Coolant low warning

Ron Scott

Hi all.

The "Coolant low" warning came on in my '03 Saab 93 diesel early last week. Hadn't seen it before and the car's not due a service for another bit. Got coolant and topped up, it was pretty low. The light went off until today. Checked and the coolant is down to the same low level. The car was parked in the one spot over the weekend, no sign of a leak underneath or around the coolant bottle.

Where's it going, nowhere good I'm assuming

Thanks.

murphyebass

there could be a crack in the coolant tank. You can get a coolant sealer in Halfords that might fix the problem.

Mr Benevolent

Ron Scott wrote: »

Hi all.

The "Coolant low" warning came on in my '03 Saab 93 diesel early last week. Hadn't seen it before and the car's not due a service for another bit. Got coolant and topped up, it was pretty low. The light went off until today. Checked and the coolant is down to the same low level. The car was parked in the one spot over the weekend, no sign of a leak underneath or around the coolant bottle.

Where's it going, nowhere good I'm assuming

Thanks.

Are you getting a fair bit of 'steam' coming out of the exhaust? Any odd smells?

It's either leaking, mixing with the oil or being burned in the cylinders. Beyond having a peak around the engine bay there's not much you can do short of bringing it to the garage. It may be contaminating a belt so it's best to get it seen to asap. And keep it topped up so the warning light doesn't come on again

Ron Scott

Confab wrote: »

Are you getting a fair bit of 'steam' coming out of the exhaust? Any odd smells?

Neither, no.

johnos1984

Lift the dipstick and check for mayonnaise on it.

Check the oil level also and see if it is high up on the stick, more so than normal

And open the oil filler cap and check there for mayo as well

Ron Scott

johnos1984 wrote: »

Lift the dipstick and check for mayonnaise on it.

Check the oil level also and see if it is high up on the stick, more so than normal

And open the oil filler cap and check there for mayo as well

Thanks. Mayo = ??. Will do in the light tomorrow. If it's there, (when you tell me what it is ), what does that point to ?

johnos1984

Ron Scott wrote: »

Thanks. Mayo = ??. Will do in the light tomorrow. If it's there, (when you tell me what it is ), what does that point to ?

When oil and water mix it creates a mayonnaise type substance. Don't put it in your salads though.

It points to your oil and water mixing and would generally point to head gasket failure

ltdslipdiff

Weepy water pump maybe? Is the EGR valve in those water-fed?

Ron Scott

johnos1984 wrote: »

When oil and water mix it creates a mayonnaise type substance. Don't put it in your salads though.

It points to your oil and water mixing and would generally point to head gasket failure

Thanks Johnos.

I went out with a torch there now. Dipstick and cap both very clean, oil level bang on. Caught a sheen with the torch that I hadn't seen in the daylight, part of the engine under the pipes coming out of the coolant bottle has a fair bit of liquid on it. Maybe I split some when topping up, but I didn't think so. Maybe a small leak in the pipe that I can't see right now.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Ron Scott

ltdslipdiff wrote: »

Weepy water pump maybe? Is the EGR valve in those water-fed?

Brought it to the garage today, weepy water pump it is. You win ltdslipdiff, thanks for all the suggestions everyone.