Another coolant loss problem from a newbie

nevhall

Hi peoples.

Hate to be one of those people who only joins a forum when they need something, buts needs must! lol

I've got a Vectra 2.2 estate, recently bought it, and really enjoyed it until now.

It started losing coolant, and I was topping it up once a week or so. No sign of any external coolant leaks so I figured the worst. Breather cap was milky as was the dipstick.

Then, it started to develop a pinking/knocking noise on no1 cylinder after a run of about 20 miles or so.

Anyway, I stipped it yesterday and fitted an new gasket. When I dropped the old oil out there could only of been a couple of litres in it, but no sign of the dreaded white milky stuff. Oil filter was also free of the milky stuff. Also worth noting is that there was no visible damage to the head gasket, only that someone had used a shit load of instant gasket on it!

Anyway, got it running today, and left it idling for 15 mins or so. It still appears to be using coolant and steaming out of the tail pipe a little.

Going to finish my tea and take it out for a run and see if it uses much coolant and if the steaming stops.

Any ideas what else it could be? If it's a cracked head or anything like that, it'll be up for sale so I'll be open to offers! :wink:

jaywanley

possibly maybe a cracked head, as i unforunatly know only too well.is possiblity head may be warped or gasket but since thats new i doubt it but only way ull know if its the head is to have it pressure tested mate. shouldnt cost much to do this heads are available cheap but if you decide replace head only buy one thats been tested.you may be able to see a crack, no 1 and no 4 spark plug holes a prone to cracking (espesh no 4) due to over tightening the plugs this may be the cause. you may be able to see a crack by removing the plugs and looking down with a torch will be a crack around the thread. id personaly get it pressure tested to be sure other then that dunno..

nevhall

Cheers mate. I've been reading old posts on the forum and the cracked head sounds the only possibly option.

Seemed ok when I took it out today, did about 50 miles. Tomorrows work commute will tell for sure. (100 mile round trip)

jaywanley

best thing to do is to run it for 5 or 10 mins and then tun off ignition and remove plugs and check for water in the plug recess or on the top of the piston, on mine there was alot of water in no 1 cylinder even when i syringed it out it soon filled up again n hence had a misfire. jit still ran but obvioulsy sounded like tank and kicked out alot of white smoke when i revved the engine. More then likely is a cracked head maty, alot of ppl seem to have this problem im currently looking my self for a new head or even an engine swap n they aint cheap . could possibly try some rad weld or something like it may hold it a while until can get a new head. seems to b working for me so far but this wont work as a permenant solution but may be a quick fix if crack isnt very big may b worth a try just a suggestion :thumbup:

nevhall

Thanks Jay.
Survived the two days commuting so clock around 200 miles. It's used some coolant but not a lot, unsure whether that's down to air bubbles still escaping or there's still a problem. Time will tell. Thought about getting it ally welded maybe? Depends where the crack is I suppose.

Fingers crossed.

jaywanley

same on mine mate im in process of buying a new head if its cracked around spark plug recess its impossible to weld or repair, is yours misfiring at all or rough running? is there white smoke when you rev from idle and performance? if so itll be crack around spark plug have you ran it and checked in spark plug recess for signs of water ? might not even need to remove plug i thought about maybe using a ali rod bit like brasing to see if helps n then re tap plug hole but as i cnt see crack im not sure itll do the job. :thumbdown:

dan2211

thats exacly what has happedned to mine. Serviced yesterday, plug 1 come out with a bit of oil on it, drove home and coolant pissed out overwhere with misfire.
Got mechanic to look at it today and the recess/cone where the spark plug base sits is cracked. Tiny crack but big enough to empty my coolant.
tried to put a bit of metal weld epoxy in it to see if that will help, if not it looks f*cked!.
why is this happening to a few cars now?

JohnnyN

Overtightening of the plugs won't help from when they were replaced previously I doubt. They should be torqued to 25Nm. This has been an issue raised quite a few times now over the years.

Might be worth a PM to ATOM X. He may be able to help you out regarding a recon head?

(Moved to Cylinder Head section)

;-)

jaywanley

dan2211 said:
thats exacly what has happedned to mine. Serviced yesterday, plug 1 come out with a bit of oil on it, drove home and coolant pissed out overwhere with misfire.
Got mechanic to look at it today and the recess/cone where the spark plug base sits is cracked. Tiny crack but big enough to empty my coolant.
tried to put a bit of metal weld epoxy in it to see if that will help, if not it looks f*cked!.
why is this happening to a few cars now?

ya exactly mate, crack doesnt have to be very big ( mine isnt even visable but is only explanation) plus you can see it slowly leaking around plug. These engines have a few weak spots includint no1 and no 4 cylinder plug recess. also was a prob with the r/h corner cracking at bottom when head bolts over tightened on the earlier engines. best to slightly under tighten the spark plugs when changing them.
Metal epoxy weld will not fix it as crack is way too small, stop leak such as rad weld reduces it but will not stop the leak in head cracks it just slowed mine down so i could still use car to run 3 miles a day to work whilst i get new head. pain these engines are but i have a soft spot for em lol
new head on way tho so be sorted soon 😃