Hi guys.

Last week i topped up the tank to max. Today i starts car up to head for work and the light on dash beeped to signal coolant.

So quickly checked level before i set off. And level was below min mark. So checked pipe below tank and under car for any leaks and nothing. Even checked oil fill cap to see if any crud in there but nothing.

Its not normal for the level of coolant to drop that much within a week is it?.

Any ideas?

No i would suggest not, probably got a leak. Worst case scenario is your headgasket is failing/ has failed... I would fill it up again and check for leaks after every drive.

 

If you have a leak you obviously need to repair it, if you can't see a leak then I would take it into your local garage right away.    

 

Either way, taking into your local garage for them to check out is probably your best option :-)

No it is not normal, so you are losing coolant.

 

First thing is do not fill it to MAX, 

fill to between MIN & MAX and mark that line with a Marker.

Radiator thermoswitch and that bottom nearside corner of the radiator seem to be common leak-points. Grab a torch and look for pink stains in that area.

 

Also; try taking the cap off the expansion tank first thing tomorrow morning, before you start it up.  Hope not to hear a hiss of escaping gas.

Radiator thermoswitch and that bottom nearside corner of the radiator seem to be common leak-points. Grab a torch and look for pink stains in that area.

Also; try taking the cap off the expansion tank first thing tomorrow morning, before you start it up. Hope not to hear a hiss of escaping gas.

Ill have a look in that area once its stopped raining.

My car is going in for timing belt change and waterpump soon. Is it poss water has leak from that area

Take the plastic under tray off and see if it has any water marks on it

Take the plastic under tray off and see if it has any water marks on it

I took it off last week as was getting round to replacing dogbone mount. No water marks or stains on it.

Might be worth checking the sound proofing/carpet stuff at the bulkhead where the two aluminium pipes go in to the heater matrix (assuming you have a VRS). If you sprout a leak here it won't drip as the material soaks it up. Granted it sounds like you may have a more prominent leak but always worth a check.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

When mine was leaking i also purchased one of the UV dye kits off ebay that came with a UV torch, showed me exactly where i was leaking.

When mine was leaking i also purchased one of the UV dye kits off ebay that came with a UV torch, showed me exactly where i was leaking.

Lol what an obvious an brilliant idea. Never seen them but will certainly remember that for the future!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

When mine was leaking i also purchased one of the UV dye kits off ebay that came with a UV torch, showed me exactly where i was leaking.

Can you send me a link?

Thanks [emoji4]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UV-Dye-UV-Torch-Kit-Leak-Detection-Dye-For-Cooling-Antifreeze-System-RLD2-Ring-/230723938073?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35b837e719

 

 

I got warned that it could clog the coolant up but it never did, once the leak was fixed the system was flushed and re filled anyway

I don't know if this would perhaps do a similar function?

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=261922447487&alt=web

sent from my Note 4 using Tapatalk.

probably the same, i used the kit i have linked and worked well

Ill have a look in that area once its stopped raining.

My car is going in for timing belt change and waterpump soon. Is it poss water has leak from that area

Water pump can leak,and sometimes leak a small enough amount you don't get any drips off the engine,it evaporates on the hot engine before it has chance to drip off.

Whatever you do don't waste your money getting belt done until you've found your leak,as if it's head gasket the belt will be coming off anyway

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UV-Dye-UV-Torch-Kit-Leak-Detection-Dye-For-Cooling-Antifreeze-System-RLD2-Ring-/230723938073?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item35b837e719

I got warned that it could clog the coolant up but it never did, once the leak was fixed the system was flushed and re filled anyway

Thanks, did you use as they suggested running engine at 2k for 20mins. Wonder is that needed, I could just drive as normal and check in a day or day?

Thanks, did you use as they suggested running engine at 2k for 20mins. Wonder is that needed, I could just drive as normal and check in a day or day?

 

I Just drove around with mine

I Just drove around with mine

Thanks! Did you look for the leak at night or was the torch good enough to look during the day?

Did it when it was dark.

Thought id update this.

Had the waterpump and belt changed today.

Turns out the pump had been leaking bad enough to cause that dip in coolant level.

Garage said there was no other issues ie headgasket.

I did the right thing getting everything replaced as left any longer there was chance pump could of failed along with belt.

Not to bad in the end then

When your engine is cold, unscrew the cap on the header tank and see if the level comes back up before you go investigating leaks.

When your engine is cold, unscrew the cap on the header tank and see if the level comes back up before you go investigating leaks.

read the posts he's solved it

Just a generic how-to-check-your-coolant post but thank you for pointing that out to me and not making me feel small at all.

I've got same problem at this minute, mines in garage at the min I'll update you on what it was