water loss

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:43 pm

the meteor is losing about 750ml of water every 25 or so miles.
because of the weather cannot see any obvious leaks.
there is no oil in the water or water in the oil , no smoke , no power loss and no bubbles coming up through the rad so hoping its not the head gasket, going to do a compression test at the weekend.
no wet carpet in the cabin so hopefully that rules out the matrix or heater tap.
any ideas guys and girls , there is water staining by the thermostat housing but cannot visibly see an obvious leak anywhere

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:39 am

Losing that amount of water I'd think that if it's going into the combustion chambers then you'd see a lot of white smoke. So a leak looks the most likely cause. Obviously coolant can evaporate pretty quickly with a hot engine, but even so I'd expect some evidence when (if?) it stops raining.

If you're taking it to a garage to do a compression check then they should be able to pressure test the cooling system. That should highlight where any leaks are.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:50 am

Head Gasket failure is not as obvious as made out especially in a BX.

If you dig deep in the forums I had a few threads about the 19TZS exhibiting water loss and I had the yes it is the HG to no its not the HG for the local mechs. What cleared it up for me was parking it up for a few weeks and it would not start because one the cylinders had filled with water.

None the classic signs of HG failure were present or obvious. You would be surprised how un obvious steam pumping out your exhaust is especially on wet cool days.

If you have no obvious leakage signs then be prepared for the worst.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:43 am

left the car running for a bit this morning to make sure the fan was cutting in and out ok.
Then put the palm of my hand over the tailpipe for a few seconds.
Came away with a slightly sooty but totally dry ring on my hand.
If it is the head gasket I am afraid it will be game over for the car as I have neither the skills or the funds to repair it

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:53 am

just checked through the bills.
Its just under two years since the head gasket was done and the cars done only 4,800 miles since then. I'm glad it wasn't me that forked out £1,300 for the work.

Post by **Defender110** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 8:59 am

I take it you've now checked the water pump?

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:15 am

Mickey taker wrote:just checked through the bills.
Its just under two years since the head gasket was done and the cars done only 4,800 miles since then. I'm glad it wasn't me that forked out £1,300 for the work.

I had my HG done and after a couple of years of good behaviour it is exhibiting some strange coolant loss signs itself. So no guarantees it is or is not the HG again.

Besides the Water Pump which is a good candidate.

Have you replaced the radiator cap? Could be loss coming from there, cheapest and less obvious first check point.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 11:50 am

Defender110 wrote:I take it you've now checked the water pump?

How do I check it Kevan ?

( a new one was fitted when the head gasket was done )

Post by **Defender110** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:39 pm

not 100% sure on a 1.6 but normally if you stick your head underneath (usual precautions to be taken) you should see signs of coolant loss round the bottom of the timing cover or running round the sump seam. I have seen waterpumps only leak when being revved and not straight away apparent on tick over. There are a lot of cr-p aftermarket water pumps out there that sometimes don't last 12 months.

Post by **mat_fenwick** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:52 pm

The only water pumps I've had fail on cars have actually leaked very little when the engine was running, which I put down to the normal pressurisation of the cooling system actually pressing the worn sealing faces together.
But still worth a check, as if it's totally knackered I'd expect it would be worse under pressure.

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:54 pm

I found on the NA diesel that a leak from the 'stat housing can be surprisingly tricky to see. Not had a 1.6 so I don't know the engine layout.

Mickey taker · Post by **Mickey taker** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:36 pm

thats interesting Ian as the staining is near the stat housing

Vanny · Post by **Vanny** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:36 pm

Rubber hoses are notorious for not leaking until the're under pressure (ie when your coolant gets hot, in a confined space, expands, and thus system pressure increases to 1.1bar), only then will small pin holes open up enough to leak.

You could try leak detecting dye, and a UV light, but quite frankly there pretty much all useless, and those that do work then get everywhere so if you ever have a second leak, it will be impossible to find.

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:38 pm

Mickey taker wrote:thats interesting Ian as the staining is near the stat housing

Could be the culprit then. I've had water leaking out there before now, but it's not very easy to spot as it tends to be hidden by hoses, and then fans out so you don't get a drip from just one place. That was when I had gasket trauma on my previous BX. Managed to bodge it up with sealant which seems to have lasted over 30,000 miles!

themildbunch · Post by **themildbunch** » Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:13 pm

I've had a load of leaks on my TD - the water pump was fairly obvious - constant dripping around the cambelt side of the engine onto the ground -

Although a different engine I've had the rubber pipes from the 'stat split slightly that wasn't obvious to see until the engine was hot as Vanny has said..

I've changed a mass of coolant hoses so far - not all have leaked but most have looked like they would have in a short while..