M12 coolant leak
Discussion
Hey all, I've been experiencing a concerning coolant leak from my 3R and wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to the cause. I bought it in June and did a big trip around Devon. Somewhere along the way I started loosing coolant, not huge amounts but enough to lower the level down to the neck of the expansion tank after a day's driving.
My first thought is head gasket failure as I've either got very used to the power or its not as insane as it first seemed. But I also thought it could be a leaking turbo, I've heard these may need to be overhauled every so often. There doesn't seem to be any fluid leaking from anywhere and it doesn't seem to go down overnight.
Also, what coolant are people using? I'm reluctant to top it up with anything but water until I know what's 'correct'.
My first thought is head gasket failure as I've either got very used to the power or its not as insane as it first seemed. But I also thought it could be a leaking turbo, I've heard these may need to be overhauled every so often. There doesn't seem to be any fluid leaking from anywhere and it doesn't seem to go down overnight.
Also, what coolant are people using? I'm reluctant to top it up with anything but water until I know what's 'correct'.
i had a coolant leak when i first got mine , it was one of the coolant hoses going into the back turbo, the jubilee clip just needed tightening up ( the hoses do perish there too ) . I would give all the jubilee clips a tighten , check the splitter to the right of the header tank too .
Edited by verba1 on Wednesday 28th November 11:27
verba1 said:
i had a coolant leak when i first got mine , it was one of the coolant hoses going into the back turbo, the jubilee clip just needed tightening up ( the hoses do perish there too ) . I would give all the jubilee clips a tighten , check the splitter to the right of the header tank too .
This. I've had a few tiny weeps from various hose clips, I went round and tweaked them all up and it's been fine for years. I will be replacing the hoses at some point though as they do degrade over time.Edited by verba1 on Wednesday 28th November 11:27
I had a coolant leak on mine too, turned out to be virtually every coolant hose on the entire car. And some of the clips.
Keep this link to hand: http://www.actproducts.co.uk/cooling/noble-cooling...
Obviously check your jubilee clips first and make sure they've not been tightened so much that they've crimped the end of the hose and started to cut through. Next you could get it to a garage and ask them to pressurise the system. About a bar and a half is plenty, then check properly for leaks.
Keep this link to hand: http://www.actproducts.co.uk/cooling/noble-cooling...
Obviously check your jubilee clips first and make sure they've not been tightened so much that they've crimped the end of the hose and started to cut through. Next you could get it to a garage and ask them to pressurise the system. About a bar and a half is plenty, then check properly for leaks.
verba1 said:
i had a coolant leak when i first got mine , it was one of the coolant hoses going into the back turbo, the jubilee clip just needed tightening up ( the hoses do perish there too ) . I would give all the jubilee clips a tighten , check the splitter to the right of the header tank too .
Great, thanks for the tip, I'll check all the hoses to the turbos and see if any of those are leaking. I did check a few of the ones that are easier to access, but didn't get right in there and check all of them.Edited by verba1 on Wednesday 28th November 11:27
Blu3R said:
I had a coolant leak on mine too, turned out to be virtually every coolant hose on the entire car. And some of the clips.
Keep this link to hand: http://www.actproducts.co.uk/cooling/noble-cooling...
Obviously check your jubilee clips first and make sure they've not been tightened so much that they've crimped the end of the hose and started to cut through. Next you could get it to a garage and ask them to pressurise the system. About a bar and a half is plenty, then check properly for leaks.
Brilliant, that gives me heaps of things to try. I'll check all the hoses and see if I can find anything and if not I'll get a garage to do just that. I'll probably end up replacing the whole lot at some point and the ACT set looks ideal.Keep this link to hand: http://www.actproducts.co.uk/cooling/noble-cooling...
Obviously check your jubilee clips first and make sure they've not been tightened so much that they've crimped the end of the hose and started to cut through. Next you could get it to a garage and ask them to pressurise the system. About a bar and a half is plenty, then check properly for leaks.
swankBaton said:
250 for engine bay alone though, the extra cost comes from the Tunnel pipes.
I figured that would be one of the reasons. That's a long run of piping. Any idea what the labour cost would be for Jetstream or Plans to fit the lot? I'm a pretty competent DIY mechanic but I don't want to risk stuffing up my pride and joy if I make a mistake anywhere.lotus160sport said:
Also worth checking behind the stereo on the passenger side as I had a smell leak from the coolant pipe that runs behind there it's a pain to get to as you have to get on your back in the footwell to be able to see under the dashboard.
Ok cheers, I'll give it a look. My gut feeling is that that's not where the leak is coming from as I've never noticed a drop of liquid in the floor pan (floor has, thankfully, been re-sealed) but it'll be worth seeing so I know where it is at least.Gassing Station | Noble | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff