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  • Renault K7M - Oil Degradation 27 Jan 2012 (Forum)
    The oil in my engine appears to be suffering premature oxidation (indicated by low Interfacial Tension in contact with water).  I don't think the cause is overheating. This leads me to suspect that there is a coolant leak into the crankcase and the glycol based antifreeze is oxidising the oil. The coolant does require topping up occasionally. The problem is that I can't find any evidence of coolant in the oil (from Blotter spot tests and the crackle test).
  • Audi A4 Avant 1.8T - b6 A4 coolant loss 28 Sep 2010 (Forum)
    Good morning. The issue concerns my wife's 04 plate avant. She informs me she is regularly topping up the coolant system... WITH WATER FROM THE TAP. I have searched the Internet, done the relevant here, lifted the bonnet and uncovered what I believe to be the cause of my problem. I just need one final piece of information to be able to source and or fit the correct part.
  • Nissan Primera (1990 - 1996) - 1995 1.6LX Advise on solving coolant loss 12 Sep 2008 (Forum)
    This means no anti-freeze/anticorrosive coolant during that time!! So I have this car and wish to clean out the cooling system (i.e. drain, refill with pure water, run briefly & drain again to flush away any gunk) then refil with antifreeze & fit new thermostat before autumn sets in.
  • Citroen C5 (2001 - 2008) - 2002 110HDi auto - thirst for coolant 17 Feb 2008 (Forum)
    My 51000 mile '02 Citroen C5 HDI 110 Auto has, in the last 2000 miles, developed a thirst for coolant - about a litre in 250 - 300 miles. The header tank remains under significant pressure long after the engine and coolant have cooled - on releasing the pressure cap first thing in the morning (-4 degrees C) the water level rose in the header tank by about 2 inches!
  • Coolant smell in Xantia cabin 17 Aug 2006 (Forum)
    The moment I move the heater temperature control away from the cold setting there is that unmistakable sickly sweet smell of wet dog - i.e. hot coolant - in the cabin. Somewhere there must be a leak. There is no smell under the bonnet. Oddly the coolant level hardly goes down in the radiator expansion tank. Perhaps a cup every month. I have just now put in a container of Forte Radiator Stop Leak (as recommended on here) and I will have to see if this helps.
  • Peugeot 106 help please 12 Oct 2005 (Forum)
    I read in the haynes manual that on some models the coolant goes through the oil cooler so would this explain the oily coolant?....or is there a bigger problem I should worry about here? The car runs fine all the time and no signs of overheating or any other problem.
  • V.W. Polo Coolant 25 Sep 2004 (Forum)
    Apologies for the longish question but bearing in mind the dire warnings in the Haynes and the car handbook about the consequences of mixing coolant fluids I would like to be absolutely sure I have got it right before I start. Many Thanks in advance, SeanO
  • Ford Mondeo Zetec 2.0 2001 plate - Petrol - Help with bleeding radiator and coolant system 27 Jan 2014 (Forum)
    Hi guys, I was hoping someone can point me in the right direction when bleeding both radiator and coolant system on a Mondeo Zetec 2.0 2001 petrol car. I've been trying to find a way of doing it but as I'm no mechanic, looking for a step by guide online with some pics of what pipes it is that I need to unplug is really difficult to find especially for my type of car.
  • Disco 300 Tdi coolant loss 14 Nov 2011 (Forum)
    Suspect I'm not going to like the answer to this one, but here goes. The 300Tdi engine on my Discovery (127,000 miles) has suddenly developed a raging thirst for coolant - about 1 litre every 70 miles or so. There are no visible leaks that I have been able to find and there are no obvious symptoms of a blown head gasket - no white smoke, no water in the oil. The head gasket was replaced and the head skimmed about 11,000 miles ago just before I bought it.
  • Volkswagen Bora (1999 - 2006) - 01 1.9TDi coolant level keeps going low 12 Sep 2008 (Forum)
    I have had to top up my car twice within a week with the coolant reservoir going low with the STOP hazard sign showing up on my dashboard. On the temperature guage it's showing 90 degrees celcius when ever I drive for 5mins or longer. My temperature guage has always been around 55-60 degrees.
  • MG MGF (1995 - 2002) - 96 1.8 Coolant leaking 4 Sep 2008 (Forum)
    I have owned my 96 MGF for 18 months but have noticed in the last few months it has started leaking coolant. There might be a spill under the car and it wouldn't happen again for 3 or 4 weeks. I've been topping it up and when I mentioned it to my mechanic, he said "get rid of it" The previous owner at some point spent a grand having the head skimmed so I assumed all was fine.
  • Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 1999 1.8 petrol engine cooling fan? 21 Jul 2008 (Forum)
    I have noticed the engine cooling fan on my car has been on a couple of times lately whereas I don't normally hear it (I am a bit paranoid about my car). Is this a sign of impending radiator/water pump problems ? The coolant level is correct but I have noticed that when I check the coolant reservoir when the car has sat overnight, that there are "bubbles" on the inside surface of the top of the reservoir (not in the coolant) which I assume is just condensation.
  • BX hydraulic fluid level 22 Jan 2002 (Forum)
    This is maybe because I've put too much fluid in and then, when it goes down, the float remains stuck.( I have one or two tiny fluid leaks). Haynes suggests measuring coolant levels with a previously wiped oil dipstick to allow a column of 25 - 30 cms of coolant. Can anyone let me know the depth of hydraulic fluid if a similar procedure is followed? One mechanic blamed the rotting of the large coolant pipe underneath the hydraulic reservoir as due to LHM washing over it - any truth in this?
  • Should I expect potential cylinder head gasket problems on my Rover 75? 21 May 2011 (Ask HJ)
    I was interested in your advice to the owner of a 2003 turbocharged Rover 75 1.8T. I have a Rover 25 1.6 GXi, bought 'as new' July 2007. To date it does...
  • Radweld - is it worth trying? 3 Aug 2004 (Forum)
    N reg VW Passat. It has a minor coolant leak from somewhere. The reservoir drops from max to min over about six months. Is Radweld worth trying? Will it work OK in a VW, as I understand they use a special coolant. Thanks for your help.
  • any - coolant renewal 5 Jul 2018 (Forum)
    I've just changed the coolant on SWMBO Forester (i'd forgotten, its been sitting in the garage for couple of months), unsure how long since it was last done, no signs of deterioration it must be said. When i unscrewed the radiator drain plug the old coolant ran out quite slowly at first until i gave it  blast through via the rad and filler points and back flushed through a heater hose to boot, we have good mains water pressure here and i have a conical nozzle on my trigger sprayer hose which means a near enough watertight seal to blow mains water through the system.
  • Volvo S80 (1998 - 2006) - 2000 2.4 auto Has my head gasket gone??? 10 Jun 2008 (Forum)
    The times that the coolant level is at the very top, i have slightly released the cap (to reduce the pressure slightly) and a very fine 'Cappuccino' type liquid comes out, very frothy and creamy - it is as if the coolant inside is turning into a pint of stout - creamy head etc!
  • Coolant - Visit Dealer? Astra-G, 1.4 28 Apr 2006 (Forum)
    Or just agree with whatever diagnosis I give them from the advice I get on here! Temperature gauge is now soaring up into red regularly - I'm using water to top up my coolant which is disappearing. My oil is being used up too. I just wanted to check - am I wasting my time and money getting a garage to check my coolant? Thats what my manual recommends - but as I'm capable of putting oil in my car, I wondered whether there was anything special that needed doing to the coolant other than just the correct amount of antifreeze added - as until my problem is solved its gonna cost me a fortune to get garages to do this for me and I'd much prefer to do myself.
  • Astra mystery coolant leak 26 Jun 2005 (Forum)
    My L-reg 1.6SE Astra has suddenly started leaking coolant like crazy when the engine's running. It's a constant drip of 2-3 drips per second and will easily leave a big puddle on the floor. I can't clearly tell where it's coming from but it appears to be from somewhere around the water pump.
  • mayo in coolant reservior MKII golf 16 Jul 2003 (Forum)
    My dad got my grandad's golf (he had owned it since new), hasnt done much (29000), ive got it now that ive passed my test (done around 500 miles mostly in the last month). I thought i better check oil and water and found mayo under the coolant reservior cap, on closer inspection there seems to be quite a lot of it in the coolant tank, but still a reasonable level of coolant fluid in the tank (blue coloured) since when u squeeze the radiator pipe the blue liquid squirts to the surface.
 

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