[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Not needed.Just keep a watch on the coolant level and teh temperature gauge.

i say thats not smart. He himself is saying the amount of coolant that he cleaned from cabin is not a small quantity. It has to be a drop in the level, unless he is carrying a spare bottle in the cabin that got ruptured.

[sgiitk]

I have only got them abroad. I have used Bar's Leak and the Holts sealant. I am sure Bardahl and others should have a good product. I know many people in the UK add a bottle/can to the coolant as a mater of course.

[dev_kudle]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

i say thats not smart. He himself is saying the amount of coolant that he cleaned from cabin is not a small quantity. It has to be a drop in the level, unless he is carrying a spare bottle in the cabin that got ruptured.

Hello Seniors,

I thought the issue was reolved now, but unfortunately it's not.

Yesterday, I observed that, the coolant reserviour is full ie upto the level, but the water reserviour is dry . I filled it up with water. Drove about 4-5 Kms. then checked, the coolant was infact sucked from coolant reserviour, but the water reserviour level was too low, negligible. Filled up water again.
After 5 Hours, when the engin was cool, checked the coolant and water reserviour levels. Coolant level was upto the mark, but water reserviour was again dry..

Again filled up the water level, checked for any pipe leak. No leakage of coolant in cockpit or anywhere. Still the water reserviour tends to remain DRY.

Regards,
Dev_Kudle

[passion4cars]

This type of problem i faced with my car in Australia , the culprit was a small crack / hole ( due to age as my car was 1984 model and i was studying in 2002/2003 ) in Air Pipe - which runs underneath the dashboard - the mechanic told me to pull out the dashboard and put in new pipes - since i was on student budget i told him i needed a fix it type of solution - he told me to put a solution named as - CHEMIWELD in raditor - and keep the car running for 20 mins and wola after 20min no leakage - now the point is do we get CHEMIWELD in India ?

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by dev_kudle

Hello Seniors,

I thought the issue was reolved now, but unfortunately it's not.

Yesterday, I observed that, the coolant reserviour is full ie upto the level, but the water reserviour is dry . I filled it up with water. Drove about 4-5 Kms. then checked, the coolant was infact sucked from coolant reserviour, but the water reserviour level was too low, negligible. Filled up water again.
After 5 Hours, when the engin was cool, checked the coolant and water reserviour levels. Coolant level was upto the mark, but water reserviour was again dry..

Again filled up the water level, checked for any pipe leak. No leakage of coolant in cockpit or anywhere. Still the water reserviour tends to remain DRY.

Regards,
Dev_Kudle

Can't understand what the coolant reservoir is and what the water reservoir is?there is a white container which is located in teh engine bay - that is teh expansion bottle.There is a black reservoir which is approx 1.5 ft wide and it has a cap on it - this is the radiator.

Which is full and which is empty?

[dev_kudle]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Can't understand what the coolant reservoir is and what the water reservoir is?there is a white container which is located in teh engine bay - that is teh expansion bottle.There is a black reservoir which is approx 1.5 ft wide and it has a cap on it - this is the radiator.

Which is full and which is empty?

Sorry for the confusion created .
By Water reserviour, I mean to sya ' 'Radiator' is fully dry. The coolant reserviour (white container) is upto the level.

Regards,
Dev_Kudle

[vigsom]

When the water heats up when engine runs,the radiator cap spring lifts to release some of the pressure created - this quantity released is very less and goes to the expansion bottle

Similarly when the engine is turned off and the sysetm begins to cool,the radiator tends to go into vacuum.The radiator cap has a small ring at the bottom - this is a vacuum relief valve and this allows fluid from the expansion bottle to get sucked back to the radiator to maintain level.

If radiator is losing level with teh expansion bottle level rising/remaining constant,it is a sure shot case of a leak

Please check

1. radiator connections - any leaks?
2. radiator body - any leaks
3. radiator cap - are both pressure release system and vacuum relief systems working?
4. hose from the radiator to the expansion bottle - is it cracked/loose?
5. is there any other leak from where air could be ingressing?

[dev_kudle]

Originally Posted by vigsom

If radiator is losing level with teh expansion bottle level rising/remaining constant,it is a sure shot case of a leak

Hi,

Then, you mean to say, in cool engine condition, ideally the radiator level should be full and expansion bottle level should reduce as compared to hot engine condition???

Dev_Kudle

[sudharma]

Originally Posted by vigsom

When the water heats up when engine runs,the radiator cap spring lifts to release some of the pressure created - this quantity released is very less and goes to the expansion bottle

Similarly when the engine is turned off and the sysetm begins to cool,the radiator tends to go into vacuum.The radiator cap has a small ring at the bottom - this is a vacuum relief valve and this allows fluid from the expansion bottle to get sucked back to the radiator to maintain level.

If radiator is losing level with teh expansion bottle level rising/remaining constant,it is a sure shot case of a leak

Please check

1. radiator connections - any leaks?
2. radiator body - any leaks
3. radiator cap - are both pressure release system and vacuum relief systems working?
4. hose from the radiator to the expansion bottle - is it cracked/loose?
5. is there any other leak from where air could be ingressing?

Most probably the culprit is the Radiator cap. I had this problem with my Maruthi-800 a few years back. I replaced the caps a couple of times without any effect. Because of the wear and tear on the Radiator filler neck, the Caps won't seal properly the expanded coolant escapes from the cap instead of returning to the Reservoir Bottle. Since it was not possible to repair the filler neck, replacing the Radiator was the only solution. No problems after replacing the radiator.
The level in the radiator would go low but never dry unless you have a heavy leak in the radiator or the coolant pipes.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by dev_kudle

Hi,

Then, you mean to say, in cool engine condition, ideally the radiator level should be full and expansion bottle level should reduce as compared to hot engine condition???

Dev_Kudle

Initial state - cold engine:Radiator full and expansion bottle level upto the maximum mark

Intermediate state - engine at operating temperature - some coolant(a very small quantity) would expand and release to the expansion bottle - that would mean a very small increase in level of the expansion bottle

Final state - engine shut off and cooling - the radiator would begin going into vacuum and gradually all coolant which was released to the expansion bottle would be sucked back into the radiator through the radiator cap vacuum relief valve - finally levels would return to initial state.

Over a period of time,say 4-6 months, some water which is lost as water vapour through the expansion bottle would result in a slight drop in level in the bottle - that would need a top up to bring the level back to max.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by vigsom

1. radiator - any leaks?

Will fixing leak with Mseal can hold up in a 4 yrs old radiator?

[vigsom]

m seal can hold low pressure - no guarantee that it can withstand the 0.9kg/cm2 in a radiator,but can be tried

[dev_kudle]

Hello Gurus,

Checked the car with local mechanic. The coolant is dripping somewhere in the line of engine. I found the coolant dripping below the engine.
According to mechanic, the pump, which is connected to engine (I'm not sure what this pump is called ) is leak and needs to be changed.
I guess it's called water pump??
Should I change it or is there anything I can check??

Regards,
Dev_Kudle

[CrackedHead]

Its called the water pump - How old is the car and how many Km's has it run. Replacing it is labor intensive as several things need to be moved out of the way (timing belt, belt cover, etc.)

Go ahead and get the pump changed (after verifying that it indeed is the source of the leak).

If the car has done more than 50K km or is 6+ years old then you should also get the timing belt and tensioner pulley replaced (if never done before). This is preventive maintenance and you might as well do it when the parts are being opened up to replace the water pump.

[dev_kudle]

Originally Posted by CrackedHead

Its called the water pump - How old is the car and how many Km's has it run. Replacing it is labor intensive as several things need to be moved out of the way (timing belt, belt cover, etc.)

If the car has done more than 50K km or is 6+ years old then you should also get the timing belt and tensioner pulley replaced (if never done before).

Hi,

Yes, it's 2001 Esteem VX, and run 52000 Km till now. My mechanic is also suggesting to replace the timing belt as well.

Could you please let me know about the approx cost for 'Water pump and timing belt'. So, that, I will be prepared during this work.

Thanks for your response.

Regards,
Dev_Kudle