New Radiator?

[james]

I've noticed a lowering of the coolant level recently. About 1cm in the last couple of thousand miles. So went to MMC to ask if there might be a problem (its still in warranty.)

Service dept say its most likely to be a leaking radiator and that I would probably smell coolant. Truth is I've smelled coolant a little since I got the car last year. I thought it was normal for a mid engined sports car.

Apparently they need to strip it all down and if its not a problem I'll have to pay for all the work. If its faulty then it will be covered by warranty.

Any suggestions? I dont particularly want to pay hundreds just to get it all stripped down and nothing done.

Anyone been in this situation?

I cant get the oil filler cap off the rocker cover to check for sludge as it seems to have been tightened by superman.

[Rich H]

My oil cap was stuck too, I had to use a screw driver and a hammer to persuade it to let go!

If you can smell coolant it means either rad bust or heater matrix bust or it could just be a leaky pipe. Remember your cabin air intake is right under the rad then it goes through the heater matrix.

My money would be on a leaking pipe followed by heater matrix TBH. If the rad was properly leaking I would think it would loose loads more coolant and cause all sorts of temp based weirdness.

Does it loose fluid while stationary or only when on the move?

Rich

[MacK]

I'd try and check for any dodgy pipe connections myself first.

Another suspect could be the pressure cap.

[james]

Thanks for the feedback - all sound under warranty therefore should be fixed FOC.

Leaking heater matrix sounds interesting give the lack of heating it actually provides. Might be getting to the crux of it all perhaps

[MacK]

I wouldn't have thought a leaking heater matrix would affect the heat output from the matrix very much. But you would be more likely to get the smell of coolant from inside the car.

I thought there was some kind of ultraviolet dye that could be put in the system to highlight any leaks, similar to the stuff that is put into A/C circuits.

[robin]

Ask them how much coolant it should lose per 1000 miles - if the answer is none, there is a fault and it's theirs to fix under warranty ... why should you care or even understand what they may or may not have to waste their time doing to diagnose the fault?

My money is on the rad, btw, as they fail frequently on S2s with the end caps separating from the matrix for some reason. However, pipes to/from the rad are a close second - fix is typically just to fit them properly


Robin

[Shug]

Had an interesting conversation with Dan at JPS last week about the cupboard of monkeys they have making radiators at Lotus...

..very random conversation - I blame Andy's stage 2 for deafening me for the last 2 hours....

[Tom]

Truth is I've smelled coolant a little since I got the car last year. I thought it was normal for a mid engined sports car.

mine's always smelt a tad odd(erk). similar coolant smell i reckon. never got round to checking connectors. another to add to the list. only lose tiny amount though.

[Shug]

If the heater matrix is really leaking (like guess who's) then it does the comedy turn of actually blowing steam at the inside of the windscreen until it burns off the stuff that's leaked since last it ran....

Oh the laughs I've had when the stat opens and my windscreen suddenly goes opaque....

[Rich H]

Tom, its an S1 pushing 10 years old. They all smell a bit odd. Get the roof off and give it an airing! (Failing that open the bonnet and empty all the rotting insect remains from the heater pipework!)

when I switch on my heater to clear the condensation it likes to ensure that the windscreen is properly misted up before commencing to demist. I'll set off and forget this then 20 secs down the road, what was a little bit of mist is now a wall of white opaqueness.

[dezzy]

Afraid I don't know much about radiators, but I agree with Robin on this one: you should not have to pay for them to investigate and diagnose a fault under warranty. That's the whole point of a warranty! Call Lotus and ask them about this. If that was the case, nobody would ever put anything in to get checked under warranty.

I've had the car in for a couple of things at MMC where they have not been able to diagnose the fault and I wasn't charged for putting the car back together again.

[robin]

Truth is I've smelled coolant a little since I got the car last year. I thought it was normal for a mid engined sports car.

mine's always smelt a tad odd(erk). similar coolant smell i reckon. never got round to checking connectors. another to add to the list. only lose tiny amount though.

On an S1 of your vintage, that'll be the sub-pin-hole in the chassis coolant rail then BTW, did you get reverse back yet?

Robin

[robin]

Oh the laughs I've had when the stat opens and my windscreen suddenly goes opaque....

Though actually the matrix is on the bypass circuit, so the steam will come as soon as the engine gets hot enough to make steam, rather than being directly linked to the stat operation - not that it matters

Robin

[Shug]

Must just be about the same time then, as it seems to do it pretty much when you'd expect the stat to be opening - seeing as how that's when the water is hot, I guess it follows....