coolant dissapearing??

[Dannyboy81]

Hi all,

I have recently bought a cheap secondhand 1.9 turbo diesel P reg pugeot 406 (just while i save up for my porsche...well maybe not) anyway after about a week the coolant light came on so i top it up with coolant which resolved the problem, for a little while it started coming on more regulally so i started topping it up with water just to stop it over heating (and the cost) it now takes almost two ltrs every day or so. This made me think that i have a leak, but i havent be able to see anysigns of leakage what so ever. if i top it up while the engine is running then rev the engine it acually sucks the level of water/coolant right down, 500ml or so. this makes me think that it could be a more serious problem i.e water getting to the engine or head gasket? there arent any signs of water in the oil and there isnt any white smoke or steam coming out of the exhaust so i dont know. my knowlege is ltd so im hoping someone out there could help...please!!! I know its a pug but have pity its all i can afford right now!

cheers

[Team 17]

Could be your radiator has a leak, have a look for telltale signs, such as white residue, etc.

[Dannyboy81]

i checked it all out i couldnt find anything like that, the rad looks pretty new as well????

[dan19evans]

-check for any puddles of water under your car after leaving it parked overnight
-do a general visual check of the cooling system.. eg rad, hoses, pump, thermostat etc to look for leaks
-check under the oil filler cap.. if its mayonaise-coloured the head gasket is mullered

other than any of them, bit of a mystery....

[Dannyboy81]

this is whats puzzling me so much, i left it parked up for a couple of days because of a flat battery, the weather was nice and all that was under the car was a couple of drips of oil. there arent any signs of residue apart from a very minimal amount where hose joins to the rad at the top, but then this only very very minimal around the clip?? its really strange??

[martycossie]

head gasget

[NiceCupOfTea]

Check crossmembers/chassis rails, etc. - all round the engine bay - for coolant residue. If it's leaking it has to be going somewhere. If it's not external, it's internal, ie head gasket. It doesn't always manifest itself with mayo/steam from the exhaust.

I wouldn't worry about it "drinking" water as you rev it, probably just getting rid of air in the system.

Next stage is checking for exhaust gases in coolant - you can get kits on ebay.

[Pigeon]

Dannyboy81 said:

there arent any signs of residue apart from a very minimal amount where hose joins to the rad at the top, but then this only very very minimal around the clip?? its really strange??

My car was losing coolant recently and similarly there were no signs apart from a little bit of gunk around the stub where the hose connects to the rad. Inspecting it with the engine running and fully warmed up on a sufficiently calm day revealed a wisp of steam emanating from this area - turned out there was a slight weep which was evaporating off the hot radiator as fast as it came out and so not dripping anywhere or leaving a gunky trail. All I had to do was tighten the clip up and it sorted it.

[Dannyboy81]

thanks guys (girls?) for the help i will investigate further using your suggestions, ill post the outcome...i hope its not the head gasket and is just a loose clip otherwise i might have a 406 for sale spares/repairs hah!

[fatjon]

A very common symptom of a HG failure in my experience is that the warm up suddenly becomes unusually quick. I assume due to the buring mixture being shoved past the fire rings and into the coolant. Had an old Volvo that would go from clock cold on the temp gauge to normal within half a mile of the setting off, when the gasket was OK it took nearer 5 miles. May help or may not but there you have it anyway.

[Dannyboy81]

fatjon said:

A very common symptom of a HG failure in my experience is that the warm up suddenly becomes unusually quick. I assume due to the buring mixture being shoved past the fire rings and into the coolant. Had an old Volvo that would go from clock cold on the temp gauge to normal within half a mile of the setting off, when the gasket was OK it took nearer 5 miles. May help or may not but there you have it anyway.

cheers fatjon, well if i dont top it up with water for about two days, as im going along the temp gauge just shoots up unexpectedly and the fan kicks in overtime, i just thought this was because the water/coolant had disappeared somewhere?