Fiat leaking fluid ....

kerrz

:(Hi
Any and all advice appreciated ...99 new style fiat punto 1.2 leaking fluid from front of engine .Its coming from under both front headlights ...has stopped leaking now so presume it has run dry . Prob about a pint glass worth of fluid has leaked .

Anybody any ideas as to what it is ? Def not oil

Thanks !

Alanstrainor

Is it your washer fluid? Open up the bonnet and see if you can see anything.

Anan1

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Is it your washer fluid? Open up the bonnet and see if you can see anything.

+1, does the car have headlight washers?

macroman

There is a water trap in the front of Mk2 Puntos - some have it and some don't. A combination of design fault and bad build quality. It is for this reason why you see so many Mk2 Puntos with misted/fogged up headlights. Although I doubt you would get a pint out of it as it drains once the vehicle moves.

It'd be worth checking your coolant levels, as you could have a leaking radiator hose, and it's also worth checking the washer bottle(s).

crosstownk

kerrz wrote: »

Prob about a pint glass worth of fluid has leaked .

That's a lot of fluid. Spilt fluid always looks a lot more than it actually is. You know when someone knocks a table in a pub and the full pints wobble and spill a mouthful or two.........the mess on the table looks a lot worse! Spill a pint glass on the ground and you'll see what I mean.

What colour is this fluid? Does it feel like water when you rub between your thumb and fingers? Does it have a smell?

kerrz

Thanks for all the replies ...think it was the coolant as it was empty ang according to the owner manuel is the only fluid that close to the front of engine and have replaced it and tightened up the gap it was leaking from ...no more leaks thank god ! But the temperature guage was also reading pretty high and after the new coolant was put in it was back at 0 but after 3 mins of driving it rose from 0 to 3/4 of the way up the temp guage within about 30 secs ...pulled over car and left it for about 10 mins hoping it would cool down enough to get it the 3 mins back home but when started again it was starting at 1/4 way up temp guage and staying there while ticking over but when driven it would rise straight back up again .... Any ideas ????

Darragh29

kerrz wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies ...think it was the coolant as it was empty ang according to the owner manuel is the only fluid that close to the front of engine and have replaced it and tightened up the gap it was leaking from ...no more leaks thank god ! But the temperature guage was also reading pretty high and after the new coolant was put in it was back at 0 but after 3 mins of driving it rose from 0 to 3/4 of the way up the temp guage within about 30 secs ...pulled over car and left it for about 10 mins hoping it would cool down enough to get it the 3 mins back home but when started again it was starting at 1/4 way up temp guage and staying there while ticking over but when driven it would rise straight back up again .... Any ideas ????

Well if it is coolant, don't drive the car and make the problem worse.

OP if you have a coolant leak, you have to be very careful when replacing coolant. It isn't just a matter of throwing in more coolant and happy days. You have to make sure there is no air in the cooling system, to do this properly, you need to understand the cooling circulatory system, you need to carefully check that the coolant is actually circulating properly. You have bleed valves that have to be opened to let air out as coolant fills up the system...

This will probably explain why you have replaced the coolant but your temperature gauge is still acting outside of spec. Also, be sure you have 100% identified the cause of the coolant being lost...

macroman

kerrz wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies ...think it was the coolant as it was empty ang according to the owner manuel is the only fluid that close to the front of engine and have replaced it and tightened up the gap it was leaking from ...no more leaks thank god ! But the temperature guage was also reading pretty high and after the new coolant was put in it was back at 0 but after 3 mins of driving it rose from 0 to 3/4 of the way up the temp guage within about 30 secs ...pulled over car and left it for about 10 mins hoping it would cool down enough to get it the 3 mins back home but when started again it was starting at 1/4 way up temp guage and staying there while ticking over but when driven it would rise straight back up again .... Any ideas ????

Sounds like you have an air lock. Try bleeding the coolant system.

There should be two bleed screws: One on the top of the radiator and one at the back of the engine on the heater hose.

• Undo both screws
• Fill header tank right to the top
• Squeeze all the hoses
• Keep repeating this until a fair amount of coolant is coming out of both bleed screws
• Do up the back one
• Keep squeezing hoses so coolant keeps coming out of the radiator bleed screw until the coolant is at max
• Do up screw
• Replace radiator cap
• Run engine until fan comes on
• Let it cool for a couple of hours
• Finally, check the level and top up to max if needed.

colm_mcm

my guess is that the hose for the windscreen washers under the bonnet is split.

kerrz

macroman wrote: »

Sounds like you have an air lock. Try bleeding the coolant system.


There should be two bleed screws: One on the top of the radiator and one at the back of the engine on the heater hose.

• Undo both screws
• Fill header tank right to the top
• Squeeze all the hoses
• Keep repeating this until a fair amount of coolant is coming out of both bleed screws
• Do up the back one
• Keep squeezing hoses so coolant keeps coming out of the radiator bleed screw until the coolant is at max
• Do up screw
• Replace radiator cap
• Run engine until fan comes on
• Let it cool for a couple of hours
• Finally, check the level and top up to max if needed.

Thanks for all the help guys ...macroman you were spot on the money !!! Wasnt too confident about trying myself so local mechanic did the honours ...was worried it could be a lot more serious like a head gasket etc but have escaped that one for a little while longer !!

Thanks all again ! x