SMARTLY Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Water would leak outside from the water pump. Irf you have auto transmission then there is a cooler normally on the bottom of the radiator and if that leaks into the auto fluid you get horrendous problems, basically all the seals go inside the gearbox and it doesn't work properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Gear changes are fine so hopefully it's not that!! I'll have a good hunt around on Sunday and see what I find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickT Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Why don't you look at the inside of the engine compartment and find the hoses that go to the heater matrix. Remove them and connect them together. This will isolate the matrix from the system. If it still goes down then you can narrow it down to the matrix or engine area. I think you mentioned fogging of the interior. This is a sign of a slow leak at the matrix. I had this with my old astra mk3. Fortunately you could change this one from under the dash. I don't think my back would survive these days. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 I need to get some pipe to connect the 2 matrix hoses together first, unless there is another way? I topped the coolant up yesterday when I got home from work and the car hasn't been used since. I had a good look around the engine and found no coolant or split hoses etc. Checked it this morning and half the expansion tank has gone!! So that at least narrows it down. I don't think it can be head gasket now and definitely not the rad cap. I don't have time this weekend to remove the bumper to check the rad but I'll check the expansion tank as well when I do. Although if that was cracked it should lose all the coolant straightaway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I was talking to my Dad about this on Saturday and he said if the matrix is leaking then the car would fog up all the time, even when it's dry outside. All cars fog up to some degree in the wet cos of the temperature change but I haven't tried it properly in the dry. I'll measure the pipes on the matrix so I know what size I need but where can I get some from? All I have is a small length of copper pipe, which will probably be too small. I've had a sheet of cardboard under the car for 2 days but it doesn't seem to have lost any more, maybe a fraction. It's strange that the morning after topping it up it lost half of the expansion tank before the car even moved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Has the car got an undertray? Assuming the pipes to the heater go off either side of the engine can't you remove one and connect the other one to where you removed it? Or are the lengths not enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Has the car got an undertray? Assuming the pipes to the heater go off either side of the engine can't you remove one and connect the other one to where you removed it? Or are the lengths not enough? It has but only a small one, comes out as far as the rad and I've checked that for signs of coolant, it always looks dry. The 2 matrix hoses are next to each other, so you mean reverse them? How will that work, won't the coolant still flow through the matrix? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 No not reverse them, take them off the matrix so its not connected, and remove one from the engine and connect the other one back on there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Gotcha! I might be able to bend the bottom hose round but then I don't want to end up kinking or splitting it. I think just connecting them together with a piece of pipe is easiest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 So the car hasn't really lost any coolant for the last 3 days and then I checked it this morning and it's now on the minimum line! The previous nights I had the cardboard underneath the car, which was always dry in the morning but I forgot to put it down last night! I'm not as busy this weekend so I'm going to try and find some pipe to bypass the matrix and see what happens. I'll also try and remove the bumper to check the rad and expansion tank, I just hope this rain stops! If I can't find the source and it's still leaking then I think a bottle of Kseal will be going in and just hope that sorts it. I'm fairly certain it's not a hose or pipe otherwise it would leak constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 If it was the rad you can normally smell the antifreeze..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 I've just been outside to top it up, looked at the level first and it's an inch under the maximum mark!! WTF is going on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Well if the water isn't leaking out the bottom then it's either going out of the heater, into the engine or gearbox. Is there anywhere else? Did you remove the undertray and try the cardboard again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 It doesn't have an undertray just a bit of trim attached to the bumper, which only comes out as far as the rad. Where has this coolant in the expansion tank come from, it was just above minimum this morning? Could there be air in the system? The engine warms up normally and doesn't overheat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Didn't read that properly, so the level has gone up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yes! I checked yesterday morning and I'm certain it was just above the minimum mark, the day before it was just under halfway. Last night and again this morning it's now over halfway! I'm not going mad am I!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMARTLY Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'd leave it a bit longer and maybe check it before a journey then maybe leave for a fixed time ( 30 minutes ) after the trip and see what the levels are. By definition the expansion tank levels will go up and down and maybe by filling it the water gets pushed out the overflow during / after a trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Yeah you right because many tanks have a hot and cold level mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'm wondering if the rad cap might be faulty now, even though coolant isn't escaping from it. Maybe something is happening and it's pushing too much coolant into the expansion tank and it's coming out of the overflow tube, which is why the level keeps going down once cooled. The expansion tank is underneath the battery to the bottom of the rad so it's difficult to check without removing bits. I have to shine a torch down to the bottle to check the level. I think I'll have to use the car next week or do a few long runs and see how high the level is in the expansion tank as I've only ever checked it from cold, so I can top it up if I need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liner33 Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 You said this earlier I topped the coolant up yesterday when I got home from work and the car hasn't been used since. I had a good look around the engine and found no coolant or split hoses etc. Checked it this morning and half the expansion tank has gone!! Can't be rad cap if its leaking when not in use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 You said this earlier I topped the coolant up yesterday when I got home from work and the car hasn't been used since. I had a good look around the engine and found no coolant or split hoses etc. Checked it this morning and half the expansion tank has gone!! Can't be rad cap if its leaking when not in use Forgot about that, good point. I'll give it another week, try and bypass the matrix to see what happens and then I'll get someone to look at it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 7, 2015 Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 If they do then your back to that pressure test again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Another update: Checked the level yesterday morning as I took the car for a long run, it was still an inch below the maximum. Did 25 miles to where I was going and had no problems. Checked the level when I got there and it had obviously risen above the maximum mark. Drove home and checked it again, there was no sign of it spilling out of the overflow pipe. Checked 5 hours later and the level was still the same, well over the maximum line and the same again just now. So the level has risen again compared to yesterday morning! What can cause that, could it be a blockage somewhere? Maybe there is air in the system? The only thing I did notice yesterday is the temperature gauge seems low. I can't remember where it used to sit when we first got the car but it was around 1/3 of the way up. Both rad hoses were hot, one a little more than the other so the coolant is flowing around the engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted November 8, 2015 Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 Reads like air... Does the system have air bleed valves? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted November 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2015 I don't think it does, just have to run it with the rad cap off. I'll do that in the week from cold and see if any bubbles come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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