Coolant Leak 111s- Please help.
Discussion
Hi,
New to this forum (and Lotus ownership!) and after some advice. Bought a 111s in the last few weeks which is in great nick- Ardent Red with only 23000 miles on a 2002 plate. Seems to have been lovingly looked after with many receipts etc however I have noticed that after long drives the coolant is down significantly and clearly I am worried. The oil looks really clean so I'm hoping to God it's not a HGF. Has anyone seen anything similar and is there a suspect pipe on these cars that routinely goes?
Sadly I bought privately and clearly won't have much comeback against the vendor. Any advice gratefully received.
New to this forum (and Lotus ownership!) and after some advice. Bought a 111s in the last few weeks which is in great nick- Ardent Red with only 23000 miles on a 2002 plate. Seems to have been lovingly looked after with many receipts etc however I have noticed that after long drives the coolant is down significantly and clearly I am worried. The oil looks really clean so I'm hoping to God it's not a HGF. Has anyone seen anything similar and is there a suspect pipe on these cars that routinely goes?
Sadly I bought privately and clearly won't have much comeback against the vendor. Any advice gratefully received.
I have just bought one too. My levels got low. Also noticed splashes of what seems like coolant on the fron bonnet coming from the front right side vent. I hope it is a hose, not the rad. Looking at getting it checked soon.
My running temp is spot on 86 everytime though. Will let you know if I find anything out before you do.
My running temp is spot on 86 everytime though. Will let you know if I find anything out before you do.
dubsey said:
I have just bought one too. My levels got low. Also noticed splashes of what seems like coolant on the fron bonnet coming from the front right side vent. I hope it is a hose, not the rad. Looking at getting it checked soon.
My running temp is spot on 86 everytime though. Will let you know if I find anything out before you do.
I would say that is the Rad and that is a clam off job. The Alloy rad has plastic ends and they are simply not up to the job and quite often let go in a spectacular way.My running temp is spot on 86 everytime though. Will let you know if I find anything out before you do.
Really easy to check the hoses just in case though.
Hi dubsey,
Thanks for your reply, my running temp is 86-88 dependent on traffic so guess that's pretty normal too. Read in the manual that the Heater can sometimes drain the coolant but then read that you shouldn't have to top it up between services so not sure what to make of it. Am convinced that mine is using too much and has a leak somewhere in the system.
Will keep you posted if I find anything out also.
Thanks for your reply, my running temp is 86-88 dependent on traffic so guess that's pretty normal too. Read in the manual that the Heater can sometimes drain the coolant but then read that you shouldn't have to top it up between services so not sure what to make of it. Am convinced that mine is using too much and has a leak somewhere in the system.
Will keep you posted if I find anything out also.
Hi Slackers and welcome to the forum. Are you aware that the coolant sits on the min level (or just below it)? If you top it up higher than this the system just throws it out.
Could be the rad, check for coolant coming from the plastic end caps. Sadly they do let go and not cheap to replace as its a few hours to get the clam off and back on again.
HTH
Tanman
Could be the rad, check for coolant coming from the plastic end caps. Sadly they do let go and not cheap to replace as its a few hours to get the clam off and back on again.
HTH
Tanman
Welcome!
I had water leaking from the front of the car, I suspected the radiator, having heard it is a weak point.
After removing the clam I found the leak was from the bleed nipple on the radiator hose. I replaced the hose and got a replacement radiator from Elieparts ( all aluminium). New stainless hose clips from local source, didn't want to try using the old ones.
It isn't that scary, make sure you have help to lift the clam, you don't want to crack it.
SELOC techwiki will help.
I had water leaking from the front of the car, I suspected the radiator, having heard it is a weak point.
After removing the clam I found the leak was from the bleed nipple on the radiator hose. I replaced the hose and got a replacement radiator from Elieparts ( all aluminium). New stainless hose clips from local source, didn't want to try using the old ones.
It isn't that scary, make sure you have help to lift the clam, you don't want to crack it.
SELOC techwiki will help.
Hi There,
I've got a 2002 S2 with higher miles I bought earlier this year. I reckon the other posts about a leaky pipe may be on the mark but if not I'd offer the following on the head gasket.
Mine has been using water, filling it to the min line when cold, then as it warms up it's somewhere close to max. after a couple of hours driving it was gettng down to the min line again but when hot so obviously a bit of usage. Park it up somewhere cold (if possible) and look around for steam from either the front (rad) or around the head.
Mine had no steam coming out of anywhere, so the conclusion must be drawn that it's getting into the oil system through the head gasket. At no point have i had any visible signs of water in the oil. The dipstick and filler cap has always been clean.
Check out this thread though that shows you what my coolant tank looked like.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If the HG has been changed previously, it takes a while to clear the oily mess from the system. I hoped this was the case (very optimistically) but after cleaning out the tank the scum started re-appearing.
My garage said don't worry about HGF until it starts misfiring on start up.
I didn't get the chance as it let go on the back straight at croft on monday. Susupect HGF between the cylinders as well as the oil/water. terrible misfires and no power. I'll find out more tomorrow when it's booked in for engine diagnostics: "Hello sir, your engine is fooked!"
If you have fears, maybe look for the AA parts and labour warranty. This will cover you for upto £500 to fix either HGF or rad if they let go, after you've been a member for 2 weeks. It only costs about £70 per year and is great peace of mind. They'll be paying the first £500 of whatever turns out to be wrong with mine.
Hope that helps, but I hope you've got a leaky hose!
I've got a 2002 S2 with higher miles I bought earlier this year. I reckon the other posts about a leaky pipe may be on the mark but if not I'd offer the following on the head gasket.
Mine has been using water, filling it to the min line when cold, then as it warms up it's somewhere close to max. after a couple of hours driving it was gettng down to the min line again but when hot so obviously a bit of usage. Park it up somewhere cold (if possible) and look around for steam from either the front (rad) or around the head.
Mine had no steam coming out of anywhere, so the conclusion must be drawn that it's getting into the oil system through the head gasket. At no point have i had any visible signs of water in the oil. The dipstick and filler cap has always been clean.
Check out this thread though that shows you what my coolant tank looked like.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
If the HG has been changed previously, it takes a while to clear the oily mess from the system. I hoped this was the case (very optimistically) but after cleaning out the tank the scum started re-appearing.
My garage said don't worry about HGF until it starts misfiring on start up.
I didn't get the chance as it let go on the back straight at croft on monday. Susupect HGF between the cylinders as well as the oil/water. terrible misfires and no power. I'll find out more tomorrow when it's booked in for engine diagnostics: "Hello sir, your engine is fooked!"
If you have fears, maybe look for the AA parts and labour warranty. This will cover you for upto £500 to fix either HGF or rad if they let go, after you've been a member for 2 weeks. It only costs about £70 per year and is great peace of mind. They'll be paying the first £500 of whatever turns out to be wrong with mine.
Hope that helps, but I hope you've got a leaky hose!
Gents,
Thanks for the replies and I wish it was normal for it to be losing coolant but having driven it 200 miles each day on consecutive days the coolant ends up about half an inch below them min line and I suspect that that is not right. Tank is clear as a whistle though (no mayo or scum to speak of) so will take it to a mechanic I know at Pioneer Automotive (anyone had good or bad experience there?)
Will remove panels tomorrow and have a look at radiator for signs of leaking. Wish me luck!
Thanks for the replies and I wish it was normal for it to be losing coolant but having driven it 200 miles each day on consecutive days the coolant ends up about half an inch below them min line and I suspect that that is not right. Tank is clear as a whistle though (no mayo or scum to speak of) so will take it to a mechanic I know at Pioneer Automotive (anyone had good or bad experience there?)
Will remove panels tomorrow and have a look at radiator for signs of leaking. Wish me luck!
as above, it doesnt really matter where it settles, so long as it does settle.
Keep an eagle eye on it, and leave it to do what it wants - obviously if the tank empties itself this is bad, and needs looking at, but if it settles an inch under the mark and holds it there, then you have nothing to worry about - fit as a fiddle
(if you top it up, it will always spew out what it doesn't want to find its happy medium)
Keep an eagle eye on it, and leave it to do what it wants - obviously if the tank empties itself this is bad, and needs looking at, but if it settles an inch under the mark and holds it there, then you have nothing to worry about - fit as a fiddle
(if you top it up, it will always spew out what it doesn't want to find its happy medium)
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