Octavia head gasket/coolant

[Octaviamk3]

Evening guys,

 

Got an issue with my 2016 Octavia, 184 Diesel. 131k. I've been loosing coolant recently, around 0.5L every couple of hundred miles. Changed the cap, no signs of leaks. I put some paper under the overflow/overpressure relief of the expansion tank and it did have a wet spot after a drive out. 

 

As it seems the tank is over pressuring and relieving, all I can think of is the head gasket has gone. The coolant is still a redish colour, no mayo under the oil cap. With the cap off the expansion tank, the level doesn't rise and fall when the engine is running, or bubble. Before I go to a garage, is there anything else it could be, a search doesn't really bring up any answers online.

 

Thanks in advance.

[NikTheGeek]

Buy a pressure test kit, some UV dye and a sniff test kit. It will always come in handy again and it will tell you if you have a leak or head gasket failure and if its a leak, where it is. Also, depending where you take it, you should be able to get it checked for free.

[pist0nbr0ke]

Has water pump been replaced? See sticky at top of this forum...

[Stuart-h]

Mine is doing the same! Ive had my local garage do a pressure test at 2 bar and a uv test. Still cant find the leak!

[Octaviamk3]

7 minutes ago, Stuart-h said:

Mine is doing the same! Ive had my local garage do a pressure test at 2 bar and a uv test. Still cant find the leak!

 

Is yours leaking from the overflow of the expansion tank?

 

1 hour ago, pist0nbr0ke said:

Has water pump been replaced? See sticky at top of this forum...

 

Yes it has, its not loosing it via the water pump, the expansion tank is over pressuring, skoda just think its the radiator though, well suspect, nothing to do with the tank over pressurising apparently  

[Stuart-h]

Mine isn't!

[Octaviamk3]

5 hours ago, Stuart-h said:

Mine isn't!

 

Egr cooler, inlet cooler?

 

[Stuart-h]

I’ve got no idea. Not even the garage I use can find the leak!

[Oldmansomerset]

Sounds like the head gasket possibly.   On first start up from really cold, do you get any steam - white smoke from the exhaust?

[Steveyboy]

On 13/03/2019 at 19:37, Octaviamk3 said:

Evening guys,

 

Got an issue with my 2016 Octavia, 184 Diesel. 131k. I've been loosing coolant recently, around 0.5L every couple of hundred miles. Changed the cap, no signs of leaks. I put some paper under the overflow/overpressure relief of the expansion tank and it did have a wet spot after a drive out. 

 

As it seems the tank is over pressuring and relieving, all I can think of is the head gasket has gone. The coolant is still a redish colour, no mayo under the oil cap. With the cap off the expansion tank, the level doesn't rise and fall when the engine is running, or bubble. Before I go to a garage, is there anything else it could be, a search doesn't really bring up any answers online.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi. Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have the same symptoms as yourself and got the water pump replaced 2 weeks ago.

[Octaviamk3]

On 24/03/2019 at 20:33, Steveyboy said:

 

Hi. Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have the same symptoms as yourself and got the water pump replaced 2 weeks ago.

 

Hi

 

Yes, replaced the EGR cooler and its all good now.

[Ubaid]

On 13/03/2019 at 19:37, Octaviamk3 said:

Evening guys,

 

Got an issue with my 2016 Octavia, 184 Diesel. 131k. I've been loosing coolant recently, around 0.5L every couple of hundred miles. Changed the cap, no signs of leaks. I put some paper under the overflow/overpressure relief of the expansion tank and it did have a wet spot after a drive out. 

 

As it seems the tank is over pressuring and relieving, all I can think of is the head gasket has gone. The coolant is still a redish colour, no mayo under the oil cap. With the cap off the expansion tank, the level doesn't rise and fall when the engine is running, or bubble. Before I go to a garage, is there anything else it could be, a search doesn't really bring up any answers online.

 

Thanks in advance.

Hi. Mine is same. Coolant after couple of hours is leak some where and I fill again and again. Any solution please let me know. Thanks 

[Cactusjack]

Could be blown head gasket, leak in egr cooler as above or charge air cooler, or at worst a cracked cylinder head...

 

If there's definitely no leaks visible on the outside of the engine, or no coolant/oil mixing then it's getting into the exhaust gas from one of the coolers, or a gasket fault from water jacket to exhaust, or a crack inside a cylinder to the exhaust manifold...

 

Buy a sniff check kit from Amazon/eBay and let it run at temperature for a while, a small leak will show eventually if you have one! I had a hairline crack in number 2 cylinder on my VRS TDI and would need to refill the expansion tank every few hundred miles, it never overheated but would blow the exhaust gas temperature sensor in the manifold overy so often, I lived with it for almost a year!

[varaderoguy]

It's also potentially the cap to the header tank failing. Might be worth changing it out for a new cap to see if that stops it blowing coolant out of the overflow.

[RoddersUK]

Urgh, my 2.0tsi MK3 seems to be consuming some coolant.

 

I'm sure it used to sit at max, I noticed it was down mid way to min, so I topped up the other week, now it's down again.