Hi all,

Over the past 3 or 4 days i have to keep on topping up the water in the reservoir tank of my v3 type R. It takes just under half a litre every time i top up.
Also, i have noticed that after some time of driving, water starts overflowing from the coolant tank located at the front left of the car near the battery. Is this a sign that the head gaskets are on their way out?

The car is not over heating though at any point. I took it to the garage today and they just flushed the radiator and said that it was slightly choked. The mechanic did say to keep an eye on the water level for the next couple of days and if its still losing water then its definitely the head gasket going??

Any advice from you guys on any similar experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Imran

 

Have you done anything to the cooling before this started, changed any hoses ect? As it could be as little as an airlock. Another option would be a failing pressure cap on the header tank.

Be sure they refilled it correctly, as this can easily cause an airlock and you will be going around in circles.


Have you had to top up since leaving the garage?
Can you get a sniffer test done at the garage, or buy a DIY kit and test your self? That would 90% confirm it either way.

 

Hi, have you tried bleeding the system see if there is any air trapped in the system? Also check the cap on the header tank. If the rubber seal is damaged then you may get water pushed into the overflow tank. I hate to say it, but this is how my head gasket problems started. I checked everything and flushed the rad and the block but no better. I even fitted an alloy radiator to see if there was a blockage that I hadnt been able to shift, but still no joy. In the end I had my engine rebuilt to cure the problem.
My advice would be to have a "sniffer test" carried out on the car. The test picks up any exhaust gases in the coolent system, this should give you more of an idea what going on.

Hope this helps

James

 

Thanks for the advice guys.

@b13bat - No i have not changed any radiator or water hoses of late and yes the guys made sure there was no air left in the system after they flushed it and refilled it again. I have only driven it once after flushing the rad and noticed once i stopped that there was still some water leaking but now i dont know where its coming from!! Its still dripping from the left side of the car but there is no over flow from the small coolant tank like before and all the other hoses seem well secured and leak free! So i'm stumped to be honest...
Just had a look to see if the water level in the header tank was low and.... yes it was. But The mechanic did tell me that i might have to top up a couple of times since the radiator was fully drained.

@noriss8322 - thanks, i will try and get a sniffer test done. I'm just going to give it another run to confirm that water is still leaking and see if i need to top up after the run and take it from there.

Cheers,
Imran

 

I would again advise on a new header tank cap and sniffer before any mechanical work is carried out.

 

I have a 1.3 bar rad cap at the moment. How do i know that its faulty?

 

I don't know that Imran, but i'm sure there is a method.

I would replace it regardless, as they are not an expensive item and it will also eliminate a possible cause.