coolant problems . . . again

[jonbanff]

need some advice. had some probs with engine coolant levels droppinf back in feb. took it to the garage and they changed the inlet gasket manifold. said they had fixed it. today- had a look in the boot and saw that in the space of 4 hours the engine coolant level had dropped from min to ZERO. no leaks on the floor. any ideas?? is it buggered?

[Davey S1]

Doesnt sound good mate. Not wanting to be the bearer of bad news but I had the same problem with mine which turned out to be HGF.

Take it to somewhere which can Block Test it to see if it is HGF on the way.

[B.A.R. MAN]

Rover / Powertrain strike again !!!

HGF by the sound of it. Sorry

[jonbanff]

need to fill it up again to take the car to the garage. do you have to use the superplus 2 coolant or could i get by with the halfords 'super' stuff ???

[jonbanff]

and by the way how much does it cost if it is an HGF?

[simon_wade]

Have a look at the oil by taking off the oil refill cap. If it's HGF then it's likely there will be a gue round the top of the cap. In terms of cost, my guess would be upwards of £500 to fix?!

[jonbanff]

have taken the top off the oil refill and there is nothing there. no gunk. nothing. very strange indeed. i had the inlet gasket manifold fixed in feb but things haven't been quite right since. when that went wrong the coolant level suddenly dropped. wonder if it is the same problem??

[Davey S1]

simon_wade said:

Have a look at the oil by taking off the oil refill cap. If it's HGF then it's likely there will be a gue round the top of the cap. In terms of cost, my guess would be upwards of £500 to fix?!

Not necessarily. You will get teh 'mayo' if the head gasket has gone in a big way but there was no gunk with mine. You need to block test it to determine if there are any axhaust gasses going through teh cooland and into the expansion tank.

As for cost mine was £600 but that was for a strictlu cash deal and included a second hand head as the original had cracked.

Depending where you take it it should be anywhere between £500 and £1,000

[Xracer]

Before having any expensive work done check for leaking hoses, temp sensors etc as it is commom for clips to lossen etc as Lotus use crap jubilee clips.
Any further advise contact www.judeperfomance.co.uk
Cheers
Ian

[maverick25]

Could be a leaking radiator. Ive had the same problem -dropping coolant. turned out there was a hairline fracture of the radiator. Warrenty job...luckily.

[archbone]

I had a similar problem a few months back. I think the manual suggests the to the mark when cold but every time I did so it dropped down to the bottom of the expansion tank after a few miles. But when I filled to about 10mm from the bottom when cold there was no further drop. Worth a try.

[jonbanff]

well to add to the story i took the car back to westover garages about a week after they serviced it and pressure tested the car. they said it could be a prob with the radiator but i kind of left it like that. how easy would it be to take the from clam off and fit a new one? i can get a new one for £135. i am taking the car to Miles at Fibreglass services for an MOT and check up

[jonbanff]

did manage to get my mitts on 4Litres of engine coolant from the Rover dealer and no probs since filling it up again. will get it seen to though

[chouca]

sounds like my HGF. The temp went to 120° on the way to Dover. The thermostat didn´t open. Since then the engine sounds rough when starting (like running on 3 cyl) And there´s quite a bit of steam coming from the exaust, when the engine is cold.

will visit my dealer next Saturday