Losing Coolant

AndyJ

Hi folks, hope you're well...not been on here for a while! :wave:

I noticed a couple of weeks ago that my coolant had dropped to about half way which i thought was strange as it never normally goes down. Anyway, I topped it up to just over full with water as i didn't have any anti-freeze and over the last fortnight it has lost just over an inch i recon, maybe two. I haven't noticed any white smoke while i'm driving or any leaks. There is white smoke on start-up in the morning but that soon goes away so I just put that down to condensation. My engine seems to get up to temperature quicker than normal but I assume that's because of the weather being quite warm at the moment? dunno..

Has anyone got any idea what it might be? Could it just be the coolant evaporating with the heat? To be honest whenever i've topped it up...which is very rarely, i've used water. I'm going to buy some ready mixed stuff from Halfrauds today and use that, hopefully that will make a difference.

I'm just a bit worried that my head gasket is on its way out? Would any half decent garage be able to run their eye over it to see if there's anything wrong?

Cheers :thumbup:

dodger

have you checked your oil recently, if water is getting into the oil you will get mayonaise (white gunk) on the dipstick which might give you a clue if the headgasket is going.

How many mile has the Astra done?

AndyJ

Yeah i always check my oil because i've got a leak coming from the crank which i need to keep an eye on...planning on getting that fixed soon when i get the chain done! There's no mayo on the dip stick or under the filler cap. Its only got circa 78k on the clock which isn't bad for its age (2001).

It seems to go down quicker when the weather is hot. It was roasting yesterday and the coolant level dropped quite a bit.

vocky

possibly a small hole in the radiator dunno..

AndyJ

Yeah could be but i've not noticed anything...guess i'll juist have to keep my eye on it for the moment. notsure.gif

AndyJ

Right, I've had another look and its leaking from somewhere on the right hand side of the engine. I noticed a small pool under my car, beneath the offside wheel, i jacked it up and could see it dripping from around thw wishbone. I can;t tell where it's coming from though dunno..

Anyone have any ideas? Could it be my waterpump that's knackered?

I'll post a pic up in a bit when i work out how to do it!

AndyJ

That's the size of the puddle from the coolant. Like i said it dripping from undernearth the wishbone, that sort of area. It's hard to tell where it's coming from because i've also got an oil leak from the crank which has pretty much covered everything on that side with oil and crud 🙁

AndyJ

Turns out its my water pump that's leaking according to the garage that's looking at it today. At least its not my cylinder head that's cracked!

Am i likely to need a new water pump or would another seal suffice? The garage have never done the water pump on a 2.2 before so they're waiting to hear back from Vauxhall on what's required and how long it will take before they give me a price. I'm getting my chain done by Benny in a couple of weeks soi think i'll ask him if he can do my water pump too :thumbup:

JohnnyN

Benny would be your best bet to do at the same time if you can wait. I hear that changing the pump is a pig.

vocky

you need the water pump locking tool to fit the water pump, best get Benny to do the lot :thumbup:

AndyJ

The garage said the book time is three hours but openly admitted they hadn't done one before...I'd heard it was a ball ache so i think it would probably take them longer than that!

I've dropped Benny a PM so hopefully he can sort it for me :thumbup:

Is it worth getting the balance chain done at the same time? To be honest, I'm looking to get a new car within the next 12 months so I wasn't going to bother but if someone tells me that these are also prone to failing then i may also get it replaced just to be on the safe side.