[ghpk]

Badly need to fix this.

I found green droplets on Garage floor, when I returned home from 20-30 km drive.
Today morning I checked and Coolant bottle was empty, filled it with water for time being and started the car.
The leakage started from somewhere behind the engine, and drips from
driver side.

Till now I was suspecting it to be Radiator but this location is beyond my understanding.

To what extent I could insert my hand I don't feel any leakage on Coolant Hose Pipe which goes to inner part of engine.


Coolant dripping


Its coolant again


Pic taken from drivers side.

Car is 7 yrs old, Didn't experienced over-heating on this or before this.

Is this going to Hurt badly on my pocket ?

[Jaggu]

Might be the hose or even the heater pipe which carrier coolant. Take it to a garage and get it fixed, if the leaks increases you are looking at overheating and breakdowns.

[ghpk]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Might be the hose or even the heater pipe which carrier coolant. Take it to a garage and get it fixed, if the leaks increases you are looking at overheating and breakdowns.

What a Bulls eye shot Jaggu Ji, Hats Off Sirji.

was feeling restless and went again to car with a Torch and phone/cam.

Its certainly Some Metal Pipe After those hose-pipe coming from radiator, so based on your expert comments Its The pipe which is T shaped, the middel part is connected to another pipeline which is going inside cabin, and the leak is at the point which goes into Engine.

Here's what I was able to shoot.


Edit: forgot to tell, the Full bottle of 1Ltr Water added in evening has dripped, Didn't drove car except started it for checking, So I think its very risky to drive with this much leakage.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by ghpk

So I think its very risky to drive with this much leakage.

How risky it is depends on how far the service centre is. If it is not too far then you could carry a few bottles of water and top up every so often.

This happened with my on my previous Esteem that I owned. The garage was 8 kms from my house and i carried 5 bottles of plain water with me and would top up the coolant reservoir every kilometre or so.

If you decide to drive down to the garage, I would recommend that you drive during off peak hours or early hours of they day if that is possible.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by ghpk

Edit: forgot to tell, the Full bottle of 1Ltr Water added in evening has dripped, Didn't drove car except started it for checking, So I think its very risky to drive with this much leakage.

You can carry spare water like vikram suggested.

Also, when you make this drive, please keep a keen eye on the temperature guage. Everything else should be fine.

[ghpk]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

How risky it is depends on how far the service centre is. If it is not too far then you could carry a few bottles of water and top up every so often.

This happened with my on my previous Esteem that I owned. The garage was 8 kms from my house and i carried 5 bottles of plain water with me and would top up the coolant reservoir every kilometre or so.

If you decide to drive down to the garage, I would recommend that you drive during off peak hours or early hours of they day if that is possible.

Thanks,
just spoke with my mechanic, the one I use since last 15 yrs, he's away for 4-5 days, so I'll need to ask some nearby mechanic to fix it, if this fails then only will drive it to main car repair area.

H.A.S.S. is out of question in my town, cause I know they would need the car to be dumped with them for a few days, as they take care of only cars which are on free service, after which you are orphaned.

Originally Posted by dhanushs

You can carry spare water like vikram suggested.

Also, when you make this drive, please keep a keen eye on the temperature guage. Everything else should be fine.

Yes, I am gonna fix my eye with fevikwik to temp. guage for sure.

[SirAlec]

With current weather in mind this should be rectified ASAP.

go to some good mechanic in your city.

PS to all car owner: Make a habit of replacing all rubber hoses and parts at-least every two years. Rubber etc have some self life. Now a days the even quality is not good of even best authorized parts.

And rubber hoses are not that expensive but the damages and loss of time they cause is immense.

[ghpk]

Went to near by car mechanic after topping up water in radiator bottle and keeping 1 ltr extra water.
Before even it could have heated I reached this mechanic shop as it was half a KM away from my house.

He removed the Air Filter unit and tried hard and was able to remove the Damaged Elbow and rubber hose.

As car was not movable I came back and went to spare parts shop on a scooter and purchased the replacements.

Came back and he fitted the Elbow Joint, and rubber hose and tightened it using the clamps I brought along.
Filled the coolant and topped it up with water and Yahooooo car started without any sign of coolant leakage.
We kept the car running for few minutes, and occasional revving which triggered the sensor and Radiator Fan Started for a minute or two and then slept again.

Came back and feel much relaxed however moving out in 40°C gave me real bad head ache.
Total Amount spent:-
Rs.290 on Spares
Rs.200 to mechanic making total cost very reasonable Rs.490/- in All.

SirAlec Said very precise thing about taking extra care of these pipes as Rs.490 could have been Rs.49000 if
1). If I ignored it for a single day.
2). If I was not a member of Team-BHP which made me learn so much
for cars and such excellent peer members to pin-point and suggest the solutions.
My Hearty Thanks to Team-BHP and my dear members.

Pics from a Photo-holic


Removed Air Filter to get more space to work.
Then he semi-unscrewed the Alternator and took the belt to side and pushed it backwards to reach the Elbow-Joint.


Removed the Damaged Elbow & Hose-pipe


The Damaged Elbow which had a HOLE in it, Seems like first hot water made the pipe leak then it got damaged near first exit point.


Spare Parts Purchased


TVS-Girling Coolant, Hope its good enough.


New Elbow and Hose Visible after install.


As Air Filter was still away, I inserted my Android phone inside to get a closer look. (inverted pic, Sorry)


Everything Fixed back, Back to business......


One last thing, I filled water till full mark in Coolant Reserve bottle, after coming back car was not driven or even started, just noticed that water in Reserve bottle is back to Minimum Level, However no Coolant has spilled anywhere in or out of bonnet.
Is This Normal ??

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by ghpk

Is This Normal ??

It is normal as the air in the radiator gets displaced by the coolant and the level in the reservoir drops. Top it up now and you should be good to go.

[girlieonwheels]

This is Holden Astra 1.8 Classic 2005 model.
Has done 96000 kms already.
Very well maintained and no issues that I know off.

I saw this under the car.


I touched it and it was watery (not really oily).

I didn't get time to open the hood, but I'll do so after work today.

Am really worried, so I thought I'll ask you guys about it.

This leak probably happened on Sunday, it was raining and I drove it for about 16 kms. Since then it has been parked. I noticed it yesterday (Wednesday) when I was stepping out to take it to the mall (less than 2 kms away). And then I parked it right at the same place.

The leak was right under the engine, I have moved the car a little back in this picture.

Help me diagnose this.
Is this serious?
Should I drive or not?
Does it need immediate attention?

An after thought:

The water (or whatever it is, not oil I think) didn't dry since Sunday evening till Wednesday evening when I noticed it. That means, this is constantly dripping since Sunday.

This should have dried!

Is it going to drain my car's tank of (coolant fluid, just guessing) whatever that is!!!

...stress!!!

[VW2010]

Where are you located. By the location if USA i would say this week don't expect the water to dry so easilly. It just looks like water waiting to dry. This is why you should be forced to park like mine in street. Leaking water/coolant or oil is the last problem for me

But dont worry it doesnt look like anything harmful. If you were using AC it could also be from the condensation dripping after you stopped.

[girlieonwheels]

Sydney.
Its warm here. And dry as well.

And that's what makes me more concerned. It should have dried...in 3 days.

Originally Posted by VW2010

Leaking water/coolant or oil is the last problem for me

But dont worry it doesnt look like anything harmful. If you were using AC it could also be from the condensation dripping after you stopped.

That certainly makes me breathe easy.

I wasn't using AC on Sunday. It was raining here and was slightly cold in the evening when I drove it.

I don't think I can visit a mechanic till Saturday.
I'll park it at a different spot today after work to check what's the amount of fluid that's coming out.

Do you suspect its coolant fluid?

[girlieonwheels]

Another picture of the fluid..a little closer one.
Its watery I guess, with a red colour (can coolant fluid be red)?


Are the pictures of any use?
Just too stressed to get my mind off it. Had a plan for the weekend, but guess will cancel it now.

[SunnyBoi]

It might as well be coolant fluid. Why don't you open the coolant tank cap (engine when cold, not warm or hot) and check the colour and level? For emergency purposes you can use drinking water to top up the coolant level if its low.

Power Steering fluid usually is similar colour and so is DOT3 brake fluid. Since you say it hasn't dried in 3 days, better check the levels of these fluids as well.

[girlieonwheels]

Originally Posted by SunnyBoi

It might as well be coolant fluid. Why don't you open the coolant tank cap (engine when cold, not warm or hot) and check the colour and level? For emergency purposes you can use drinking water to top up the coolant level if its low.

Power Steering fluid usually is similar colour and so is DOT3 brake fluid. Since you say it hasn't dried in 3 days, better check the levels of these fluids as well.

Thanks SunnyBoi.
This is the first thing I will do when I get back home. Need to check the levels.
Coolant
Power Steering fluid (can i check that myself?)
DOT3 brake fluid

I'll check all...with focus on the above 3.