Hello,

I've been having numerous problems with my 2000 1.4mpi recently.

In September 2009 I had my head gasket replaced along with the charging belt and thermostat.

Since then I still had the problem of gunk around my oil cap (which may be due to engine breathing problems). I was also losing coolant and eventually had to start topping up every 4-7 days.

- On Sunday I used Holts Speedflush and cleaned out the coolant system. I now no longer have gunk around my oil cap but I am loosing colant rapidly.

- On Monday I took the car for a drive and everything was fine, with no coolant loss and the oil cap remained clear.

- On Tuesday morning I was drving to work and the engine coolant light started to blink again. When I arrived in work the overflow resevoir was empty (the oil cap was still fine)

- I filled up before drving home again on Tuesday night. Again the light came on and the coolant had disappeared. When I opened the bonet it looked like the coolant had splashed out from the radiator.

- On Tuesday night i drained and flushed the system again and added holts radwell plus to see if this would deal with the leak. I topped up the system again and left the car running at idle for over an hour. There was no loss of coolant at all.

- This morning I was drving into work and again the engine coolant light came on. The resevoir is again empty. On top of this, the heater is blowing cold air rather than warm.

At no stage has the car overheated.

It's a long shot, and the informaton I have provided may be useless, but is anyone familiar with the symptons? I am assuming I'll need a new radiator but I could be completely wrong. Is there anything else I can try or do?

Thanks.

You have described a failing head gasket problem as its the only place for water to dissapear, apart from leaks, is out the exhaust pipe. There are some other things to try first.

1. Compression test, if you don't have a pressure gauge ( One that fits in the spark plug hole) Take it to a garage for them to test.

2. Run engine till hot at a standstill and listen for the electric fan starting up, then check under the car and the hoses for leaks.

3. Have a feel under the car carpets to see if they are wet in the front footwells.

4. While engine is still running and hot have a look to see if white steamy water is coming out of the exhaust.

Start with that and see if anything shows up.