Europa Coolant loss
Discussion
I've noticed recently that the Europa has been losing coolant (the light came on!)
I've tried to bleed the system a few times, running with the reservoir open and topping up as it drops, which resolves it for about 400 miles, but then it drops again
It's only been since the cold weather started that it has been doing this...
Anyone got any ideas where to start that dont include taking the clam off....
I've tried to bleed the system a few times, running with the reservoir open and topping up as it drops, which resolves it for about 400 miles, but then it drops again
It's only been since the cold weather started that it has been doing this...
Anyone got any ideas where to start that dont include taking the clam off....
Mine used to blow the drivers side radiator hose with depressing regularity (more prevelant when weather was cold) , dealers had numerous attemtps to fix via new clamps/hoses/ and eventually new hoses and radiator (once hose contaminated by the oat coolant they are reluctanct to "stick" to the radiator stubs. Maybe yours is leaking? If you take off the offside front wheel and front wheel arch liner you can get a look at it to check, if leaking the coolant stains should be obvious.
I ended punting mine as I couldnt take the hit on a car I couldnt trust for a long journey for work. PS it did it on at least 4 occasions that I was aware of.
I ended punting mine as I couldnt take the hit on a car I couldnt trust for a long journey for work. PS it did it on at least 4 occasions that I was aware of.
Yes Radiator is not good on the Europa. as Junks said Lisa's went on the last years Stelvio trip. Luckily one of the Stelvioers had a spare S1 rad in his boot and between us all we managed to strip it down and fit the new rad. We did have a few bits left after. I believe Lisa changed the rad for a Pro Alloy unit.
Lisa managed to finish the rest of the trip with no probs.
Ex77
Lisa managed to finish the rest of the trip with no probs.
Ex77
I've had coolant loss twice.
On both occasions it was a 'heat soak' moment (eg; slowing down suddenly after a long hard blast on a hot day, so the radiator isn't getting the cool air it had). On the first occasion it was the plastic clip on the left of the radiator. The 2nd time it was the plastic clip on the right. According to my dealer, this is common on all Lotus, not just Europa.
I now have 20p mini-jubilee clips rather than the Lotus 1p plastic clips. All has been fine in the 5000 miles since!
If you have an opportunity to get to the radiator, change these clips. I wish the dealer had done both when the first one went...
Amazingly, this happened on July 20th 2008 (left) and July 20th 2009 (right). So the other learning is to reschedule important appointments to the 19th or 21st....
On both occasions it was a 'heat soak' moment (eg; slowing down suddenly after a long hard blast on a hot day, so the radiator isn't getting the cool air it had). On the first occasion it was the plastic clip on the left of the radiator. The 2nd time it was the plastic clip on the right. According to my dealer, this is common on all Lotus, not just Europa.
I now have 20p mini-jubilee clips rather than the Lotus 1p plastic clips. All has been fine in the 5000 miles since!
If you have an opportunity to get to the radiator, change these clips. I wish the dealer had done both when the first one went...
Amazingly, this happened on July 20th 2008 (left) and July 20th 2009 (right). So the other learning is to reschedule important appointments to the 19th or 21st....
foolycooly said:
Is it actually going to be easier to do all the pipe inspections to the rad with the Clam off?
If so, does anyone know how different the process is to that of the S2 front Clam removal on the Techwiki?
Completely different fittings on the Europa but the general idea is the sameIf so, does anyone know how different the process is to that of the S2 front Clam removal on the Techwiki?
The top hose popped off my VXT too in the winter. AA bloke bunged it back on with a proper strong jubilee clip and tightened it up good and hard with a clever flexy screwdriver (access to the top hose without removing the clam is a bit tricky - he found it hard but got there in the end) - no leakages from then on.
If the problem is this hose then you should be able to effect a decent repair without removing the clam. Strong jubilee clips will do the job.
The upside is that you don't have to worry about transient overheating - the Z20LET / Z20LEH engine is pretty resistant to coolant loss and you don't have to panic about your head gasket being affected by short periods of overheating.
If the problem is this hose then you should be able to effect a decent repair without removing the clam. Strong jubilee clips will do the job.
The upside is that you don't have to worry about transient overheating - the Z20LET / Z20LEH engine is pretty resistant to coolant loss and you don't have to panic about your head gasket being affected by short periods of overheating.
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