Im loosing about 1 / 2mm of coolant from the header tank a week - doing roughly 100 - 200 miles depending on how much Im using the car. There is a noticeable drop from weekend to weekend when I check the car. No muck in the oil filler cap - or on the dipstick. No noticeable leaks. I have done 100+ miles today and checked it over when I got back. I released the coolant header cap and it released pressure which appeared to be a good sign, however the level in the tank rose - by a few inches? Is that normal? It then gradually lowered, and I ran the engine to clear any air locks. There was a lot of gurgling hence why I ran the engine.

The car seem to perform well, slight exhaust smoke when it was idling in the damp earlier - but none when I got back home and it was dry. :wonder:

Any help appreciated.

the rise in it is normal as the noise is too,I bet your water pump is weeping....have you had cam belt done?if so did they do water pump?

the rise in it is normal as the noise is too,I bet your water pump is weeping....have you had cam belt done?if so did they do water pump?

Cheers for the advice The cam belt was done over 20K ago and the pump wasn't done (it was on 55K at the time), roughly two years ago remembering off the top of my head! Will I be able to see it weeping? Im thinking of taking it to France in July so I want it to be in top nick ready for the trip, which I think will be approx 3K of driving.

Just a bit of an update on this - its still going down gradually. Is the Water pump the one I have pictured (bottom pulley where you can see fluid / oil around the edge? It seems to have a damp film of something around it.

Edited 18 May, 201115 yr by richardsfavorit

1.6 8v engine?? AKL code?? water pump is driven by cambeltso its not the one you have in your pic above

Yeah its the 1.6 8v - BFQ engine code though. I was thinking it was the lower pulley if any. :wonder:

if the water pump leaks it usually comes out just below that large bottom pulley and you should see a pink stain from the antifreeze.

rads do leek sometimes (and sometimes cured by a simple flush thru with water and fresh antifreeze as the origional stuff goes thin after a while)

if the water pump leaks it usually comes out just below that large bottom pulley and you should see a pink stain from the antifreeze.

rads do leek sometimes (and sometimes cured by a simple flush thru with water and fresh antifreeze as the origional stuff goes thin after a while)

Cheers Jim I will have more of a look underneath tomorrow evening. I was debating about the radiators as there seemed to be some staining on the plastic towards the front of the car. I cleaned it up and it hasn't re-occurred since.