Coolant

[beechy]

Morning

I noticed after a long drive the other day that there is no coolant in my coolant tank. The book says that you should not have to top it up. What do I do?

[Mr_C]

it's either leaked out, or the head gasket has died. Didn't the temperature go off the top?!

Don't run it with no coolant in it. Fill it up and bleed it and see where it goes. If it's a leak (the jubilee clips which hold the pipes to the radiator are a good place to start) then tighten (or replace) the clips, if the the gasket's gone, put it down to experience.

I guess it's a K series car.

Paul

[beechy]

Thanks
the temp hasnt been any higher than usual. WHere do I get coolant from. Is there a specific one i should go for?

[beechy]

Head Gasket failure doesnt sound cheep to fix. Whats involved in fixing that?

[Mr_C]

beechy said:

Thanks the temp hasnt been any higher than usual. WHere do I get coolant from. Is there a specific one i should go for?

Lotus put two types in I think, some cars had red, some had green. You can't mix them. I bought the last bottle I got from the Rover dealers before they shut down! Is there any water on your drive under the car? If its leaking this may give an indication of where from. When the clip relaxed and went loose on my S1, there was a pool of coolant on the crash structure behind the front grille.

If the gasket's failed it'll be about a 500 quid fix.

Just thought, the inlet manifold gasket could have failed too, there will be water running down the back of the engine I think, although someone who knows more will be along shortly, I'm sure.

[beechy]

thanks. I definitely remember it being red. Does any one know anywhere else I can get it from.

I havent seen any wet spots on the drive but it's been really rainy recently and we have a gravel drive so I'm not sure I would have seen it.

[aljack]

If your having problems locating the fluid leak, first of all are you a member of the AA etc? Take the under trays off and have a good look, A leak from the front may be the radiator or rear maybe early HGF or inlet manifold gasket. Get the AA chap to put the cooling system under pressure, this may make the leak more visible. When it happened to my S1 it was the inlet manifold gasket and not a HGF (£190 apposed to £600+)