Coolant Loss

[insanitybeard]

Hello all, new member here....... I recently bought a '54 plate 130ps 1.9 diesel Galaxy (family requirement for more space, upgrading from a Ka!), I have some background with Fords as I have worked both as a technician at a Ford dealership and in parts- we always found the Galaxy's somewhat different (and therefore not always liked!) as they use a lot of VW tech with their own quirks and different procedures compared to the more run of the mill Fords.

 

Anyway, my issue.....My recent purchase seems to be losing coolant, not visibly- no external evidence, but it's dropped the distance from the max-min level on the header tank and required topping up at least twice in the last 10 days.... A mate who still works for Ford reckons the watercooled EGR may be at fault, but does anybody have any experience of this? Just don't want to find my new purchase has a duff head gasket or something more sinister down the line! It doesn't appear to be overheating so far.

 

   Thanks for any input!

      Paul

[seatkid]

Before you start taking things to pieces, just see how much lower than the min mark it goes. Every VAG car I've had (quite a few) all blow out water (dont know where but I presume though the cap) when filled much above the min mark (cold). As I understand it, take the max mark to mean water level with a hot engine.

 

After that the possible areas to investigate are EGR, head gasket/cracked cylinder head, the last two usually because of remaps and tuning boxes. Leaking radiators are also something seen - check the end tanks for telltale white deposits.

 

Dont forget to maintain the coolant at the the right concentration of the correct stuff (G12++  dont use anything else!)

[chrispb123456]

If the cooling system has excess pressure this could be the start of gasket failure.

Try this, remove the rad cap when the engine is cold after it's had a run the night before.

If there's a rush of air and bubbles then you have problems if not then probably just a leak.

 

Don't forget to check the rear heater pipes and booster heater under the car, they are aluminium and  can corrode and get pin holes in them.

[Shabazmo]

What about the heater matrix.  i had this problem with my Mk1, but solved it with radiator sealant. You would normally smell the sweet antifreeze in the cabin.

[insanitybeard]

Thanks for the input guys, upon further investigation it actually turns out that I have a slow coolant leak from the bottom of the radiator- it's bent on the back edge. Basically I bought a Galaxy with some (mostly hidden on quick examination) previous accident damage to the N/S/F which was repaired to look ok on the surface, but deeper inspection revealed a number of things either bodged or not repaired at all!  

Edited September 23, 2013 by insanitybeard