Hello,

    

             i have a petrol Fabia estate estate,110bhp, registered June 2017.       I have just discovered what looks like a possible moulding on the expansion tank that runs from the bottom where the hose comes into the tank to the rim between the two marks.  It could possibly be a crack. I have run my fingers up it and it feels completely  smooth.    I am going away later this month and the last thing I  want is a crack that gets worse and leads to coolant loss. I do carry G13 concentrate   but I want to be out and about on my holiday seeing new  places etc not topping up leaking tanks. 

 

     Could this be related to the sensor that will trigger the warning light if the level drops below the minimum? I apologise if this sounds like a stupid question but I am not remotely  a practical car person so what is obvious to someone else is not obvious to me.  If that is  the case then thats fine, no problem, theres  no need for any action.

 

       Have other Briskodians  who own similar cars from this era   found that their expansion tanks develop cracks? The car is almost 5 years old now and the tank, as far as I know and can see is the original. It has G13 on it as a reminder to use only the correct fluid. If I do have a crack I was thinking of coating it with clear silicon to prevent any problems. That would not look unsightly, would not be a permanent reminder as the white silicon would. Does that seem a sensible fix? If not and  I have no choice but to buy a replacement tank  I dont think they cost a great deal? £30 or  less? The problem for me would be fitting it as I dont have the required mechanical skillset.  So it would have to be fitted by my independent. As far as I can tell that wouldnt be a big job but would it have to involve bleeding to remove air locks and new coolant adding?

 

         I always value the responses I get from my fellow Briskodians who know more than I do to help solve problems. I cant go in to my independent until Monday, after the Bank Holiday and i  go away in two weeks time. I cant supply a photo because, literally, there is nothing to see once I cleaned off the inevitable gunge. I saw it when the gunge was still on it but I dont think a photo would have worked even with it on.

 

 

 

 

 

       

1 hour ago, hetty1 said:

what looks like a possible moulding on the expansion tank

Could you describe the tank itself? Mine is spherical, with the joint line at the midsection diameter. There is no mould line from bottom to top.

It is in the bottom half and goes from where the pipe enters the tank up to the half way line.

 

It is a mould line from when the tank was made.

1 hour ago, hetty1 said:

possible moulding on the expansion tank

 

Have you replied to the last thread you started yet?

 

Thanks, AG Falco

1 hour ago, hetty1 said:

If I do have a crack I was thinking of coating it with clear silicon to prevent any problems. That would not look unsightly, would not be a permanent reminder as the white silicon would. Does that seem a sensible fix?

It's a daft fix to a problem that does not exist.

 

The tank is pressurised, if it had cracked it would be leaking, if it were cracked and leaking then silicone on the outside would be as much use as a chocolate teapot.

 

As has been said you are pprobably seeing/feeling a mould line.

Edited 3 June, 20224 yr by J.R.

To all 3 of you who have replied, thanks very much, looks like its a seam then. Ken, my tank is shaped  like yours, the line only goes halfway to the rim, not all the way bottom to top on both halves. Silly mistake on my part, apologies. JR, I take your point about the silicon, it wouldnt help,  you too feel its a seam/mould line so thats good. AG Falco you have been very clear as you always are  and have described exactly  what I have seen, the  bottom half only, from where the coolant comes in up to the halfway point, I feel relieved. Turning to your question: have I replied to the last thread I started about the oil temperature? I havent yet. I only got back last night from a night away in North Wales last night that was great but everywhere was very busy and I was really tired so hadnt got round to it. Excuses over,  very  happy to reply to you though, I have read all the info you sent me most has been absorbed and I will go back to check it all out again.  I checked the oil temperature 2 or 3 times  after travelling  for at last half an hour or more. The outside temperatures were 17/18 degrees C and the oil temps showed up as 94 and 95 degrees C. If I had been permitted by the North Wales highways authorities to travel at the right speed for the surroundings, ie 70mph,( long stretches of the A5  with no dwellings at all but still restricted to 50mph for some inexplicable reason and very regular speed warning signs)  and the outside temp had been higher I am sure the oil temp would have been high 90s or low 100s.

5 hours ago, hetty1 said:

the line only goes halfway to the rim, not all the way bottom to top on both halves.

That could be a crack then; mine was moulded in top and bottom halves, with no need for a vertical moulding split.

A high resolution (landscape not portrait please) photo, with if possible editing to highlight the possible crack/seam, might save confusion and provide a resolve.