Coolant liquid leakage - Team-BHP

wanderlustindia · 25th April 2008, 12:14

A couple of days back, at my wife's office, the security guard pointed to a spot where blue liquid leaked from the car. Yesterday wifey experienced that the AC was not cooling and this morning I experienced the same.

I noticed that the temperature guage was shooting through the roof. Opened the hood and see that the coolant is completely drained. Definitely looks like a leakage from the coolant unit.

Can I fill up water in the radiator for the time being and drive it down to the nearest mechanic? I know the engine is getting strained plus the Pune heat is not doing any favors as well!

Please suggest.

esteem_lover · 25th April 2008, 12:22

As a temporary measure you can fill up water & drive on, but locate the leak & arrest it.

BTW, coolants are normally green in colour, how come yours is blue ?

spadival · 25th April 2008, 12:29

Water will do, Just carry extra bottles of water in case you have to fill on the way to the mechanics garage.

wanderlustindia · 25th April 2008, 13:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

As a temporary measure you can fill up water & drive on, but locate the leak & arrest it.

BTW, coolants are normally green in colour, how come yours is blue ?

Perhaps bluish green.

wanderlustindia · 25th April 2008, 13:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by spadival

Water will do, Just carry extra bottles of water in case you have to fill on the way to the mechanics garage.

My mechanic is a good 20 kms from my office. Thanks for the advise. I will carry extra bottles of water, just in case needed.

rkbharat · 25th April 2008, 13:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Can I fill up water in the radiator for the time being and drive it down to the nearest mechanic? I know the engine is getting strained plus the Pune heat is not doing any favors as well!

Please suggest.

Fill water and move to nearest service center. Get the leakage checked. Drain all the water and fill with coolant.

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

BTW, coolants are normally green in colour, how come yours is blue ?

Sunstar-Golden Cruiser comes in blue color for Service Center(with tags like for Tata/Maruti etc) and comes in green color in open market

dinar · 25th April 2008, 14:07

fill up the system and wait and watch the leakage, if it's big, carry a lot of water , cause 20Km is a long distance to travel with out coolant in this heat.

tsk1979 · 25th April 2008, 14:18

Keep the AC on. AC cutting out is the first hint that cooling system is not working, and it will warn you before the temp guage starts shooting up.
Most cars have this ac cutoff mechanism when overheating takes place.
If you have a leak at the bottom(ground kerb hit on radiator bottom, you won't be able to go beyond 5 minutes before coolant leaks.
As a temp measure you can apply mseal to the bottom of the radiator.
In case of small leaks you can actually drive the entire 20kms on one tank full.

Since you noticed the high temp after your engine overheated, there is a good chance that the engine oil has degraded. So definitely get an oil change done also.
the mechanics will tell you its okay, but don't listen to them.
since Pune is scorching instead of 10W40 get an engine oil where the upper number is 50
You get 15W50 and 20W50 in the market

wanderernomad · 25th April 2008, 20:37

Another cure is put some turmeric powder into the radiator before filling up with water. Will arrest the leak to a major extent. Use of water is perfectly ok as its the most condusive coolant. Even Nuclear Power plants use water as coolant.

wanderlustindia · 25th April 2008, 21:00

Guys thanks for the suggestions. Turned out to be a minor thing. I noticed when I opened the bonnet before heading to the mechanic. The coolant unit cap was open and that was the reason the coolant had drained.

Filled the radiator with water and drove slowly to the nearest pump. Put in a ltr of coolant. All's well now. Did a run till Talegaon later in the evening, AC's working alright as well.

Will check the engine oil for sure.

gd1418 · 26th April 2008, 11:36

Ha, ha ha, reminded me of my amby days when this was a standard procedure for a radiator leak. Also rubbing a bar of sunlight washing soap cake used to do the trick, albeit temporarily.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Another cure is put some turmeric powder into the radiator before filling up with water. Will arrest the leak to a major extent. Use of water is perfectly ok as its the most condusive coolant. Even Nuclear Power plants use water as coolant.

wanderernomad · 26th April 2008, 11:42

@lolz GD bhai, this is wat i remember from my padmini days..alongwith the raw potato in case the wipers failed at the first hint of rain.

Jaggu · 26th April 2008, 15:15

which is your car wanderlust?

snaronikar · 26th April 2008, 16:49

This may be of some help to you.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...t-coolant.html (Ford Ikon Used different coolant.)

wanderlustindia · 27th April 2008, 14:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaggu

which is your car wanderlust?

Mine is a Lancer SLXi.

25th April 2008, 12:14	#1 (permalink)
wanderlustindia BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 307 View My Garage	Coolant liquid leakage A couple of days back, at my wife's office, the security guard pointed to a spot where blue liquid leaked from the car. Yesterday wifey experienced that the AC was not cooling and this morning I experienced the same. I noticed that the temperature guage was shooting through the roof. Opened the hood and see that the coolant is completely drained. Definitely looks like a leakage from the coolant unit. Can I fill up water in the radiator for the time being and drive it down to the nearest mechanic? I know the engine is getting strained plus the Pune heat is not doing any favors as well! Please suggest. __________________ ---------------------- 'Real Freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization'

25th April 2008, 12:22	#2 (permalink)
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras Posts: 5,000 View My Garage	As a temporary measure you can fill up water & drive on, but locate the leak & arrest it. BTW, coolants are normally green in colour, how come yours is blue ? __________________ Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Mark Twain

25th April 2008, 14:18	#8 (permalink)
tsk1979 Team-BHP Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Noida, New Delhi Posts: 8,451 View My Garage	Keep the AC on. AC cutting out is the first hint that cooling system is not working, and it will warn you before the temp guage starts shooting up. Most cars have this ac cutoff mechanism when overheating takes place. If you have a leak at the bottom(ground kerb hit on radiator bottom, you won't be able to go beyond 5 minutes before coolant leaks. As a temp measure you can apply mseal to the bottom of the radiator. In case of small leaks you can actually drive the entire 20kms on one tank full. Since you noticed the high temp after your engine overheated, there is a good chance that the engine oil has degraded. So definitely get an oil change done also. the mechanics will tell you its okay, but don't listen to them. since Pune is scorching instead of 10W40 get an engine oil where the upper number is 50 You get 15W50 and 20W50 in the market __________________ Reclaiming.....!

25th April 2008, 20:37	#9 (permalink)
wanderernomad BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 369 View My Garage	Another cure is put some turmeric powder into the radiator before filling up with water. Will arrest the leak to a major extent. Use of water is perfectly ok as its the most condusive coolant. Even Nuclear Power plants use water as coolant. __________________ Let it go...after all you live but twice.

25th April 2008, 21:00	#10 (permalink)
wanderlustindia BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 307 View My Garage	Guys thanks for the suggestions. Turned out to be a minor thing. I noticed when I opened the bonnet before heading to the mechanic. The coolant unit cap was open and that was the reason the coolant had drained. Filled the radiator with water and drove slowly to the nearest pump. Put in a ltr of coolant. All's well now. Did a run till Talegaon later in the evening, AC's working alright as well. Will check the engine oil for sure. __________________ ---------------------- 'Real Freedom lies in wildness, not in civilization'

25th April 2008, 12:29	#3 (permalink)
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Pune Posts: 1,505 View My Garage	Water will do, Just carry extra bottles of water in case you have to fill on the way to the mechanics garage.

25th April 2008, 14:07	#7 (permalink)
dinar BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: goa Posts: 486	fill up the system and wait and watch the leakage, if it's big, carry a lot of water , cause 20Km is a long distance to travel with out coolant in this heat.

26th April 2008, 11:42	#12 (permalink)
wanderernomad BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 369 View My Garage	@lolz GD bhai, this is wat i remember from my padmini days..alongwith the raw potato in case the wipers failed at the first hint of rain. __________________ Let it go...after all you live but twice.

26th April 2008, 15:15	#13 (permalink)
Jaggu Team-BHP Moderator Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,654	which is your car wanderlust? __________________ The strength to change what I can, the inability to accept what I can't, and the incapacity to tell the difference. -Calvin

26th April 2008, 16:49	#14 (permalink)
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 1,788 View My Garage	This may be of some help to you. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techni...t-coolant.html (Ford Ikon Used different coolant.) __________________ Love your job but Never love your company because you never know when your company stops loving you-NRN

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