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Where has my coolant gone

28K views 33 replies 9 participants last post by  1stopel 
#1 ·
Strange yesterday high temp warning came on stopped and had to put around 4 litres water in no apparant leaks and no contamination in oil or sludge in and around oil filler cap. Don't really drive far as I'm retired and sort of carer for my Linda. Any idea anyone, I'm taking it into dealer as it's only just over a year old.
 
#4 ·
Get it back to the dealers. Coolant just doesn't disappear and there is only one of two ways it can go! It's either leaking it or burning it.
4 litres is a lot to have to top up. Does it smoke at all when it's from a cold start or during driving that you've noticed?

Short journeys can ruin car engines over time but I'd not expect any issues with just 11k on the clock.

If they look it over and can't find anything, I would be tempted to take it on a good run and use the entire rev range to get everything nice and hot. Then check the coolant levels the day after and see if they've dropped again.
 
#5 ·
Thanks mattb for that advice no it doesn't smoke when warm I think it does put some out when first started. To be fair the dealer tech said get it in asap for a check. Just can't get my head around we're it's gone.
1 no contamination in oil, to the best of my knowledge.
2 can't see any leaks.
3 doesn't show disturbance in header tank.
Summing up baffled
 
#6 ·
Another possibility is a hairline crack in the head gasket or the engine block.

When the engine is cold, the crack can seal itself (so no water reaches the oil pan while the car is idle). Then, when the engine gets warm, it 'activates', and a small quantity of water turns to steam in the affected cylinder - in warm weather this would be invisible, in cold weather there would be only slightly increased steam level on the tailpipe. Then over a period of sufficient time, the coolant level is found to have dropped ...

I believe dealerships or other service points can make pressure tests on the coolant circuit, maybe they can do this with a warm engine and can look for small leaks.
 
#7 ·
The George
Yep that's what an old techie neighbour said but he thought it would show white vapour, well it used to in the cold weather three months ago but I asked the dealer to check and he said all ok. But I'm taking it into the dealer tomorrow.
 
#9 ·
Trouble is Susan I'm not sure if it's the rad, this motor had a turbo which is water cooled so the leaks could be in that the head, water pump etc etc. I'm taking it in tomorrow as I'm sure with it being just over one year old it'll have warranty left on it. One curious thing though the header tank cap just screws around it doesn't lock down tight but this might be normal ?
 
#11 ·
Well firestone I'm beginning to regret trading in my little old very reliable Agila. Funny looking in the showroom at the new Vauxhalls an old guy said they are getting mucho to complex and he may be right. I've always been a motorcyclist and always dreamed of having a beemer now I have one ( second hand) I'm finding they are not the reliable pot of gold I once thought.
 
#12 ·
Indeed - I miss the simplicity of my old 53 plate Corsa 1.2 and wish I'd kept it now, so easy to take to bits and repair myself!

I'm tempted to try and find a decent example for sale locally even the late SXI+ models (56 seems to be the newest I can find) seem to be going for no more than £700 now.
 
#13 ·
Fishy23 said:
Trouble is Susan I'm not sure if it's the rad, this motor had a turbo which is water cooled so the leaks could be in that the head, water pump etc etc. I'm taking it in tomorrow as I'm sure with it being just over one year old it'll have warranty left on it. One curious thing though the header tank cap just screws around it doesn't lock down tight but this might be normal ?
No it is not normal! It should screw down tight!
Radweld is not just for rads despite the name . It is most effective in small cracks in blocks and core plugs. In fact modern rads are not easy to plug and you already know its not leaking externally. Vauxhall used to put in a small brown block in the rad - looked like a dog turd - in every new built car to finish off the assembly job specifically for cracks and joints. Talking about 1960/70s!
Anyway not for warranty cars unless the dealer does it.
 
#14 ·
Fishy23 said:
Well firestone I'm beginning to regret trading in my little old very reliable Agila. Funny looking in the showroom at the new Vauxhalls an old guy said they are getting mucho to complex and he may be right. I've always been a motorcyclist and always dreamed of having a beemer now I have one ( second hand) I'm finding they are not the reliable pot of gold I once thought.
Don't regret it. They've added such features to extend oil life and engine life. Turbos put a lot of heat in the oil which will make it degrade alot faster and deposit a lot of carbon residue inside the engine if it's not cooled. Think of those french 1,6 liter diesel engines, they kill one turbo after another. One of the main problems on those engines is that the oil is not cooled.
But i agree, new cars have some complex electronics.
 
#15 ·
Well the dealer's tech spoke to me, he found a split hose under header tank. Funny I kept looking under the motor even had some news paper to check for drips and nothing, but there we go. Any of you guys know if I should ask them to change the oil in-case turbo running hot could have cooked it ( the oil that is) somewhat or am I being pedantic??
Thanks for all you comments anyways.
 
#17 ·
I Will borrow this topic.

In april i had car accident with my 1 month old corsa. Car was crashed on front right side. After repair i have second time now that coolant liquid was gone and splashed under hood. They found one crack so Will change damaged hose.
First time temperature went to 130'C, second time to 110'C.

Technican told me that on newer cars engine can't overheat so no damage was done.
Should i belive them.
Otherwise car was visibly repaired ok, no color difference, equal spacing on hood, bumper,... and driving normaly.
 
#18 ·
1stopel, the 130 - 110 deg.C coolant temperatures means the engine was overheating ...

Now the 1.4t engine with it's start/stop technology, may be a little more tolerant of a FEW temperature excursions. I believe I red somewhere it has some special self-lubricating seals and bushings in the engine (or it traps some oil), to minimize engine wear over the frequent start/stops.

This may be the reason the engine is still 'driving normally'. However I would also do the following quick things (if not done already), for peace of mind:

* Replace engine oil and oil filter. Do it Yesterday. The 110 - 130 deg.C temperature excursions may have very well degraded what oil was in the engine and continued operation may rapidly wear the engine out, even if now it 'feels' normal. Some soot or debris can have been generated also, resulting in partially clogged oil filter.
* If the crash was big enough to crack stuff on the inside of the engine compartment, do a wheel alignment check, just to be sure the chassis geometry was not affected.
 
#19 ·
Yes I think it's important to change oil and filter, I've told the tech at the garage I'd feel happier with having the oil changes but perhaps I should have said change the oil. Techs as I know (I was one once and worked in the fishing industry) some times cut corners because of time and pressure constraints. The biggy for me why would a hose split after 12k miles and just over a year old???
 
#20 ·
TheGeorge i Will told them to change oil and filter. They told me when ''new'' car is heating it limits to 2500 revvs and won't allow engine to overheat. I also saw on board computer that 'ESP'?? or aircon sistem is off and engine turn off warnings.
I told them 130 and 110'C is a lot to be without any damage. They said if anything goes wrong even if waranty expire they Will urge to opel and Will repeare any damage.
 
#25 ·
One last point from me the OP has anyone noticed the high tick over. Well on my corsa E 1.0T its nearly 1k which equates to just over 30mph with my foot off the throttle in 6th gear. Bit disconcerting when my old Agila would not pull in top at tickover but would slow to crawl and stall (if you let it) must say I'm becoming less enamoured with these new breeds of car. Reminds me of the latest generation of motorcycles to complex for words any prob with brakes engine etc and because its canbus linked to every control, you can do next to nothing regarding servicing yourself. ( I've 45 years with my motorcycles and serviced the lot myself until I bought a three year old BM as well as being an engineer in fishing industry. Where have we gone wrong, look at the emissions scams to see where the industry is headed.
 
#26 ·
Fishy23 said:
One last point from me the OP has anyone noticed the high tick over. Well on my corsa E 1.0T its nearly 1k
Is that from a cold start? If so, I can understand it for the first minute or so, but from a warm start it shouldn't really be any higher than 800rpm. I have the 1.4T, and from cold, the boost takes the revs up to circa 1k, but they drop back to 800 'ish inside of 15 seconds....on warm start they never get up to 1k :shock:
 
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