BobfisH

guys, i have a question - i thought the coolant seal had gone on my car, but now im not so sure. The coolant seal DID go, and i fixed it using a sealant type product - did not rebuild the motor. This got rid of the smoking and running on one rotor on startup type problems and car ran great after.

A couple of months down the line, the car started smoking on startup and starting on one rotor again, i also overheated the car on the highway (saw temp was at top of gauge at 80mph, shut engine off straight away and pulled over, opened bonnet and hose from top of AST had popped off and was pissing steam out)

Stupidly, i instantly refilled the car with coolant i had in the trunk (plain distilled water) reconnected the hose and went on my way again. After this i re-did the sealant treatment and the smoking on startup and on rotor went away again.

A couple of weeks later, the car has now started ejecting coolant pretty constantly from the overflow, and will often require topping up on long journeys (30 mins plus) The car also always requires topping up if you run it and let it cool.

The above tells me coolant seal again, however with all those symptoms the car starts PERFECTLY every time, NO smoke, runs on both rotors great from the get go.

Also, to top it off - i havent driven the car in two days, and i went to open the coolant filler cap today - and when i did, coolant came out! There was pressure in the coolant system even though the car had been shut off for two days! This tells me not coolant seal! But somehow, my coolant is being forced into the overflow during driving.

The car has a BRAND NEW (2 days) radiator cap and AST cap, and i even tried the old caps but problem is still the same.

Anyone can think of anything? any hoses to check for blockages that would cause this? im just about too look at the coolant FSM but thought i would check with you guys first.

BobfisH

just a note, the overheating was caused by insufficient coolant in the system caused by it all going out the overflow.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Read this thread and pay attention to the guys like adam_c and mgoddard.

You should probably run a champagne bubble test to see if it's exhaust gases getting into your coolant. Next inspect the coolant overflow tank and hoses for leaks.

Then, you can use a pressure tester to force the leak to show again and trace it down.

I wouldn't be surprised if the stop leak fixes are running out of steam (bad pun).

Dave

BobfisH

Ok thanks, although im not sure what that funnel is they are telling you to use in the coolant test!

I can tell you that sometimes when i remove the coolant cap to fill her up just after starting my journey, it does smell a bit petroley and there is some white smoke hanging around in the filler neck - this indicates to me exhaust gasses and a bad coolant seal, but at the same time - why was my coolant system pressurised after 2 days of having the car shut off?!?!

Oh, and just another Q - what are the implications of plugging/clamping the hose from the AST to the filler to stop the coolant escaping? Will this pose much of a problem?

Thanks for your help.

By the way, the coolant is dripping down from the front corner of the car when it does leak - just around the air channel to the front wheel that continues on from the front splitter (hope that made sense!) It is in the general area of the overflow tank, is the the correct place for it to leak from the overflow?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

Just any funnel will work. I didn't use a funnel at all - I simply wrapped rags around the neck so that the little bit of coolant that pushed up wouldn't make a mess. They say an upside-down plastic 2-liter bottle, taped well to the neck, makes a good funnel and makes the bubbles easy to see.

I don't know what happens if you cut off the overflow system. I imagine that if the pressure has nowhere to go, it will start pushing into the engine, making it harder to start and creating massive coolant smoke.

I think overflow leaks do appear right there in front of the passenger side wheel.

Dave

BobfisH

ok, well ill do the test! 2 litre bottle upturned sounds good; makes sense too.

Yes your correct i believe the pressure will push into the engine too - but i either have some kind of weird *** leak or a coolant seal gone. If i have a leak the water will just be pushed out there and if i have a coolant seal gone the water will go into the engine, which means i get free water injection!

In any case, if it blows the motor who cares - im 99% sure that the irons will be warped anyway as i overheated the car and then instantly refilled it with cold water. Cracked housings anyone? haha.

Thanks for the help, i think my plan now is to inspect all possible hoses i can, do the champagne test and then possible block off my overflow. Id imagine the rad cap would blow befroe any of the hoses do due to pressure.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

If the hoses are original, they can definitely be a weak point. But I don't think that's the cause of your problem - that's just a preventive maintenance item to attack "while you're in there".

Dave