i have a 52 plate octavia 1.9tdi estate with 102000 miles on the clock and have recently had a new header tank, coolant flush and new coolant added.Since having this done i have noticed that on long runs i am going through a header bottle of water every 200 miles there abouts.i have pressure tested the cooling system and pressure tested the block which showed no problems.I have noticed some drips coming from the back of the bulkhead onto the crossmember but have been told this is condensation from the air conditioning and not connected to the cooling system.

Has anyone had any similar problems or have an idea of what the problem could be?

i have also changed the header tank cap as i was told these can sometimes lose their seal and therefore water can leak from cap by form of steam

thanks

Fresh anti-freeze often acts as a seeker, and will find any small leaks, but since you have pressure tested the system that would be unlikely. I would have a garage equipped with an exhaust gas meter to check for gases in the header tank after a decent run. Also a compression test to rule out head gasket. After that your looking at things like core plugs, or tiny crack in cylinder head.

thnx for your post mate

i have done a test for head gasket also and that came back ok

i still cant understand why i am getting drips coming from the bottom of the bulkhead onto the crossmember and also from a couple of the air conditioning pipes aswell,as i have been told that the water from the cooling system isn't linked to the aircon.

Anyway thanks again for your help

Rob

do the drips look like coolant?? maybe heater matrix perhaps? not sure where they are on these, sure someone will be able to tell you.

+1 for the heater matrix. Run the system with the heating running on full and see whether the leak at the bulkhead gets worse. Can you smell any coolant in the air coming out of the vents?

The coolant doesn't have any contact with the refrigerant in the air conditioning system. Do you have the proper G12 coolant in the system? If so you might be able to pick up traces of the pinkish colour in the drips. If its condensation you obviously won't.