kaisar1

its first time ever, that i had to put half a glass of water in the main radiator tank. Milage after i bought this FD has increased to 3000 miles approx to what it had from its previous owner.

the place i live at has severe colds and hot summers. Now a days the temp is -3 C.

Should i be worrying?

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

Your 7 shouldn't consume water at all.

How long have you owned it? When's the last time the coolant was flushed? How many miles on the motor?

Have you noticed any wet spots under the car? Maybe it has a slow leak.

kaisar1

I imported it back in Oct 2007, and it had 108709 kms/ 68000 miles on it. Engine was perfect and had no rebuilt history and i did compression test as it arrived. Its bone stock and the motor had NO probs at all. Took it for a dyno test and it was producing optimum hp as it should, stated in Manual. My FD is auto and im not someone who keeps flooring it everytime i drive it cause its my DD, having said that i drive it like i should be driving a family sedan. Never went above 5000 rpms cause most of the times the Auto tranny shifts at that rpm range to the next gear.

I keep changing oil on a regular basis and that is under 1000 miles. Never have i ever seen water level going down from the neck of the filler tank. Its just today it had consumed 100 ml approx, i filled it with coolant i had later.

i never felt that coolant should be flushed as it seemed fresh, and it never down from its Max level.

If its consuming water, whatelse could be the prob other than a water leak?

Karl573

The other possibility is that your coolant seals are in the process of going out. I would hope it's just a leak. Try to find a leak.

kaisar1

SCARY!!!!

well if its minor and it leaks as in steam, it would be harder to find a leak that drops the water level only 100ml in 3000 miles.

AHarada

iTrader: (25)

Did you notice this since the weather has been very cold? Coolant will expand when hot and contract when cold, so it could just be the weather.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

I believe the overflow tank is what handles that.

Dave

kaisar1

i checked it 15 mins after a 10 mile drive. Engine was still hot.

My concerns are, half a glass of water that it consumed in 3000 miles shoudnt be a big problem, or is it? Or is it just the begining of the END!!! i hope not

rexhvn

It could be as simple as air in the system... I had that issue when I flushed my coolant... didn't burp the system properly and water levels were low, had to refill here and there, light would come on, then go off... but know its fine...

kaisar1

like i told, water level was full when i got my hands on it. And after driving for 4 months and adding 3000 miles, its the first time ever it made me to refill it back to full.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Check and/or replace your coolant caps. Other than that, just monitor ALL your fluids and drive the car. If there really is a coolant seal problem, there's nothing you can do about it now aside from a rebuild. So just drive the car, do your usual inspections every so often, top of whatever needs to be topped off and enjoy. If you aren't setting off a smoke screen thick enough to hide 2 or 3 army platoons then don't over react.

SLOASFK

iTrader: (5)

It's highly recomended to redline the car every once in a while. For a DD, I'd say you should redline it in 3rd(or 2nd if you don't have the running room) as often as once a day or as little as once a month, after it's warmed up of course. Carbon buildup can kill your motor just as easily as anything else.

If the water level was fine yesterday and suddenly dropped today, I'd start checking for water under the car. Like Mahjik suggested, start by replacing your coolant caps, then start inspecting your radiator--especially the plastic end tanks-- and your hoses.
A good rule of thumb is, regardless of how much you drive the car, the coolant should be flushed anually. See here for an example of Rich's father, who only left the coolant in for 5 years. You can see that the damage began long before the motor finally gave up.
As stated above, it could be a coolant seal. I didn't want to get you all worked up over something that could be as basic as a loose worm clamp on a coolant hose, but it does seem symptomatic of the early stages of coolant seal failure.

kaisar1

No smoke yet. i will change the coolant caps for sure, but im thinking that where would i find a coolant cap that has no spring attached to it. The only caps i can find here are conventional caps with reserviour tank spring thing (whatever you call it).

kaisar1

oh, i didnt knew that. Sure will do it now.

i havent had checked water level in last 2 weeks. i will sure look for leaks now. i drove the car another 40 miles with flooring it time to time whenever i got chance, between my first post and this post. As it was refilled i checked the coolant level again that is at its full mark now.

i will check it again tomorrow morning and i hope it stays where it should be.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

You should be able to do a search on the web, or look around local for "STANT" radiator caps.

kaisar1

So NoWay i can put a regular cap with that spring thing in it?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

You can. STANT makes all types of caps. Just go to their site and see all the various caps they make.

ScrappyDoo

iTrader: (7)

Have the system pressure tested. Pressure testing has found external leaks for me everytime I have had a coolant loss issue regardless of rotary or piston. Just keep your fingers crossed that it is not an internal issue.