Empty water expansion tank - S2 1.8 VVC
Discussion
Went to jump in the car for an evening blast only to notice the water bottle coolant tank was empty.
I put a new screw top on about 2 weeks ago, and this is the first drive (well, would have been) since then. I haven't peered inside the bottle as I just sighed dropped the lid and shut the garage up again.
I have had concerns over the level over the summer, but various people said the level can be low at times. This is the first time it has appeared empty though!
Can you advise me on my best course of action please? Can I fill it to the level with water and drive to a garage?
I live in Bewdley and have been using Paul Matty's...any other options that people use as I would be open to a change.
Thanks in advance.
Nick
I put a new screw top on about 2 weeks ago, and this is the first drive (well, would have been) since then. I haven't peered inside the bottle as I just sighed dropped the lid and shut the garage up again.
I have had concerns over the level over the summer, but various people said the level can be low at times. This is the first time it has appeared empty though!
Can you advise me on my best course of action please? Can I fill it to the level with water and drive to a garage?
I live in Bewdley and have been using Paul Matty's...any other options that people use as I would be open to a change.
Thanks in advance.
Nick
I don't have any real factual knowledge about if its likely to be a problem but a few times mine has appeared empty, sometimes it mysteriously refills and sometimes I stick a bit more fluid in and it seems to be running without trouble, I've never really been bothered by it and the car doesn't seem to have either.....
Loudman said:
I don't have any real factual knowledge about if its likely to be a problem but a few times mine has appeared empty, sometimes it mysteriously refills and sometimes I stick a bit more fluid in and it seems to be running without trouble, I've never really been bothered by it and the car doesn't seem to have either.....
Thank you, but I have virtually no mechanical knowledge and am reluctant to start it up even!Somebody please advise...I was hoping for a drive this w/e
Top it up with water and see how much you have lost. Don't worry about starting it. It'll take about 15 minutes to get to a temperature where it needs cooling. There are various ways you can lose coolant. The header cap may be knackered and coolant may be escaping there. Inlet manifold may be leaking. A leak from a hose somewhere (check to see if there is any coolant on the undertrays at the front and rear). Or the head gasket has gone, in which case there may be be lots of white smoke (steam) when you start it up.
Ok guys this is what I have been able to find today:
The car was parked in the garage on the flat. When driving it out, the garage floor was wet in a pool that would be in line with the right hand side near the rear wheel.
I jacked up the rear and removed the right wheel and rear tray to get a good look up. I could see nothing from inside the engine bay to offer any clues of leakage.
From underneath I could see some dripping however. The annoying thing was that it was so tight up under there that the source was impossible for me to establish. It seemed to coming down the side of the engine block from an unseen point and dripping off the oil drainage plug.
There was no creamy gunk from any location I was able to see so I think my HG is ok. Though I'm no mechanic.
I put about 1 litre of fresh water in the bottle and ran the car for a good 20 minutes until the fan came on. It all seemed normal, and water did nopt rush out from any point that I could see. Once the engine was hot I think the leakage was drying off as it came out so the dripping soon stopped.
Frustrating as I was unable to establish the point of loss.
Unless you have any relatively simple ideas to resolve it it's off to the garage.
Can I drive ok with the rear tray off? Are the fixing screws put in with thread lock as there seemed to be some residue on many of them?
Thanks!
Nick
The car was parked in the garage on the flat. When driving it out, the garage floor was wet in a pool that would be in line with the right hand side near the rear wheel.
I jacked up the rear and removed the right wheel and rear tray to get a good look up. I could see nothing from inside the engine bay to offer any clues of leakage.
From underneath I could see some dripping however. The annoying thing was that it was so tight up under there that the source was impossible for me to establish. It seemed to coming down the side of the engine block from an unseen point and dripping off the oil drainage plug.
There was no creamy gunk from any location I was able to see so I think my HG is ok. Though I'm no mechanic.
I put about 1 litre of fresh water in the bottle and ran the car for a good 20 minutes until the fan came on. It all seemed normal, and water did nopt rush out from any point that I could see. Once the engine was hot I think the leakage was drying off as it came out so the dripping soon stopped.
Frustrating as I was unable to establish the point of loss.
Unless you have any relatively simple ideas to resolve it it's off to the garage.
Can I drive ok with the rear tray off? Are the fixing screws put in with thread lock as there seemed to be some residue on many of them?
Thanks!
Nick
do you mean the osr or nsr wheel? The osf will have the water pump and a few hoses, although the pump is in the cambelt cover, so will not be visible to be leaking down the block. If you can see it coming down the block, it could easily be a breach of the headgasket waterway and doesn't need to 'infect' the oil side. I would get it to a garage asap to get a pressure test done, as it is obviously leaking at somepoint of running. You can leave the undertray off, although worth bolting up the panels under the exhaust to stop them flapping about. The crap on the bolts may be congeiled coppaslip and you shouldn't have to loctite them up, just use slip lock washers.
Justin S said:
do you mean the osr or nsr wheel? The osf will have the water pump and a few hoses, although the pump is in the cambelt cover, so will not be visible to be leaking down the block. If you can see it coming down the block, it could easily be a breach of the headgasket waterway and doesn't need to 'infect' the oil side. I would get it to a garage asap to get a pressure test done, as it is obviously leaking at somepoint of running. You can leave the undertray off, although worth bolting up the panels under the exhaust to stop them flapping about. The crap on the bolts may be congeiled coppaslip and you shouldn't have to loctite them up, just use slip lock washers.
Hi Justin. Sorry to not be clear- off side rear (OSR) was the wheel I removed, and the dripping was from that point/area. The cambelt cover is a fairly slim back curved cover on the rhs of the engine block? I sense it's coming from that area yes.Ok, off to the garage. Seemed ok on the drive. Ok for a 30 minute drive you think?
Thanks again,
Nick
take a bottle of water, but could be OK. Do not put any rad weldy stuff in there to get you to the garage. Us K series owners are all cross eyed as we have one on the road and the other on the temp gauge. If the water was leaking from the water pump, it would only be visible at the bottom of the black cover. Any higher up could be more of an issue, especially if it is at head/ block area.If it is a head gasket, then look into changing the water pump anyway unless done recently, as they have to remove cambelt to get the head off, but lets hope on just a loose clip etc....................
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