coolant leak - pointers
Discussion
just noticed a small patch of coolant on the garage floor - offside more or less under the rad and expansion tank (although thats where the drain holes in the body are, so I guess could have come from elsewhere).
there was no coolant in expansion tank, but hissed when I took cap off - so I guess the cap it ok, no signs of leakage anywhere really, the ledge under the rad is damp, all hoses/joins that I can get to seem dry (havent got any ramps, so limited to what i can raeach)
Any tips as to likely places to look for an issue?
TIA
there was no coolant in expansion tank, but hissed when I took cap off - so I guess the cap it ok, no signs of leakage anywhere really, the ledge under the rad is damp, all hoses/joins that I can get to seem dry (havent got any ramps, so limited to what i can raeach)
Any tips as to likely places to look for an issue?
TIA
Sounds like a leak at the bottom of the rad which could be anywhere along its length then finding one of the weep holes below to escape. Often only coming out under pressure so try running the engine and looking again after you have half filled your expansion tank.
Water pump leaks can splash water allover the place so check directly below it, look for a sticky substance on the chassis cross bracing bars. You will need to Jack the car up to check this or simply put your hand under the pump and feel for sticky stuff which is usually coming out of the small hole between the two end seals on each end of the pump shaft. This hole serves as a reminder your first seal is breached and not long before both seals are breached which usually ends with water coming out very fast, destroys engines if gone unnoticed.
Sounds like rad though.
Water pump leaks can splash water allover the place so check directly below it, look for a sticky substance on the chassis cross bracing bars. You will need to Jack the car up to check this or simply put your hand under the pump and feel for sticky stuff which is usually coming out of the small hole between the two end seals on each end of the pump shaft. This hole serves as a reminder your first seal is breached and not long before both seals are breached which usually ends with water coming out very fast, destroys engines if gone unnoticed.
Sounds like rad though.
Edited by Classic Chim on Saturday 1st February 12:59
I've had a number of coolant issues over the past year or so. I've had a pinhole develop in the expansion tank, the same in the swirl tank (both original fit 20+ years old), and also a pinhole in the hose that runs from the swirl tank to the expansion tank.
The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
ou sont les biscuits said:
I've had a number of coolant issues over the past year or so. I've had a pinhole develop in the expansion tank, the same in the swirl tank (both original fit 20+ years old), and also a pinhole in the hose that runs from the swirl tank to the expansion tank.
The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
What a nightmare that must have been to work out. The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
Good advice
Classic Chim said:
ou sont les biscuits said:
I've had a number of coolant issues over the past year or so. I've had a pinhole develop in the expansion tank, the same in the swirl tank (both original fit 20+ years old), and also a pinhole in the hose that runs from the swirl tank to the expansion tank.
The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
What a nightmare that must have been to work out. The hole in the expansion tank was hard to spot, as there was a layer of crud in the bottom of it that I had to flush out before the hole became obvious.
The swirl tank pinholed at the weld about half way up underneath the jubilee clip (with the bulge for the expansion tank hose). Took me an age to work out where the coolant stains at the tank base were coming from.
Good advice
Classic Chim said:
Water pump leaks can splash water allover the place so check directly below it...........
I also thought I had a leak from the hole in the water pump. I worked out eventually that it wasn't that though. The leak was actually from a bolt on the inlet manifold - one of the ones that run through the water jacket. The one in the middle of this photo. You can see the pink stain from the coolant on the manifold underneath the bolt head.
sawman said:
Thanks chaps I’ll have a look later, i did notice a stain on the lower half of the expansion tank but it doesnt look fresh
Mine never looked fresh either. The leak in the grand scheme of things is quite small (but enough to empty the expansion tank on a run). Thing is that the coolant evaporates off the tank surface as it comes out due to heat in the tank itself and the engine bay generally.ou sont les biscuits said:
I also thought I had a leak from the hole in the water pump. I worked out eventually that it wasn't that though. The leak was actually from a bolt on the inlet manifold - one of the ones that run through the water jacket. The one in the middle of this photo. You can see the pink stain from the coolant on the manifold underneath the bolt head.
Tell tale signs of after market ecu too
That’s a nice looking engine.
Out of interest should we add some sealant when re instating the bolts that run through the water ways.
ou sont les biscuits said:
Mine never looked fresh either. The leak in the grand scheme of things is quite small (but enough to empty the expansion tank on a run). Thing is that the coolant evaporates off the tank surface as it comes out due to heat in the tank itself and the engine bay generally.
would you expect to see the ooze with engine running and hot?
Zener said:
No sealant needed for these bolts go into blind holes not into the water jacket 
OP'er just got unlucky IMO the gasket surrounding that water port as breached thats all , check the bolts are tight 1st
Thanks for that. Bolts are tight. The thought that it might be a manifold gasket breach didn't occur to me, as the leak was fairly spectacular. It does mean I need to get the manifold off and checked though to ensure there is no coolant escaping anywhere else it shouldn't. OP'er just got unlucky IMO the gasket surrounding that water port as breached thats all , check the bolts are tight 1st You mentioned it 'hissed' when you released the expansion tank cap.. was this when the engine was cold, as if the system had been, and was still pressurised?
If so, need to ask what is able to pressurise the cooling system, such that is still pressurised once it has cooled back to ambient.
Likely a head gasket, or worse.
If it is not still pressurised when cold, then likely just a leak of some form, somewhere.. as others said, dry it, wipe it. Get it up to temperature and look (safely!) If you can see where the leak is coming from?
Good luck. Hope it's something trivial :-)
If so, need to ask what is able to pressurise the cooling system, such that is still pressurised once it has cooled back to ambient.
Likely a head gasket, or worse.
If it is not still pressurised when cold, then likely just a leak of some form, somewhere.. as others said, dry it, wipe it. Get it up to temperature and look (safely!) If you can see where the leak is coming from?
Good luck. Hope it's something trivial :-)
sawman said:
would you expect to see the ooze with engine running and hot?
Unfortunately, I binned the original expansion tank, otherwise I could have taken a photo to show you where the hole(s) were. On mine there was a rough patch right on the bottom of the tank next to the spigot that looked like a bit of minor surface corrosion. You couldn't see daylight through the bottom when I took it off, as I said the inside of the tank was covered in crap. I cleaned that out by putting a handful of gravel in the tank with some water and shaking it about a bit. Omce the inside was cleaned up, you could see daylight through the bottom in a couple of places. They were really tiny holes though, but as I said enough to lose the contents of the tank after a bit of a run.That's a long way of saying that there were no obvious leaks, but the water was going somewhere. I suspect the crud in the bottom of the tank stopped any leakage when the system was cold and not pressurised, and when hot the water was getting out and vaporising. Obviously when I found the holes I didn't drive the car again until I fitted a new tank, so I can't say what difference the crud made to the sealing.
As others have said though a leak in the radiator might also fit the symptoms. I knew mine wasn't radiator related as I'd just had it recored and pressure tested, so I had to look somewhere else.
Edited by ou sont les biscuits on Saturday 1st February 17:08
HiAsAKite said:
You mentioned it 'hissed' when you released the expansion tank cap.. was this when the engine was cold, as if the system had been, and was still pressurised?
If so, need to ask what is able to pressurise the cooling system, such that is still pressurised once it has cooled back to ambient.
Likely a head gasket, or worse.
If it is not still pressurised when cold, then likely just a leak of some form, somewhere.. as others said, dry it, wipe it. Get it up to temperature and look (safely!) If you can see where the leak is coming from?
Good luck. Hope it's something trivial :-)
To be clear, I drove the car yesterday, and this morning started to investigate after I noticed the small puddle of coolant.If so, need to ask what is able to pressurise the cooling system, such that is still pressurised once it has cooled back to ambient.
Likely a head gasket, or worse.
If it is not still pressurised when cold, then likely just a leak of some form, somewhere.. as others said, dry it, wipe it. Get it up to temperature and look (safely!) If you can see where the leak is coming from?
Good luck. Hope it's something trivial :-)
When taking the blue cap off there was a slight hiss, like there was some residual pressure in the system. no mayo noted. I haven't had chance to investigate any further as yet.
I hd a leak on the car in that area. It was a pinhole in the weld on the expansion bottle (which should have some coolant in it). I found a local machine shop who ran a weld around the edge, which was a cheap and quick repair.
Apart from the obvious things like clip tightness, I would use some kitchen roll or paper towel rolled and tied or taped to the different hoses, and around joins. Best way I have found of locating leaks.
Good luck and when you top up, watch for air leaks. Best way of testing is heater hotness. If it’s scorching, then you probably dont have air in the system. The opposite is true as well!
Apart from the obvious things like clip tightness, I would use some kitchen roll or paper towel rolled and tied or taped to the different hoses, and around joins. Best way I have found of locating leaks.
Good luck and when you top up, watch for air leaks. Best way of testing is heater hotness. If it’s scorching, then you probably dont have air in the system. The opposite is true as well!
kers, however I doubt they did Gassing Station | Chimaera | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff