Coolant loss

Mryo25

Hi Guys,

I'm losing coolant and every few days I keep needing to top it up, I'm also getting a loss of power, I put my foot down in second gear and usually it is an instant response but now it takes like a second or two before it really moves.

I havn't seen white smoke or any smoke from the exhaust. I cannot see bubbling in the coolant tank. 

Any ideas?

Car is an 13 plate Astra GTC with 51k Miles on the clock.

DUTR

Still sounds possibly like the cylinder head gasket failing.

Mryo25

It's so weird. I've even checked the radiator cap and their is no white stuff either.

The_Fat_Controller

Can you see a coolant leak or is it just disappearing ?
The emulsion will be under the OIL filler cap !
Sounds eminently like a failed head gasket.
Stop driving it before it goes bang.

Mryo25

Nothing under the oil filler cap.

AdrianC

Other thread - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6125131/hp-car-faulty

murrays2

Emulsion under the oil filler cap can be from condensation, and should not be used as a measure to judge whether HGF is imminent.

Now if you checked the dipstick - took it out, wiped it and checked the level. If it is normal oil colour then its unlikely to be HGF. If its chocolate milkshake colour it isn't a good sign.

The loss of power is a concern as this is a symptom of HGF, but before worrying about that I would check your dipstick. If everything is ok then coolant is not leaking into your oil. Which is a good sign but you aren't in the clear yet.

The coolant system is a closed system, if it isn't going into the oil its either being burned off - you would notice it, or its getting out via the tank as the cap is no longer pressurising it properly.

For the sake of a few pounds I would replace the cap first of all.

TychoTMA

If you can get hold of some litmus paper, exhaust gas getting in to the coolant makes it increasingly acidic
(CO2-> carbonic acid).

Ectophile

Another possibility is a slow leak when under pressure.  The system only pressurises when it's hot.  If the water is only leaking out onto something that's hot, it may be evaporating away without ever dripping onto the road below.

Mryo25

Hi everyone,
I took this to Halfords under warranty. What they found was attonishing. 
 
They found 5 leaks coming from the engine. The chap at the garage said he's never seen anything like it. He said the car clearly has some kind of pressure issue that has caused all these leaks and that it was going to cost mega mega bucks to fix everything. The car came with 50k miles and it has only done a couple of hundred since I've had it, he said these sorts of leaks would generally be associated with high mileage cars. He said he could spend 3 grand on the cars and couldn't confidentiality say it would fix the issue. He also said that the warranty company wouldn't even get involved because of how recent the purchase date of the car was.

There was crystallizing of the coolant under the cars that they say is historical.

Also said that under the bonnet had been steam cleaned and that their was evidence of rats eating away at some of the fray of the wires. He said to immediately return the vehicle.

Notified the dealer last night and asked for him to repair of refund, he complained they have this all the time with Halfords and that he would make enquiries for another garage to check it. 

Personally I feel Halfords have no reason to lie about what they found, they didn't charge me for a diagnostic despite having the car for 3 hours. 

AdrianC

Ectophile said:

Another possibility is a slow leak when under pressure.  The system only pressurises when it's hot.  If the water is only leaking out onto something that's hot, it may be evaporating away without ever dripping onto the road below.

I've had this in the past - a small crack in the header tank. Fill it, and it'd drop quickly, but only to a certain point, then it'd drop no further. Because the crack was part-way up... The crack was invisible with the tank in the car. It sprayed straight at the water pump, leaving a tell-tale on that. Yes, I did replace the water pump thinking that was leaking...

I only spotted it by accident with the bonnet up, engine running, and hot enough to have the rad fan on - there was a VERY fine jet, almost invisible.