Coolant leaking.. Now head gasket GOOOONE..
I have an issue that I will try and explain as well as I can..
My EA leaks coolant. Not while driving or generally but only after the car has been turned off and about 30 mins or so has passed.
The leak is directly under the radiator. More on the side where the resovior is but still some on the passenger side.
My theory is - once the car is turned off, heat soak sets in and the pressure in the radiator builds up and forces coolant back out the resovior. The only problem with this theory is that I wouldn't think that there would be enough pressure to force the coolant level up an inch or two to the outlet hose. Also even after sitting overnight there is still gas in the resovior which also leads me to believe that there is a gasket leak between the cylinder and a water port somewhere. There is no coolant in the oil but I wouldn't imagine to get coolant in the engine as the pressue in the engine is going to far exceed the coolant system (pressure differentional).
If the radiator was cracked then it would leak constantly right? Or is the pressure build up enough to open a crack that might be there. It doesn't leak much coolant, maybe 500ml or so tops. I can't really see if any fluid comes out of the overflow but it seems to run down the chassis rail into the frame below the radiator and leak in that area.
So do you think this is a cracked head or cracked gasket? Or something else?
A few months ago I had the boucing temp gauge issue which I fixed (maybe) by drilling a thermostat, however I've never had an answer as to why the bouncing occurs. However the more I think about exhaust gases in the coolant the more I think that maybe the temp flucuations was exhaust gases passing the temp sensor, making the readings go haywire. Essentially air pockets created by gases and the temp sensor can't read gas temps.
The car is still driveable however I don't want to go a long way and discover that the car has started to leak and cook the motor. My current trip length is only about 5-10k's so I'm fine in terms of not worrying about running out of coolant. But in any case I've got coolant in the car to top it up - in a Lime cordial bottle, not such a smart thing when I think about it!!!
Thanks for any opinions..
Dan..
I have an issue that I will try and explain as well as I can..
My EA leaks coolant. Not while driving or generally but only after the car has been turned off and about 30 mins or so has passed.
The leak is directly under the radiator. More on the side where the resovior is but still some on the passenger side.
My theory is - once the car is turned off, heat soak sets in and the pressure in the radiator builds up and forces coolant back out the resovior. The only problem with this theory is that I wouldn't think that there would be enough pressure to force the coolant level up an inch or two to the outlet hose. Also even after sitting overnight there is still gas in the resovior which also leads me to believe that there is a gasket leak between the cylinder and a water port somewhere. There is no coolant in the oil but I wouldn't imagine to get coolant in the engine as the pressue in the engine is going to far exceed the coolant system (pressure differentional).
If the radiator was cracked then it would leak constantly right? Or is the pressure build up enough to open a crack that might be there. It doesn't leak much coolant, maybe 500ml or so tops. I can't really see if any fluid comes out of the overflow but it seems to run down the chassis rail into the frame below the radiator and leak in that area.
So do you think this is a cracked head or cracked gasket? Or something else?
A few months ago I had the boucing temp gauge issue which I fixed (maybe) by drilling a thermostat, however I've never had an answer as to why the bouncing occurs. However the more I think about exhaust gases in the coolant the more I think that maybe the temp flucuations was exhaust gases passing the temp sensor, making the readings go haywire. Essentially air pockets created by gases and the temp sensor can't read gas temps.
The car is still driveable however I don't want to go a long way and discover that the car has started to leak and cook the motor. My current trip length is only about 5-10k's so I'm fine in terms of not worrying about running out of coolant. But in any case I've got coolant in the car to top it up - in a Lime cordial bottle, not such a smart thing when I think about it!!!
Thanks for any opinions..
Dan..