No coolant.........no leaks?

johnos1984

Right folks I was working on the project MGF this evening and checked the coolant.

No coolant visible. I topped up the system with about 2 litres hoping to be able to spot the leak.

No leaks though.

No mayo in the oil etc. No rise in the oil level etc so I've no idea where it's gone.

Suggestion on the back of a beer mat please

CJhaughey

Cracked head and the water is leaving via the exhaust pipe.

johnos1984

CJhaughey wrote: »

Cracked head and the water is leaving via the exhaust pipe.

Car hasn't been started since September as I've had it in a shed minus it's interior

Inlet manifold gasket
You mention in the other thread it won'y start either

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

Inlet manifold gasket
You mention in the other thread it won'y start either

Pretty much what I was thinking. It was damp above it.

Would that be also stopping it from starting RJ? What are we looking at to fix it?

Generally they run poorly after starting, as yours has just been sitting there it may well be the cause Green gasket is about €10/€15 from your local Landrover garage, easy enough to fit if a bit awkward on a k in a fwd Rover, dunno what access to the inlet manifold is like on the MGF tbh though.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

Generally they run poorly after starting, as yours has just been sitting there it may well be the cause Green gasket is about €10/€15 from your local Landrover garage, easy enough to fit if a bit awkward on a k in a fwd Rover, dunno what access to the inlet manifold is like on the MGF tbh though.

Not too bad in fairness. I was dreading having to get the head done if it had failed.

Access if actually pretty good from looking at it. The engine is well exposed once the maintenance cover is removed.

johnos1984

Hold on.

The moisture I found was at the opposite side of the engine from the manifold. Seems to be coming from the gasket between the head and the block.

Also access to the manifold is RUBBISH after looking at a picture I took earlier

On the normal cars (if you get my meaning) the inlet manifold is a awkward as there are bolts which are hard to get the socket around, it's do able though, if you can get your hand around the manifold and access all the bolts and get a socket on them and then get a ratchet or extension bar on them you'll be laughing They can leak out or leak in, if the underside is damp it's leaking out, if the car won't start and you have spark and fuel it may well be leaking in. Conceptually I suppose if the gasket is in bits it could leak in and out.

Plenty of guides about on the various forums.

johnos1984

I'll start researching tomorrow. Too hungover to do it now.

First things fiirst anyway I have to drain out the system and flush it tomorrow as I filled it with water earlier expecting it to come back out a burst pipe

johnos1984

johnos1984 wrote: »

Hold on.

The moisture I found was at the opposite side of the engine from the manifold. Seems to be coming from the gasket between the head and the block.

Also access to the manifold is RUBBISH after looking at a picture I took earlier

If the HG was leaking that much and the car isn't starting due to lack of compression it would have ran like a pig and be overheating and guzzling coolant the last time you drove it. I wouldn't be worrying yet

Poor access for the inlet manifold doesn't surprise me in the f really.

johnos1984

Right I took the spark plugs out today.

News isn't good. One cylinder is full of water :mad:

I drained the system and there was a gurgling sound coming from the cylinder. Looked again and it was dry. So I filled the system again with water and it filled up again and there was the same gurgling noise coming from the cylinder as I drained it off.

I can't understand this as it was working perfectly when I parked it up

Nissan doctor

johnos1984 wrote: »

Right I took the spark plugs out today.

News isn't good. One cylinder is full of water :mad:

I drained the system and there was a gurgling sound coming from the cylinder. Looked again and it was dry. So I filled the system again with water and it filled up again and there was the same gurgling noise coming from the cylinder as I drained it off.

I can't understand this as it was working perfectly when I parked it up

Was it parked up during the cold spell last year? It it was and the antifreeze level in the coolant was low the water could have frozen in the block, causing a crack.

johnos1984

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Was it parked up during the cold spell last year? It it was and the antifreeze level in the coolant was low the water could have frozen in the block, causing a crack.

No idea, I only bought it in the summer this year and it ran fine for me.

The coolant mix was pretty thick as I changed it after getting it, 60:40

Expansion tank cap appears to have failed also (it was new and fitted in Aug)

johnos1984

johnos1984 wrote: »

Right I took the spark plugs out today.

News isn't good. One cylinder is full of water :mad:

I drained the system and there was a gurgling sound coming from the cylinder. Looked again and it was dry. So I filled the system again with water and it filled up again and there was the same gurgling noise coming from the cylinder as I drained it off.

I can't understand this as it was working perfectly when I parked it up

I still think inlet manifold gasket is worth checking out.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

I still think inlet manifold gasket is worth checking out.

Hardly have all the noise though as the water passed in and out? The cylinder was full of the coolant.

I'm going to leave it for two weeks and get a proper mechanic to look it over. The inlet manifold gasket is certainly going to be changed anyway as I noticed coolant pooled near it where the same cylinder has filled. I found new ones an ebay for €2 last night so worth trying at that price

Seems more likely than a cracked head to me, are the two quid ones green? Black ones are muck.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

Seems more likely than a cracked head to me, are the two quid ones green? Black ones are muck.

Green ones in the picture anyway but I'll bang off an email before I buy to find out.

Had a look at it all today and access to the bolts is.....****.....

Nissan doctor

Is the car stored outside or inside?

johnos1984

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Is the car stored outside or inside?

Store inside.

It's a bit damp in the shed but nothing too bad

Nissan doctor

Its a strange one. If it won't start you need to do a leakdown test, or, at least, a compression test on that cylinder especially.

If that is fine then the manifold gasket is likely. If the gasket is leaking coolant into the inlet manifold then it will then leak into whichever cylinder is in the position where its inlet valves are open.

The problem now lies in that if you tried to start the engine with a cylinder full of water/coolant:eek:

johnos1984

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Its a strange one. If it won't start you need to do a leakdown test, or, at least, a compression test on that cylinder especially.

If that is fine then the manifold gasket is likely. If the gasket is leaking coolant into the inlet manifold then it will then leak into whichever cylinder is in the position where its inlet valves are open.

The problem now lies in that if you tried to start the engine with a cylinder full of water/coolant:eek:

Too late now as I've cranked it a lot trying to start it.

Nissan doctor

johnos1984 wrote: »

Too late now as I've cranked it a lot trying to start it.

You may not have damaged it, the cranking power of a starter motor is small compared to an engine spinning at a couple of thousand RPM. Although if the inlet manifold was full of water, you may have sucked it into all the cylinders:(

Another way to check the theory of whats wrong is to turn the engine 180 degrees by hand and then fill the cooling system with water, leave and check in a few days or whatever and if it is the gasket leaking into the inlet manifold then a different cylinder should fill with water.

johnos1984

Excellent news*

I decided to go all out for a Christmas Eve miracle and get the car going.

I replaced the inlet manifold gasket which was not an easy job due to very restricted access. Seriously bad I had to enlist my 12 year old niece to reach some areas.

Anyway once the IMG was changed the leak stopped.

However the car still won't start. It just turns over and never catches or kicks.

I'm wondering now has the fuel pump also failed. Any quick way to check?

I was tempted to give it some



but it's like crack cocaine for cars

I'd also like to use this product but I haven't got the seats back in

Nissan doctor

When you turn on the ignition you should hear the fuel pump priming, or just disconnect the fuel feed pipe from the rail and turn it over.

Are you sure the immobiliser is disengaging?

johnos1984

The immobiliser chime rings until I click the fob and then it goes off. The pump primes every time I turn the key on. I'll disconnect the pipe and see if it is actually pumping anything. Any way to disconnect the immobiliser ?

johnos1984

Bump

johnos1984

johnos1984 wrote: »

................

Anyway once the IMG was changed the leak stopped. .....................
I'm wondering now has the fuel pump also failed. Any quick way to check?

I was tempted to give it some



...............

Happy out on the inlet manifold gasket

Are the cylinders still full of water?

Without hesitation I'd use dampstart or the likes of it to see will the car start, that's the easiest way to see is it a fuel problem.

Have you checked are all the plugs giving a spark?

johnos1984

johnos1984 wrote: »

............ Any way to disconnect the immobiliser ?

Realistically and practically no
Once it's turning over it isn't the immobiliser that's your problem anyway on the Ks.

Seems as it's been laid up for months now it might be a crudey fuel filter, crack open the nuts on the housing to aid priming might well be worth a try, easier than playing with the fuel rail too if you have easy access to the filter.