Coolant Problem

jamieh

Hi all,

I have an 06 Astra 3 door. I got it serviced 3 weeks ago.

Before the service I noticed that the car was going through a lot of coolant.

I told them when I got it serviced and they said they didnt see any problems.

I noticed that I had no hot air today and when I turned off the ignition I heard a fan for about 10 secs after.

I checked the coolant and it is bone dry.

I have it checked into the garage for next week.....anyone know what could me wrong?

Pete67

Firstly, don't drive it at all until the coolant is filled up. Wait for the engine to cool down before adding coolant, use a mix of water and antifreeze. Driving without coolant can sieze the engine, or overheat it and warp the cylinder head.

Obviously there is a coolant leak somewhere, could be anywhere, hoses, water pump gland, heater matrix, radiator or worst case, head gasket gone.

JoeySully

dont bother wasting money on coolant. wont make any differnence in the short term - if you are getting it looked at next week and there is a leak then the system will probably have to be bled anyway.

take EXTREME caution opening the radiator! serious pressure builds up when the engine is low in water and warm... i learned the hard way.. or just wait till its cold.

check for leaks inside the car too it could be the heater under the dash..

jamieh

Pete67 wrote: »

Firstly, don't drive it at all until the coolant is filled up. Wait for the engine to cool down before adding coolant, use a mix of water and antifreeze. Driving without coolant can sieze the engine, or overheat it and warp the cylinder head.

Obviously there is a coolant leak somewhere, could be anywhere, hoses, water pump gland, heater matrix, radiator or worst case, head gasket gone.

I've done 300km so far this week...didn't realise the coolant was gone!! I'll get coolant first thing in the morn.

The garage said 3 weeks ago that there was no sign of a leak and they tightend every possible outlet.

Would they not have picked up that the head gasket was gone during the service? Is a head gasket an expensive job? Would it usually be covered under warranty?

There's 60,000km on the car after 2 years....is it unusal for the head gasket to go after that kind of mileage?

Anan1

Is the car still under warranty? How was the temperature gauge behaving after the service?

Run_to_da_hills

Head gasket can go if coolant has leaked out of the system and the block has overheated it can also lead to a warped cylinder head

Any of the following can cause loss of coolant: damaged hoses, loose hose connections, hole in radiator, hole in expansion bottle. You can also loose coolant due to a cracked cylinder head, highly unlikely this time of year.

Check your oil. If its milky light gray you have a serious problem, IE emulsified oil or water contamination in the engine. Definite sign of a blown gasket. You will have to change your oil ASAP.

If you notice bubbles rising in your expansion bottle its another sign of a blown head gasket.

If the car has been driven dry for a while you will more than likely need your cylinder head re skimmed, sometimes this is done as routine with a cylinder head gasket job.

jamieh

Anan1 wrote: »

Is the car still under warranty? How was the temperature gauge behaving after the service?

When I got it serviced 3 weeks ago there was some sort of suspension rods gone and they were covered under warranty. Presume this means that the whole car is still under warranty? There is no temp gauge unfortunately.

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Head gasket can go if coolant has leaked out of the system and the block has overheated it can also lead to a warped cylinder head

Any of the following can cause loss of coolant: damaged hoses, loose hose connections, hole in radiator, hole in expansion bottle. You can also loose coolant due to a cracked cylinder head, highly unlikely this time of year.

Check your oil. If its milky light gray you have a serious problem, IE emulsified oil or water contamination in the engine. Definite sign of a blown gasket. You will have to change your oil ASAP.

If you notice bubbles rising in your expansion bottle its another sign of a blown head gasket.

If the car has been driven dry for a while you will more than likely need your cylinder head re skimmed, sometimes this is done as routine with a cylinder head gasket job.

The oil was changed 3 weeks ago - would u say it needs to be done again?

If the car isn't under warranty what kind of money are we talking to get it sorted?

Run_to_da_hills

jamieh wrote: »

When I got it serviced 3 weeks ago there was some sort of suspension rods gone and they were covered under warranty. Presume this means that the whole car is still under warranty? There is no temp gauge unfortunately.



The oil was changed 3 weeks ago - would u say it needs to be done again?

If the car isn't under warranty what kind of money are we talking to get it sorted?

If the head gasket is blown you would have ro replace the oil irrespective of the last oil change, left any length of time could risk seizing the block.

It would also depend how long you have the car and what work was carried out recently and was it related to the current problem.

jamieh

Hi all,

Brought the car in yesterday.

They said there was a small leak in the EGR (Exhaust gas recirculation) valve.

Said it mightn't be connected to the coolant problem but we'll have to wait and see!

DublinDilbert

jamieh wrote: »

Hi all,

Brought the car in yesterday.

They said there was a small leak in the EGR (Exhaust gas recirculation) valve.

Said it mightn't be connected to the coolant problem but we'll have to wait and see!

To be honest it sounds like BS to me.

How could the ERG valve be related to a coolant leak?

Did they pressure test your cooling system and check for leaks?

kizzyr

I drive a 05 Mini One and have had a simliar problem. Over the last 3 or 4 days the engine over heating warning light came on. I mentioned this to my boyfriend who said it would probably be the coolant or oil that was the problem. Between one thing and another neither of us looked at it. Then this morning when I was on my way into work I noticed a bad smell and like the OP when I turned off the engine the fan was making a lot of noise for a long time.
I called the garage and they warned me not to drive the car anymore and I had to get a recovery truck to take it away before lunch:eek: The car is only 3 years old, has less than 60,000km on the clock and was always serviced regularly, last time in July. Is this going to cost the earth to get fixed? I'm really worried about it now.

JoeySully

kizzyr wrote: »

I drive a 05 Mini One and have had a simliar problem. Over the last 3 or 4 days the engine over heating warning light came on. I mentioned this to my boyfriend who said it would probably be the coolant or oil that was the problem. Between one thing and another neither of us looked at it. Then this morning when I was on my way into work I noticed a bad smell and like the OP when I turned off the engine the fan was making a lot of noise for a long time.
I called the garage and they warned me not to drive the car anymore and I had to get a recovery truck to take it away before lunch:eek: The car is only 3 years old, has less than 60,000km on the clock and was always serviced regularly, last time in July. Is this going to cost the earth to get fixed? I'm really worried about it now.

engine is made by BMW which are great engines but dont like to get very hot. it could be something as simple as a failed thermstat or your head gasket could be gone which is not pretty - have heard of a few of these going at quite low milage. problem starts with somthing simple like low coolant or bad water pump but once it overheats then the head expands too much and causes it to crack or break the head gasket

kizzyr

JoeySully wrote: »

engine is made by BMW which are great engines but dont like to get very hot. it could be something as simple as a failed thermstat or your head gasket could be gone which is not pretty - have heard of a few of these going at quite low milage. problem starts with somthing simple like low coolant or bad water pump but once it overheats then the head expands too much and causes it to crack or break the head gasket

Fookin' hell. Not a happy girl today I have to say. I called the garage about an hour ago and they mentioned something about a thermostat gauge being the problem but expected to know more around 5pm. Am I looking at much over €500.00 for this?

Anan1

kizzyr wrote: »

Fookin' hell. Not a happy girl today I have to say. I called the garage about an hour ago and they mentioned something about a thermostat gauge being the problem but expected to know more around 5pm. Am I looking at much over €500.00 for this?

If the car's still under warranty then it shouldn't cost you a penny.

kizzyr

Well apparently the car is just out of warranty, wouldn't ya know:rolleyes: Anyway turns out that it was a faulty temperature gauge and that somehow the car thought that the engine was overheating and so kept the fan on full blast (that was the weird smell I got this morning) and so bloody freezing inside! and caused the engine over heating lights to come on. The garage did a full check on the head gasket too and it passed with flying colours so they are certain that that is not the problem.
Re: cost, as the car was serviced in July and this was something they should have seen at the time they have offered as a good will gesture to do the check over and fit a new temp gauge for free if I pay the recovery fee. I'm happy enough with that but I also think its because they treated me very shabbily back in July when I brought the car in to be serviced, tried to fleece me on the service itself then and I was so annoyed I actually went back to complain.