Problem with coolant

BlueDragon

Every two weeks my coolant light flashes and when i cheak it there is no more coolant even though i have allready filled it up?
I filled it up with water last night because i was not at home and i didnt have any access to any coolant,
Does anyone know what it could be?

I just got the timing belt and water pump done and asked to see if there was a leek and the mechanic told me there isnt any?

Also since i filled the car up with water is there any way of gettign the water out so i can replace it with coolant now?
Thanks in advance its a 1999 1.6 audi a4 by the way

Mr Benevolent

BlueDragon wrote: »

Every two weeks my coolant light flashes and when i cheak it there is no more coolant even though i have allready filled it up?
I filled it up with water last night because i was not at home and i didnt have any access to any coolant,
Does anyone know what it could be?

I just got the timing belt and water pump done and asked to see if there was a leek and the mechanic told me there isnt any?

Also since i filled the car up with water is there any way of gettign the water out so i can replace it with coolant now?
Thanks in advance its a 1999 1.6 audi a4 by the way

Does the heating work? Is the car down on power? Sounds like head gasket failure to me.

biko

There is a possibility the coolant is leaking into an adjoining system.
Are you getting a lot of white smoke?
Look under the engine oil fill cap, is there white residue there?

BlueDragon

Yeah the heating works no the car is fine
This was happening for a while before the summer and i went on holidays to the states for 3 months and gave my car to my sis to use while i was gone
anyways when i came back i brought it to a garage and they said they thought the headgasket was gone and then i turned out there was a hairline crack in the engine block so i ended up getting a new engine and i thought the problem went away but it seems to be back?

I really hope its not the head gasket

BlueDragon

Magnus wrote: »

There is a possibility the coolant is leaking into an adjoining system.
Are you getting a lot of white smoke?
Look under the engine oil fill cap, is there white residue there?

White smoke from the exhaust?

colm_mcm

any gunk in the oil cap?

biko

BlueDragon wrote: »

White smoke from the exhaust?

Yeah. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_cause_white_smoke_from_the_exhaust

MetzgerMeister

I had this same problem with a 1999 BMW 318i. It turned out there was a huge hole in the radiator Check that as it might be the cause.

mickdw

It was foolish to go ahead and get timing belt etc done because if its the head gasket, it will have to come off again. Your mechanic should have made finding the leak the priority imo. The fact that he couldnt see one should have pointed him even more towards head gasket. The cost of replacing head gasket would have been greatly reduced if carried out with timing belt.

ART6

A mechanic should have the means of doing a pressure test on the cooling system. If it doesn't hold pressure than there's a leak somewhere. If it's through the head gasket into a cylinder rather than into the sump (ie: no yellow creamy oil) then a further compression test on each cylinder will indicate whether the head gasket is leaking and where.

nogoodnamesleft

ART6 wrote: »

A mechanic should have the means of doing a pressure test on the cooling system. If it doesn't hold pressure than there's a leak somewhere. If it's through the head gasket into a cylinder rather than into the sump (ie: no yellow creamy oil) then a further compression test on each cylinder will indicate whether the head gasket is leaking and where.

+1

You should also be using distilled water also to mix with the coolant additive as normal water contains salts and minerals which can corrode your coolant system.

BlueDragon

Is it dangerous to drive my car if it is my head gasket?
What would happen if i kept driving it and it was a head gasket problem?

daveharnett

Best case scenario is that the mechanic forgot to close a bleed screw/valve after he finished replacing the water pump. This would be hard to spot in a workshop, but would slowly leak steam when the engine was warmed up.

Seems kind of plausible given the slow rate of loss.

biko

BlueDragon wrote: »

Is it dangerous to drive my car if it is my head gasket?
What would happen if i kept driving it and it was a head gasket problem?

No, a blown head gasket will only get worse from driving, however the car will not blow up although it may stop working/not start.
If you think it may be HG problem, take it to a mechanic as soon as you can.

BlueDragon

Magnus wrote: »

No, a blown head gasket will only get worse from driving, however the car will not blow up although it may stop working/not start.
If you think it may be HG problem, take it to a mechanic as soon as you can.

Will it damage any other components in the car?
If the head gasket eventually goes will i just have to replace it and the car would be ok again?

I dont think its the water pump problem because the coolent went a few days before i brougth it in for the timing belt

biko

If push comes to shove the engine can seize and you'll have an even more expensive job.
A problem in winter is that one of the more obvious signs of HG issues is white smoke from the exhaust along with white residue on oil cap.
However, white smoke/residue also can be caused by moisture because of cold weather.

Others may disagree but I'd take it for a long spin (an hour?), to really heat car up and then check the oil/smoke again.
You can do an oil change. Old oil should be perfectly black with no foam.
Remove spark plugs and have a good look and smell of them. Any coolant? Look into the cylinder too.

There are products that say they can fix a blown HG by sealing it from the inside. These products are K-Seal, Steel Seal, ... Some say they work, some say snake oil. If you car is old and crappy then that's an option as the cost of the HG repair may well be equal to the price of the car...

For the craic - http://www.honda-tech.com/showpost.php?p=34943174&postcount=24

ART6

If you take the cap off the radiator expansion tank (with the engine cold) then start the engine, and there are air bubbles coming from the rubber pipe into the bottom of the tank then the head gasket is leaking. Equally, if there are traces of oil in the header tank, some issue.

If you run the car for any length of time with a blown gasket you risk cutting a groove in the cylinder head or the block, and that would be expensive if it is repairable at all as it is a machining job. You also risk contaminating the oil and reducing its lubrication, and if the leak becomes bad enough, getting water in a cylinder. That could do some real damage. Getting the pressure checks done is the best way of funding out if it is a gasket. An hour of a mechanic's time at most for about the cost of an NCT. Why take the risk of not checking it?