Coolant/Temperature

[Mr_C]

Hi, I have a 97 Elise thats done just under 19000 miles. Lately it seems to be using a bit of coolant.. and i dont know where its going! since sunday its gone down from the 'max' line to the 'min' line... should i be worried? there are no obvious signs of head gasket failure or a leak, although i did change the oil and coolant on saturday, it was bled as per the manufacturers instructions and topped up to the max line on sunday after doing about 90 miles in it. It seems to run slightly warmer than most other elises i've been in, with the display settling around 89 to 90 degrees... could there be a problem in that?

any help greatly apprectiated

cheers

Paul

[steff]

They all settle just under or around the min mark so I wouldnt worry about it.

Just leave it as it is and keep an eye on it.

[Davey S1]

And scan the classifieds for a reconditioned K-Series

[Mark B]

Mine runs at circa 88 most of the time, rising to 90 - 92 in traffic, a short rev to 2500rpm and the coolant drops if stuck in traffic for a long time.

Now I am not using the heater, the gauge seems to be around 85 - 87 when driving, which seems a little odd, maybe the heater matrix is slowing the water flow some how?

My level is just below min, so no worries there.

[zebedee]

also, if you filled the expansion tank too quickly, you may have air trapped in the system, which has bled out over the 90 mile drive, hence water level appearing to fall - keep topping up until stable

[Mr_C]

thanks for all your advice! i checked it earlier and it was down at the min.... went for a blast in it and left it to cool down and it all seems ok now, if anything its gone up!!

i'll keep an eye on it though

also checked tyre pressures and the fronts were a bit low... slow speed manouvering much improved now theyre up where they should be!!! also it isnt tramlining as much...

[Mr_C]

*UPDATE*

a quick look at dinner revealed a small wet patch under the front of my car, a closer look revealed that the water is dripping off the rear edge of the front clam, where it joins the ally undertray. will i have to take the wheel off and go in thru the arch liner or is it an undertray off job? gonna have to fix it tonight as im (supposed to be..) goin away in it friday morning...

any ideas as to whats leaking?

cheers

Paul

[Davey S1]

Sounds like the clip that holds the hose on the radiator has failed. Its a common problem.

I had it on mine on the motorway and lost all the coolant. Led to HGF a week or so later.

Get it checked out as soon as possible and try not to drive it if you can.

[Mr_C]

any idea how much it will be to replace, or how hard a job it is (i hope to be able to do it tonight)

ta for the info by the way

Paul