Wheres me coolant gone?

Spellcast

Guest
Sorry guys, the Toledo gremblin has been playing in my engine and I dont know where to post this to gain ur collective wisdom.

The car was serviced and MOT'd last week and went thru with no faults. Hubby went to use it to go to work this morning and came in saying a warning light came on. I went out to have a look for him and its the coolant warning light showing its either too low or too warm.... I stuck my head under the bonnet and had a look and sure enough the coolant is waaaaay under the minimum mark. Admittedly I didnt check it last week as I assumed it wud be checked at the MOT so Im a wee bit concerned its vanished so quickly as last time that happened in another car the head gasket went! :cry::confused:

Any ideas?

Thanks :clap:

xx
 

Viking

Insurance co's are crap.
May 19, 2007
2,317
4
Near Richmond, North Yorks
They don't check the coolant on an mot test so it may have been leaking for some time and you haven't noticed. They might've looked at it on a service but don't expect it really unless they're very trustworthy.

I presume this is the V5 engine you has noted under your username? :shrug: If so, check the oil filler cap for white gunk which would point towards a head gasket failure. Check the bottom of the radiator at the drivers side for any signs of leakage as it's a common failure point.

If you're going to top it up make sure that you use the correct coolant. The stuff you have in should be a pinkish colour so don't just wander off to Halfords and buy cheap bog standard antifreeze as they don't mix. They turn to sludge.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
Fortunately coolant does leave a trail, unless its getting into the engine. Look all over for a pink residure, its usually obvious if its leaked alot.
 

Spellcast

Guest
thanks guys. Yes its the V5 Viking. Ill need to wait till hubby gets back from work so I can have a better look at it.

Ummmm.... Im sure my coolant is yellow thats in there?! Im just trying to remember! We've not had to top it up since we bought it but Im sure its yellow?

I only had time for a quick inspection as hubby had to get away for work but there didnt seem to be any leaking or residue anywhere and I checked the drive after he left and there didnt seem to be any coolant on it.

xx
 

kewe

Active Member
Jun 20, 2001
814
6
Edinburgh
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Wonder if whoever done the service changed the coolant but maybe didn't put enough in?

Hopefully nothing more than that. Although not unheard of, this engine is not renowned for blowing headgaskets which would be a major!
 

Spellcast

Guest
I had a good look over and under yesterday afternoon and cant see any residue anywhere and it all seems clean.... Im stumped! I also checked the oil filler cap... all clean.... pass! Oh and the coolant is yellow- a mate told me that was factory standard and that it wont ever of been changed. AAaaaaarrrrggghhh! Im gonna take it along to Seat 2mrw I think just to be on the safe side. Hubby is talking about selling it and buying something sensible but I know how much he loves it and he spent months searching for this particular model so I really dont want him to sell it. (Ok I really love it too)

xx
 

Ictoanuk

Active Member
Mar 31, 2007
31
0
Hi,

I've recently had a similar loss of coolant on my 150 v5 and it caused a lot of head scratching.

Easiest one to check is the thermostat housing. This is black plastic and has a couple of large water pipes connecting to it plus a sensor. On the 150 it fits onto the gearbox end of the engine next to the coil pack. The plastic can warp over time and lets water leak from the face where it connects to the engine. I replaced this as there was evidence that pink coolant had been leaking and I have had similar problems on two Golfs I've had, but it wasn't the full answer.

The garage were on the verge of replacing the head gasket although I was dubious about it being the problem - steady temperature, no bubbles in water when engine running, coolant system wasn't pressurising, no mayonaise - but by this point I was getting desperate. As they started to take the injection bits etc apart they found the source of the problem, a rubber washer for something that attaches to the head at the very back of the engine, just above the exhaust manifold. It needed a lot of the gubbins over the back to be removed for a 50p washer but since then I haven't had to put any water in.

HTH

Tim
 

meltonlad

Active Member
Mar 21, 2009
391
0
huntingdon
spellcast i had the same prob few weeks ago. i was losing lots of water. it turned out that my water pump was fooked..... even though my temp gauge was showing 90 but i had no warm air..... got pump replaced and all ok now..... i had no signs of coolent leaking anywhere i even ripped half the dash out to check the matrix.
 

symonyssus

Guest
Hello all, I am Spellcast's husband. Here's the low down.

The coolant warning light came on about a week ago upon start up. I stopped the car and checked the level, it looked a tiny bit low, so I tried starting it again and no warning. I drove to work and back and that night I thought the coolant level had dropped a tiny amount. The light never came on again but the level had definitely dropped. I noted in the morning that the hoses and pipes directly under the expansion tank were bone dry but after a 20 minute drive they were glistening. It looks too far up in the engine to be water from the road.

I went to start it tonight and it started fine but the warning light came back on. So I stopped it immediately and we are going to take it in to a SEAT main dealer on Tuesday. I'm crossing my fingers that it is something like a seal, washer or hose that is slowly letting go. There's no gunk in the oil so (fingers exceptionally tightly crossed) that it is not the head gasket.

Anyway, we'll see what SEAT has to say on Tuesday and update you all then!

If it's not one thing it's another, the car in the last 4 months has had 3 cats (1 off the internet which packed up, then they replaced it (still had to pay to have it fitted) then the replacement died then a genuine V5 one for £750 from the dealer. I had to pay for it as no one else could supply a genuine part! Set of front disks and pads, set of rear disks and pads (£400 for the both as was put off buying after market), new front tyres, passenger shock, service, MOT and Tax... and now, well who knows! I love the car to bits but I can't afford to carry on throwing money at it, but then again, would I have any more luck with a Mondeo etc?
 

Viking

Insurance co's are crap.
May 19, 2007
2,317
4
Near Richmond, North Yorks
First place to start would be replace the coolant bottle and cap. It looks as though you've found some evidence of leakage around there and they're fairly prone to leakage I believe. Doesn't cost much, about a tenner plus vat for the part, and you could do it yourself. Then see how it goes.
 

thegooner

Active Member
Oct 14, 2009
59
0
coolant bottle is normally the 1st thing needing changed - shame as you only need the cap.

dont know on the V5 but its not uncommon for the waterpump seal to go allowing it to leak out through there as well
 

symonyssus

Guest
Cheers folks. I'm hoping that it's nothing expensive!!! Do you think if the dealer says it's megabucks I should get a second opinion?
 

symonyssus

Guest
I'm no mechanic, where would the water pump be on a V5 AGZ engine?
 

Viking

Insurance co's are crap.
May 19, 2007
2,317
4
Near Richmond, North Yorks
I would dismiss the idea of a water pump failure until you've fixed the apparent leak on the coolant bottle mate. Also, if your heater still works then your water pump is generally okay.
 

symonyssus

Guest
I live in the north of Scotland, I would have definitely noticed if the heater wasn't working! lol... I've never noticed anything actually coming out, like a drip etc but the hoses were definitely damp, moist after a little driving but were dry before I left... Hopefully just a pin-hole leak...
 

Spellcast

Guest
Thanks for ur suggestions on this guys- its something that we're a wee bit worried about as we really love our car!

xx
 
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