MattB
Thursday 1st September 2005, 18:51
I am confused (and possibly concerned) by my car / coolant at the moment.
Sorry to waffle on, but here's why...:blahblah:
Last Friday, I drove to Oxford. Everything appeared fine and normal. I parked, as I always do at my parents house with the nearside up on the kerb. I didin't return to the car until Sunday afternoon. When pulling away to come home, the coolant light came on. I immediately stopped and discovered that I had next to no coolant left and there was a patch on the floor where I had parked, although this had virtually dried up. I checked the oil filler cap - no white deposits (= no water loss into engine??). :sick: I also checked the radiator, pipes and coolant tank for leaks. The only sign of external leakage was around the base of the coolant tank (just to the right, if looking at the steering wheel) and a very small amount of liquid around the tank's cap. I topped the coolant up to just below max - only water was available to do so. I screwed the cap tight and mopped up the small amounts of leakage as described earlier.
As far as I can remember, I had checked the coolant the day before leaving for Oxford and there is a slight possibility that I had not put the cap back tight enough. :confused:
Anyway, I travelled home - took it fairly easy and all was ok. Temp needle stayed half way, and ocassionally crept up 1mm or so above this (reduced to half way by fan cooling?). I took a quick look once home, but had to go straight to work. All appeared ok - tank level was above max now - due to normal expansion of the water / coolant??? I next checked the car around 3 hours later. There was a small puddle underneath, but very little sign of leakage under the bonnet. Again there was (although this time, less) liquid around the tank.:sick:
The next day (Monday), I checked the car again and really examined the radiator and what I believed to be the relevant cooling pipework. No sign of leakage, but coolant level had dropped approx 1-2cm. I topped up to max with neat volvo coolant in hope of conteracting the water only top up performed Sunday. I again checked oil cap - no problems here.
On the way home today, the temp sat at 1mm above half way and did not appear to drop down at all by the cooling fan. So when I got home, I allowed it to cool for 45mins or so - coolant was at max. I unscrewed the cap very slowly, so as to gradually release the pressure still present. coolant level rose approx 2cm above max. No deposits in here, coolant is an off blue colour. Again checked oil - no signs here. Checked pipes / radiator etc - again all appears ok. Cap for coolant tank appears ok - may have a tiny crack in top, (dead centre) but this may be a scratch on the plastic?
Am I worrying about nothing or could there be genuine reason for concern?
Any ideas guys?
:confused:
Sorry to waffle on, but here's why...:blahblah:
Last Friday, I drove to Oxford. Everything appeared fine and normal. I parked, as I always do at my parents house with the nearside up on the kerb. I didin't return to the car until Sunday afternoon. When pulling away to come home, the coolant light came on. I immediately stopped and discovered that I had next to no coolant left and there was a patch on the floor where I had parked, although this had virtually dried up. I checked the oil filler cap - no white deposits (= no water loss into engine??). :sick: I also checked the radiator, pipes and coolant tank for leaks. The only sign of external leakage was around the base of the coolant tank (just to the right, if looking at the steering wheel) and a very small amount of liquid around the tank's cap. I topped the coolant up to just below max - only water was available to do so. I screwed the cap tight and mopped up the small amounts of leakage as described earlier.
As far as I can remember, I had checked the coolant the day before leaving for Oxford and there is a slight possibility that I had not put the cap back tight enough. :confused:
Anyway, I travelled home - took it fairly easy and all was ok. Temp needle stayed half way, and ocassionally crept up 1mm or so above this (reduced to half way by fan cooling?). I took a quick look once home, but had to go straight to work. All appeared ok - tank level was above max now - due to normal expansion of the water / coolant??? I next checked the car around 3 hours later. There was a small puddle underneath, but very little sign of leakage under the bonnet. Again there was (although this time, less) liquid around the tank.:sick:
The next day (Monday), I checked the car again and really examined the radiator and what I believed to be the relevant cooling pipework. No sign of leakage, but coolant level had dropped approx 1-2cm. I topped up to max with neat volvo coolant in hope of conteracting the water only top up performed Sunday. I again checked oil cap - no problems here.
On the way home today, the temp sat at 1mm above half way and did not appear to drop down at all by the cooling fan. So when I got home, I allowed it to cool for 45mins or so - coolant was at max. I unscrewed the cap very slowly, so as to gradually release the pressure still present. coolant level rose approx 2cm above max. No deposits in here, coolant is an off blue colour. Again checked oil - no signs here. Checked pipes / radiator etc - again all appears ok. Cap for coolant tank appears ok - may have a tiny crack in top, (dead centre) but this may be a scratch on the plastic?
Am I worrying about nothing or could there be genuine reason for concern?
Any ideas guys?
:confused: