Grr - where can water escape invisibly from?

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ken newbold
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Post by ken newbold »

I could swap you for a ZX estate, mind you it's a complete shed :lol: Has to be the most dreadful car I've ever owned, but just so reliable.

If you want to sell Groliffe, let me know :)
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Thrashed it up and down the road and then parked up to have (another) good look. No steam from exhaust - I was getting burnt by gas but not scalded by steam. No heater matrix issues. No other apparent leaks that I could see.

One last possibility has occurred to me - that it's not losing water, rather this is the last of the topping-up after I emptied the coolant last weekend. I shall replace and make sure the full 6.5 litres goes in this weekend and then start watching again.....


Cheers for input folks.
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kiwi
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Post by kiwi »

Oscar wrote:There's no gas in the coolant or in the oil, and no oil in water or vice versa. Unless there's a crack in the head letting water escape into the exhaust system - is this possible?
A rotten head gasket will allow water into the exhaust system or more precisely into a cylinder. Thats what I had no other symptom until we disovered number 2 full of water after a long park up.
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Post by kiwi »

Oscar wrote:Thrashed it up and down the road and then parked up to have (another) good look. No steam from exhaust - I was getting burnt by gas but not scalded by steam. No heater matrix issues. No other apparent leaks that I could see.

One last possibility has occurred to me - that it's not losing water, rather this is the last of the topping-up after I emptied the coolant last weekend. I shall replace and make sure the full 6.5 litres goes in this weekend and then start watching again.....


Cheers for input folks.
You probably wouldnt even notice any steam in the exhaust plume.

So you have replaced the coolant then? Did you bleed it properly? Did you open the heater matrix to warm let the water flow? You probably got an airlock in the system.

Then longer you drive with an airlock the more risk to a failure you create.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

I thought I had filled it properly, but perhaps not. In any event, that doesn't explain the initial 1.5 litres we had to put in one Sunday as we headed out for a drive. This was the start of me thinking that we had a HG failure, as it coincided with clouds of white smoke out the back. The smoke was unburnt fuel, it turned out, from (probably) a sticky injector. That's pretty well clear after a bottle of redex injector cleaner. The water loss potenitally remains. I shall refill, as I said, and watch.
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Post by kiwi »

Think positive Oscar

Even if it is the HG you probably can go several months before it becomes a major problem.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Cheers Kiwi. If it gets us home on 7th August that will be a result. I really think the only answer is to run it for a while and see what happens. Not mr preferred approach, but I don't see another way at the moment.
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Gibbo2286
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Post by Gibbo2286 »

When you refill it chuck a 'Barseal' pellet in. Gibbo.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Where can I get a Barseal pellet? Google is very sparse. Do Hal****s have them?

Thanks

O
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Gibbo2286
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Post by Gibbo2286 »

Most motor factors, maybe Halfords too. Gibbo.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Lots of web presence and testimonials for K-Seal too. Does anyone have any views on whether one is better than the other?

Cheers for help and support folks.

Oscar
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Post by kiwi »

I would rather put the contents of an egg (minus the yoke) into my coolant than use any sealent product.

If you do then be aware that your heater tap is probably going to clog up.
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

Well apart from boiled eggs :D anyone else used Barseal or K seal?

Oscar
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mat_fenwick
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Post by mat_fenwick »

I've used K Seal, and it worked. I still feel guilty using it as I've always considered 'magic in a bottle' type potions to be a complete bodge. My Dad had used Radweld in a Xantia to cure the leaking heater matrix, but it didn't cure the leak and blocked the matrix. This may well work in a different matter than K Seal, and from memory it looked more gloopy before adding it to the coolant.

But have you definitely established you have a problem?
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Post by kiwi »

Oscar wrote:Well apart from boiled eggs :D anyone else used Barseal or K seal?

Oscar
No Oscar you use the raw egg white :wink:

But first you need to establish if you have a problem.

IF the HG is rotten adding any gunk into the engine will only put off what you need to have done for a couple of years. If it has got to be done do it properly rather than a quick fix which will casuse other issues.

These quick fix solutions were designed for people who cant afford repairs and just want to wring out a bit more life in a car.

So if that offends K-Seal users!
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