S2 coolant use

[nobbles]

My S2 seems to be using coolant, not too much, but more than it should. The temperature is fine and the oil looks OK are there any places prone to leaks or do you think it could be more serious.

[cuzza]

There aren't too many place sit can leak from, the hoses, going into the rad or the rda itself are prime places. Check for a bluey residue a bit like limescale on the rad that could indicate a leak.

How much is it using? Bear in ind that some cars won't hold the coolant at the full level as the system is designed to expel any excess and the full level on some cars will differ to others, all you need is a consistent level soemwhere between the marks when the car is at normal temp.

[nobbles]

Ahh, I maybe overkeen. The max line is at the seam of the expansion tank. As the tank is stained green I use the shake the car test to check. It has never got below the minimum so maybe I'm paranoid. I'll keep a check on it and see if it goes right down to the minimum and how long that takes. Paranoia as it is over in the States at the moment, so from 8 miles to Paul Matty it's now about 3000.

I hope your right and if so I apologise for such a trivial thing..

[dragstar]

no need to apologize.

we are a caring, sharing community

seriously, dont worry about it, as long as its above min then its ok.

chill out hombre

[mat glew]

yeah don't worry, mine actually sits slightly below the minimum when cold and above when warm. To begin with I was continually topping it up but then let it find its own level and now it's steady.

[Gfun]

Mine sits above the line when topped up - but as soon as I get stuck in traffic and it hits the 103-6C mark it dumps coolant down to the min mark but never passes it. was woried at first but now more relaxed about the joke min level.

[nobbles]

I still haven't topped it up. It is strange though it has gone down to about 30mm above minimum. When I get to work 8 miles away and get my back out of the boot its full, I have also done maybe 500 miles. Weird - stopped panicing now. Does this happen on an ordinary car, my theory is that it does but you never look at the expansion tank at the start and the end of a journey as you do on an Elise because you have to get your bag out of the engine bay....

[lama]

The fluctuations you describe sound normal. If the coolant tank is suddenly very low, then it's time to worry....

[fergusd]

All elises vent coolant if overfilled, check the manual you got with the car, the coolant should be at the MIN mark when the engine is cold. This is DIFFERENT from almost all other cars (which are usually MAX when cold).

The expension tank is there to allos the coolant to expand when it gets hot, which of course it does, like all fluids, hence when the engine is how it looks fuller . . .

Fd

[Gfun]

Would not worry - my went through the same panic when I got my S2 expecting HGF at the very least.

I'm now Ok with it - it vents down to the min and stays put - if it makes you feel better you can keep topping it up - but soon as you hit traffic, it makes no differnce and it vents down to the min mark again.

[nobbles]

Your reassuring messages lulled me into a false sense of security. It used 3 inch of coolant yesterday but at least because it used so much I discovered it was coming from the front so no HGF. Only problem is full clamshell removal to find if its the rad or the hose or just a loose jubilee clip (heres hoping).

Any tips for refilling the coolant if the system is drained for repair?

[Yee haa!]

i just want to say thank god for pistonheads and this thread. Checked my coolant level thurs night and it had dropped down from max 2-3cm to just above min. Got myself right worked up, thinking i had a leak or worse until i had the sense to log on and found this thread. So i went on a three hour milk run yesterday to buxton (and bought no milk) and level is now exactly the same when cool. *phew*