0]

Thermostat housing most likely.

[craigowl 0]

My son's VR6 had a small leak from top-up reservoir. Only found after close-up examination.

Internal pressure and deterioration of plastic under hot conditions and ageing must make this a common candidate.

[jake bullit 0]

yep my leak turned out to be the `stat housing too,started off hailrline then gradually got bigger,very hard to detect,just small traces off water round the bottom end of the engine.

Get it checked out before it`s too late!

Cheers Ade.

[Andy D 0]

Check the temp sensor housing coming off the head feel underneath with your finger to see if there is a slight weep they are quite common to worpe and only leak when the car is hot. Really you should not have to top up you coolant only when checking antifreeze and flushing systems. If there doesn't seem to be a leak from the housing have a look around the head gasket area for green stains on the block vw have been know to slowly leak from that area as the gasket get old. If that come up a blank check all hoses, radiator and water pump for leaks do this as the engine is running so the system pressurises. The only other thing is could be is the heat matex is leaking but usually you get a funny sweet smell and or the screen keeps misting up. Before all that check that when the engine is hot that the coolant pipes feel firm cos if they arn't there must be a leak causing them not to pressuries. Hope you cure your problem :roll:

[Andy D 0]

forget the housing on the cylinder head throught you were talking about the eight valve lump but check the rest there must be a leak some where

[Ice White Socks 0]

I am having the same problem- I think its leaking from the auxillary water pump.

 

The question I was going to ask tho, without meaning to hijack, is how low does the water need to go before the coolant light starts to flash? Its just mine stops leaking when level gets about 1.5 cm below the min line when hot but it never triggers the warning light- have i got a knackered 'sensor'.

 

Cheers

[Kevin Bacon 5]

The probes for the warning light sit about an inch off the bottom of the expansion tank, so if you can't see any coolant, the light will flash.

 

Investing in a new expansion tank is a good move as they're nice and new and white, making the coolant level easier to see at a glance.

 

K

[Andy D 0]

Light usually comes on when the expansion tank is about half full just check that the light flashes when you first turn the igntion on. It should then go out. If you want to check if the wiring is ok bridge the muliti plug out the light should flash this shows that all the wiring is ok. The expansion bottle sensors are known for going wrong regulary. :wink: