Losing coolant...
Discussion
I've got a 2004 VW Passat with the 1.9tdi engine with 160k on the clock.
I'm finding that I need to keep topping up the coolant - probably 500ml every few '000 miles. There is no sign that it's contaminating the oil (ie, no mayo on the filler cap).
Car runs well, performance / mpg normal, gets up to 90 deg temp and holds steady all day, every day.
Investigate further with a view to intervening before melt down, or just keep topping up?
I'm finding that I need to keep topping up the coolant - probably 500ml every few '000 miles. There is no sign that it's contaminating the oil (ie, no mayo on the filler cap).
Car runs well, performance / mpg normal, gets up to 90 deg temp and holds steady all day, every day.
Investigate further with a view to intervening before melt down, or just keep topping up?
Matt UK said:
I've got a 2004 VW Passat with the 1.9tdi engine with 160k on the clock.
I'm finding that I need to keep topping up the coolant - probably 500ml every few '000 miles. There is no sign that it's contaminating the oil (ie, no mayo on the filler cap).
Car runs well, performance / mpg normal, gets up to 90 deg temp and holds steady all day, every day.
Investigate further with a view to intervening before melt down, or just keep topping up?
I had exactly this issue with the wife's Volvo. It was down to a hairline crack in the expansion bottle. In my case it was the original bottle, and over 10 years old, so the join in the plastic had obviously degraded.I'm finding that I need to keep topping up the coolant - probably 500ml every few '000 miles. There is no sign that it's contaminating the oil (ie, no mayo on the filler cap).
Car runs well, performance / mpg normal, gets up to 90 deg temp and holds steady all day, every day.
Investigate further with a view to intervening before melt down, or just keep topping up?
Might be the same on yours???
You can get tiny cracks in hoses that only start to leak after it's good and hot (by which point it pretty much evaporates and you can't see it).
A friend of mine had some sort of UV dye and torch to inspect for the same problem. No idea where he got it from but it couldn't cost much.
Probably best check it out.
A friend of mine had some sort of UV dye and torch to inspect for the same problem. No idea where he got it from but it couldn't cost much.
Probably best check it out.
GarrettMacD said:
I had exactly this issue with the wife's Volvo. It was down to a hairline crack in the expansion bottle. In my case it was the original bottle, and over 10 years old, so the join in the plastic had obviously degraded.
Might be the same on yours???
Good thought. the car is getting on a bit now and works for a living every day, so could be a likely candidate.Might be the same on yours???
Prof Prolapse said:
You can get tiny cracks in hoses that only start to leak after it's good and hot (by which point it pretty much evaporates and you can't see it).
A friend of mine had some sort of UV dye and torch to inspect for the same problem. No idea where he got it from but it couldn't cost much.
Probably best check it out.
Will have a root around. Took all of the scuff plates and under-body cladding off fo a recent oil change / service and sisn't see the normal pink residue which can be a tell-tale sign. A friend of mine had some sort of UV dye and torch to inspect for the same problem. No idea where he got it from but it couldn't cost much.
Probably best check it out.
Good thought though.
I've had all sorts of cooling system problems over the years - ranging from rusty jubilee clips, cracked hoses, cracked header tank, knackered rad caps, failing core plugs, silted/holed rads, HGF, etc.
It's odd that you can't smell any coolant at all. My MX-5 used to stink of coolant with a healthy cooling system!
What I reckon I would do would be a leak test (buy the blue liquid on ebay and you can check for exhaust gases in the coolant which is a good way of checking for a leaky head gasket), and then get a garage to do a pressure test (although this may make whatever it is worse.
I wouldn't leave it though - either you will get stranded in the middle of nowhere at an awkward time in the cold, wet, & dark, or if it's something like the water pump letting go, the first thing you will know about it is the engine seizing (don't forget, temp guages only show water temps if there is water in the system! If all the water gets dumped the temp guage will show normal
)
It's odd that you can't smell any coolant at all. My MX-5 used to stink of coolant with a healthy cooling system!
What I reckon I would do would be a leak test (buy the blue liquid on ebay and you can check for exhaust gases in the coolant which is a good way of checking for a leaky head gasket), and then get a garage to do a pressure test (although this may make whatever it is worse.
I wouldn't leave it though - either you will get stranded in the middle of nowhere at an awkward time in the cold, wet, & dark, or if it's something like the water pump letting go, the first thing you will know about it is the engine seizing (don't forget, temp guages only show water temps if there is water in the system! If all the water gets dumped the temp guage will show normal
)
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