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Where is all my coolant going?

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scotth View Drop Down
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    Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 11:05

Hey all,

we have just got back from a nice long cruise in france in our 1.6td T3 westy, and on the way back i was having to top up a fair bit of coolant daily...
 
i have tried to spot leaks but not seen any.
 
where is it all going?
 
scott.
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scotth View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scotth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 17:44
all right. maybe i am being a bit of a newbie bimbo here.
search of the archives reveals all sorts of talk about head gasket or not head gasket...
if i am lacking signs of oil in the water and water in the oil, does that mean i might be OK? (ie maybe a leak elsewhere that i missed?), or does it just mean that the inevitable is coming and lookout for a good head job man?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote monsho Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 18:22
tricky one - mine is the same, looses about a half litre over a few hundred miles.  Did find one leak on a plastic pipe mounting but it didn't solve it.  No evidence of oil in water etc and I'm a bit perplexed - unless of course it is the head gasket leaking water....

Soz - that doesn't help at all does it...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Joker_Club Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Jul 08 at 20:12
To check for leaks you`ll need to get it good and hot, then access underneath and start from the front and work back looking for any obvious water leaks or coolant stains. Radiator first by removing the grills. Any obvious water staining where you park up?
 
Does the cooling system hold pressure overnight? Does it draw coolant back into the header tank from the expansion tank when it cools down? Can you see an air bubble / fine bubbles forming in the top of the header tank with the engine running ? (that`s the tank with the blue pressure cap (Dalek) on it. Does the heater work properly ? Does the temp needle behave or is it erratic? ie up and down, with the red LED coming on occasionally?
 
Head gasket gone or a cracked head doesn`t always show up as oil in the water, mine ran for nearly 18 months with a cracked head and no oil in the water. It used water though Cry
Sunny Lancs
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ghia Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 08:43
Best way to find out if you have leaks it to put a coolant system tester on it which pressurses the system, then leaks become very obvious!
Any garage worth their salt willl have one.
MG
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jc_geddes Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 10:10
Or you could put some ultra voilet dye in the cooling system, drive it around and with a UV light see what you can see.
 
From pervious experiance the black plastic water joints on the head and block can crack and leak, also as JC has said make sure you have a BLUE header tank cap - that alone sorted one of mine!
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Tee3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 10:35
front to rear coolant pipes...
radiator...
heater matrix...
every pipe union on the van...
leaking/split pipe
leaking header/ expansion tank...

Theres a lot of cooling system, so a lot of places to lose coolant.
Get it pressure tested, ideally off the ground so you can check everything out



YOU CANT EDUCATE GAMMON

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote David Pickles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 12:21
My Wasserboxer or (Waterleaker) as Baxter calls them
Never uses any water and doesn't need new cylinder heads every 70k
or turbos rebuildingEmbarrassed
1990 1.9td SYNCRO DOKA
1988 1.6td SYNCRO AMBULANCE
1989 2.1i LPG Camper
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote chrisray Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 13:05
Could this just be a familiar trait of T3's?  Almost every owner I talk to has this problem!!! hmm.. well I was going to replace my radiator pipes, but seen as that'll cost me £50 plus labour then I thought about it again.  I have exactly the same problem..and cant find any leaks either.. though I didn't realise about this pressure testing, so I'll give that a buzz.. though how much is that gona cost?


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Joker_Club Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Jul 08 at 16:51
Originally posted by David Pickles David Pickles wrote:

My Wasserboxer or (Waterleaker) as Baxter calls them
Never uses any water and doesn't need new cylinder heads every 70k
or turbos rebuildingEmbarrassed
 
Hope you were touching a bit of wood when you made that comment mate Smile Perhaps you`ve got the ONLY wasserboxer that isn`t eating itself from the inside out Cry
Sunny Lancs
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scotth View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scotth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jul 08 at 09:24
thanks joker club,
no sign of leaks after parking or with my head under the beast,
seems like there s no loss of water overnight, but i will have to check on the drawback thing next time it cools.
no bubbles seen....and the blue cap seems to work as i cant blow back into the tank when its on.
heaters work.
temp needle does a bit of up and down, but only really when you would expect it to...like up a hill....red light has come on here and there but i thought that this was cos the water levels were low.  this would be normal wouldnt it?
 
from other replies seems like it would be a good idea to do the pressure testand go from there, eh?
 
thanks for the ideas!
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scotth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jul 08 at 09:27
and thanks for the other ideas too...i quite like the uv light concept....i'll have to go check the old mans shed for uv dye and a black light! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote scotth Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jul 08 at 09:32

just a thought...as i know sfa about heads and the changing of gaskets, can anyone point me toward some info that might clue me in to how its done and how hard it is to do? maybe with some nice piccies?  is it the sort of thing a novice mechanic with an assorted set of crap tools should attempt, or could it all end in tears quite easily? 

ta and i will stop posting now.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lawzie01 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Jul 08 at 12:49
I had a similar porblem then my water pump went!?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Chappy Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 31 Jul 08 at 21:21
Originally posted by scotth scotth wrote:

or could it all end in tears quite easily? 
 
it deffo could - so if you decide to have a crack at it, make sure you swot up big time beforehand and prolly have a fall back plan (i.e. a friendly mechanic) close at hand... Smile
Back in the slow lane, yeah!
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