Where's my coolant gone
Where's my coolant gone
Header tank has a trickle in it........warranty repair at MMC in edinburger......is this common or is my luck with this car continuing?
I have a feeling there is car flu going around the symptom being loss of coolant . It seams quite a few people have had problems with leaks recently .
It appears mine has started to go down a bit after its been driven . No obvious leaks , smells , mayo on the cap and the car runs fine. It now settles about 1 cm below where it used to last year.
I think I will throw a new cap on it when I get back from my hols.
It appears mine has started to go down a bit after its been driven . No obvious leaks , smells , mayo on the cap and the car runs fine. It now settles about 1 cm below where it used to last year.
I think I will throw a new cap on it when I get back from my hols.No lotus
Exige Sport 350 (Sold)
Elise Cup 250 (Air con and radio tubby spec) (Sold)
Evora S (sold)
Exige Sport 350 (Sold)
Elise Cup 250 (Air con and radio tubby spec) (Sold)
Evora S (sold)
ah, ok... gotya. Maybe it is just a leak... I wouldn't assume the worst just yet. Could be anything from a split hose, or a hole in the radiator. How quickly are you losing coolant? Any sign of a leak anywhere.
Let them have a bash at finding/fixing the leak under warranty and if you're still getting coolant loss after that, it may be prudent to get a pressure test done... just in case of the dreaded HGF. Is there mayo under the caps?
Let them have a bash at finding/fixing the leak under warranty and if you're still getting coolant loss after that, it may be prudent to get a pressure test done... just in case of the dreaded HGF. Is there mayo under the caps?
I have no signature.
mayo?
The car will be repaired by them or it will be getting shoved where the sun don't shine.......
car took 9 weeks to have suspension and wheel replaced.....
then alarm went wrong.....
then indicator broke and popped out......
and again.....
now coolant......
gonna look at new civic type r or honda s2000 then play it by ear with regard to how the elise behaves.......
HGF.....is that common on VVC engine in elise?
The car will be repaired by them or it will be getting shoved where the sun don't shine.......
car took 9 weeks to have suspension and wheel replaced.....
then alarm went wrong.....
then indicator broke and popped out......
and again.....
now coolant......
gonna look at new civic type r or honda s2000 then play it by ear with regard to how the elise behaves.......
HGF.....is that common on VVC engine in elise?
It does happen, yes (but then again, it can happen on other engines)... but there's no point jumping to conclusions yet.
Check under the oil filler cap... check to see if there's any 'mayo' like subtance... check the dipstick too. You can get a little 'mayo' if it's used for short journeys all the time or isn't regularly used. Has it been overheating? If none of that, then quite possibly it's just a leak... so chill just now.
Check under the oil filler cap... check to see if there's any 'mayo' like subtance... check the dipstick too. You can get a little 'mayo' if it's used for short journeys all the time or isn't regularly used. Has it been overheating? If none of that, then quite possibly it's just a leak... so chill just now.
I have no signature.
Uncommon on VVC .meatball wrote:mayo?
The car will be repaired by them or it will be getting shoved where the sun don't shine.......
car took 9 weeks to have suspension and wheel replaced.....
then alarm went wrong.....
then indicator broke and popped out......
and again.....
now coolant......
gonna look at new civic type r or honda s2000 then play it by ear with regard to how the elise behaves.......
HGF.....is that common on VVC engine in elise?
How old is the car, and how many miles has it done?
Stu
The fan cut in point is somewhere between 96-100 on S2's (a bit depends on exact calibration of sensors and displays, etc., but more-or-less). So you would expect the display to read between 96-100 when stationary once the engine is hot.
Coolant loss on the S2 is commonly attributed to:
Radiator leaks (very common - the rads are for some reason sh*t - if you have it replaced, spend the extra dosh and get an all-alloy one from http://www.eliseparts.com or elsewhere if you can find one - the Lotus sourced ones for the S2 are just sh*t - Michael also on this list is on his 3rd or 4th I think!). You can usually tell you have one of these if you park the car up where it's dry so no rain/dew collecting around the rad and then run it on idle for a while, making sure the fan comes on and off a few times. Then let the car cool overnight. If you get a puff of steam from the rad when you next warm up the car (assuming you keep it dry between cooling down and next warming up), there's likely to be coolant pooling around the rad.
Joint leaks due to badly fitted hoses/jubilee clips on the radiator and on the metal coolant pipes where they emerge from the chassis rail at the front.
Weeping bleed nipples; the plastic topped bleed nipple on the rad exit pipe (behind front left wheel arch liner) has a tendency to weep; might be curable by removal and refit (i.e. clean and tighten), though is sometimes terminal and requires a replacement pipe section with a new bleed nipple. this is hearsay on my part - never actually seen it myself.
I agree with stu that HGF is not likely on your engine (you have the EU3 VVC engine which is a big improvement on the earlier engines). There were some overheating problems on the S1 VVC caused by an electrical fault that caused a misfire and where the overheating could then lead to head damage, but these are not present on the S2 VVC engine.
Cheers,
Robin
P.S. The S2 VVC is actually a pretty good car with plenty of oomph and nice to drive too - it's worth hanging on in there with it a while longer - the S2000 just ain't the same kind of thing at all - it's 9000RPM banzai rev limiter is fun for a while, but the car is not as well balanced as the S2 IMHO (I've seen plenty going backwards into the crash barriers
).
Coolant loss on the S2 is commonly attributed to:
Radiator leaks (very common - the rads are for some reason sh*t - if you have it replaced, spend the extra dosh and get an all-alloy one from http://www.eliseparts.com or elsewhere if you can find one - the Lotus sourced ones for the S2 are just sh*t - Michael also on this list is on his 3rd or 4th I think!). You can usually tell you have one of these if you park the car up where it's dry so no rain/dew collecting around the rad and then run it on idle for a while, making sure the fan comes on and off a few times. Then let the car cool overnight. If you get a puff of steam from the rad when you next warm up the car (assuming you keep it dry between cooling down and next warming up), there's likely to be coolant pooling around the rad.
Joint leaks due to badly fitted hoses/jubilee clips on the radiator and on the metal coolant pipes where they emerge from the chassis rail at the front.
Weeping bleed nipples; the plastic topped bleed nipple on the rad exit pipe (behind front left wheel arch liner) has a tendency to weep; might be curable by removal and refit (i.e. clean and tighten), though is sometimes terminal and requires a replacement pipe section with a new bleed nipple. this is hearsay on my part - never actually seen it myself.
I agree with stu that HGF is not likely on your engine (you have the EU3 VVC engine which is a big improvement on the earlier engines). There were some overheating problems on the S1 VVC caused by an electrical fault that caused a misfire and where the overheating could then lead to head damage, but these are not present on the S2 VVC engine.
Cheers,
Robin
P.S. The S2 VVC is actually a pretty good car with plenty of oomph and nice to drive too - it's worth hanging on in there with it a while longer - the S2000 just ain't the same kind of thing at all - it's 9000RPM banzai rev limiter is fun for a while, but the car is not as well balanced as the S2 IMHO (I've seen plenty going backwards into the crash barriers
).I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut
#bemoretut
Biggest thing is does it loose coolant while stationary? If it does it's a leak.
Check the coolant pipe joints you can get to, look for pools under the car and steam from odd places. Other than that top it up and keep an eye on it. Check for mayo under the oil cap, in the header tank and on the dipstick regularly.
Temp can rise quickly particularly after a spirited run followed by heavy traffic. As long as the fan kicks in at around 100 degrees or so it's nothing to worry about particularly. The temp senders are bollocks anyway so the actual temp you see may be wildly different form any you see as normal operating temps. I have got through 4 temp senders in 18 months now
HTH
Rich
Check the coolant pipe joints you can get to, look for pools under the car and steam from odd places. Other than that top it up and keep an eye on it. Check for mayo under the oil cap, in the header tank and on the dipstick regularly.
Temp can rise quickly particularly after a spirited run followed by heavy traffic. As long as the fan kicks in at around 100 degrees or so it's nothing to worry about particularly. The temp senders are bollocks anyway so the actual temp you see may be wildly different form any you see as normal operating temps. I have got through 4 temp senders in 18 months now
HTH
Rich
1994 Lotus Esprit S4 - Work in progress
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo - Funky Interior Spec
2004 Smart Roadster Coupe - Hers
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo - Funky Interior Spec
2004 Smart Roadster Coupe - Hers
No mayo under cap.
Filled up on mon nyt and still at same level, although car hasn't turned a wheel since.......taking it out 2nyt 4 a blast......
Booked in 4 2morro at MMC....another trip 2 Edinburger (warranty).
Don't get me wrong guys I LOVE driving the car but since I bought it in dec 06 its been drivable for about 3-4 weeks.........which may just be unfortunate.
The car is a 53 plate with 16k on the clock.........any offers.....hehe?
Filled up on mon nyt and still at same level, although car hasn't turned a wheel since.......taking it out 2nyt 4 a blast......
Booked in 4 2morro at MMC....another trip 2 Edinburger (warranty).
Don't get me wrong guys I LOVE driving the car but since I bought it in dec 06 its been drivable for about 3-4 weeks.........which may just be unfortunate.
The car is a 53 plate with 16k on the clock.........any offers.....hehe?
