macerena :? :? :? Yes it is........... My vectra 'b' is partial to drinking the coolant and i must admit that i am lost and surprised that there seems to be a trend with this engine type for either cracking on the heads or possibly blocks from what i have managed to garnish from reading other forums and speaking to people. Anyway i thought that i would ask you fine people for ways to sort this out or to give me a way forward with it. i have used wynn's coolant stop as a temp fix for the last 4 weeks but have had to flush the system out with it as after leaving the car idle for a week due to the temp climbing too high for my liking. not to 100 but it was getting there and the fan was cutting in far more than usual. The car now has had another dose of the wynn's again as i will be using it daily and am aware of the temp issue should it resurfacei will monitor it for futher leaking i am using a unipart coolant diluted down to about a 50% coolant & 50% water mix so is this correct or should i use some other coolant mix???????????.. Also when you start the car in the morning you get some water out of the exhaust initially. It's not a massive amount but again i have noticed it and thought it worthwhile mentioning. So guy's & girl's, do you have any idea's that could help me out. i know that i would appreciate them, thanks, macerena
Daz MIne uses a bit too...but i have got asmall leak at the waterpump,coolant seems to be seeping out from the lower mouting bolt,so worth a peek i wud say
vocky the coolant mix is fine 🙂 water from the exhaust when cold is normal too 🙂 keep an eye on the engine temp and water level dunno..
macerena partial to the coolant: continued hi again, i ended up chucking in some wynn's leakstop stuff and this has reduced the rate of leakage to a topup every 650-750 miles now. i still have not the foggiest as to what is actually leaking but neverless i can live with that amount. the engine temps and levels seem to be going ok with the fan only needing to cut in now in traffic after you have been sitting there for a while but that is normal. Would the water pump allow coolant to leak into the oil and is it a easy job to replace and/or does anyone know how much parts would be and approx about if taken to garage for them to do????. hopefully one of you fine people will be able to avail me to the answers to my queries, thanks again, macerena
JohnnyN If you've got water leaking into the oil/engine, your oil will turn into a thick creamy white substance that looks like mayonaise. :roll:
macerena and there's more when the coolant was leaking internally quite a lot the oil filler cap had the residue you mentioned and when the level was dipped you had a small amount of mayo just above/around the graduation marks but the lower end of the dipstick was coated in un-mayo-ed oil. i can only think that the moisture was driven out of the oil quickly. once the wynn's leakstop was put in the mayo disappearred quickly although i had to top up the oil to the correct level. i still am scratching my head over it though, any idea's or flashes of inspiration are welcome, cheers, macerena
vocky if water is getting into the oil it sounds like a cracked head 🙁 but it could be the head gasket or water pump :? might be an idea to get a garage to check it out dunno.. if the rad weld stuff works then keep using it, not really the answer but the cheapest option for now :roll:
macerena Cheers Vocky, i don't suppose you have any idea of ballpark figures that i would be looking at for the various different scenario's. head is obviously going to cost a packet, are they repairable if cracked or just get a new one type thing? the water pump is that dear or/and an easy job or is it another of those one's that require a garage visit. i have changed one on a previous car but that was reasonable easy as you could see it and it was a simple nuts and bolts job. i don't mind having a go at the end of the day but if specialist tools are needed then it is a garage for me. the wynn's leak stopper is doing fine but as you said it is not ideal and i would rather find out what i wrong and get the problem solved permenantly, thanks for your time on this, regards, macerena
vocky head, if cracked, is scrap 🙁 £550 brand new from the dealer, but it's a bare head and everything will need swapping over :roll: water pump requires a special tool, but is then a diy option 🙂
macerena cyl head or and gasket???? Been down to my local garage to see what they thought and unamious concensous was that it was in all likelyhood the head. the man in garage got his father who has been fixing cars for about 35 years out for a second opinion and could hear it miss once on starting then ran ok. looking like it will be going in next week for them to have a good look and or stripdown as the wynn's is fighting a losing battle to keep the coolant in. so by the end of next week i will either be a tad upset and seriously lighter in my pocket or in the worse case scenario carless whilst i source another engine. Any idea's on where is best to go and if it is worth fitted a new cam chain prior to fitting another lump in. are there any other things that i should look at????????? anyway next week is crunch week so here goes, cheers, macerena