big mike

Any ideas?

UK MY98

Gunge in filler neck of coolant bottle (passenger side at front) funny black flakes in it. Lost much of its coolant. Expansion tank has some coolant in it with more black flecks. Coolant that remains still clear, oill is still clear and not milky.

Some steam escaping on drivers side of rad (possibly more from the smaller front rad). Seems to be some fluids around on various components.

Wondering if this is related to ocassional reluctance to start and possible smoking/steam from exhaust (although maybe i am getting paranoid it is cold at the mo!!)

Can is running beutifully at the mo other than this.

Regards

Mike

torment

OH Dear mike....Sounds very much like a weeping cylinder head gasket..Emulsified oil in bottle and oil particles in other areas,I hope not mate....A compression test may show this,(Not always)It may be going between the oil galley and water jacket..If their is steam also from the exhaust(Not just the mist you get on cold days)Then its found its way into the combustion chamber..And a compression test "Will" show this up...Good Luck...Kev.

big mike

Thanks Kev,

Just to clarify, not blobs of oil but hardish black flakes. The compression test what does that entail? Likely to be pricey?

Cheers

Mike

big mike

Will this do?

http://www.halfords.com/opd_product_...&type=0&cat=67

What sort of values am i looking for? Do i need one with a longer hose?

Thanks guys

scoobylav

I have a similar problem on MY97 but she still runs like a dream

big mike

Just a quick update,

Topped her up yesterday and she has lost no coolant!? No steam escaping from suspected leak area. Oil still clear (i.e. not milky) Steam from exhaust doesn't seem excessive, after 4 or 5 minutes it goes, maybe I am just being paranoid? (only noticed it recently because I only just started looking?)

Going to get pressure check on coolant system asap and compression check individual cylinders at the weekend.

Here's hoping it isn't too serious!

Mike

StickyMicky

yeah when cars losesum coolant and then seam to stop, imo it genraly means its thinking about breaking down but cant actualy be botherd about a fullblown breakdown,
just keep monitoring the fluids and take it easy for a few weeks and see what happens

it really pisses me off when u get problems like this, if sumthings gonna break, it should just fooken break instead of teasing me for weeks before hand!!

torment

MIKE...Could well be The turbo,Thats slightly mixing congelled oil and water,Perhaps....?????,I would get a compression test done first...If doing it yourself,With someone turning the key,Disconnect the crank sensor,And hold the throttle wide open before the cranking,To compare the cylinder values,Take note of the first blast into the tester...This is the most important...Not the amount it arrives at after a few mins cranking,Mark down,The values of Both the first thump into the gauge and the final highest amount to compare them all....That should be within 10% margin .....Good Luck ...Kev.

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

They all do this!

Both mine end up with gunge in the filler behinfd the battery..

They seem to throw the coolant out onto the inner wing on occasions and settle at a level of water the system can hold when hot.. there is an overflow pipe straight out of the top of the filler. In the mean time all the coolant remains in the bottle whilst the water evaporates out and you get the horrible gunge you see.

Just keep an eye on the coolant level in the header tank on top of the engine and top the bottle up by the battery occasionally..

No problems on both of mine, one had 98,000miles on it when I bought the current one that I have now put 70,000miles on (clock now reads 145,000miles) and the filler bottle has been as you describe since I picked the car up.

JGM

big mike

Thanks guys for taking the time to reply.

JGM did yours have the black flakes in it?

Torment will be doing as you suggest at the weekend.

Sticky micky, I know what you mean

Thanks as well Scoobylav.

God its good to know I am not alone!

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

Dark green..

Current one now have greenie blue sludge a bit like cake icing lol..

JGM

scoobylav

JGM you have just made me feel better. I also get the spray of coolant on the drivers side inner wing when I drive her hard. I think this is where I loose my coolant. I have mine booked in for a pressure test on the coolant system. Maybe I will have to upgrade to Samco hoses throughout - its the only way forward, surely !! (thats what I will tell the missus anyhow )

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

Mine usually settles at just below the neck of the header tank and I top it up occasionally..

Worth a check though, for piece of mind but it sounds like normal to me unless the loss if lots.

JGM

Jolly Green Monster

iTrader: (4)

also samco hoses are cheapest when I got mine from www.raldes.co.uk

JGM

big mike

Time for a quick update,
Bought new rad cap from halfords, ripped it to bits, shoved a push bike valve in the top and pressurised the coolant system to 20 psi. Header on main rad has a 4 inch crack running down it. Spraying water at about 4500 rpm onto the front rad (oil cooler rad?) made it look like that had gone (in fact I was just about to replace the front rad when my mate said we should really make sure!) Strangely the crack only opens at higher rpm when warm?
So new question is, where is best place to get new rad? and how much!!

Thanks for the help guys, didn't get round to the compression check. Seemed like to much hassle (will do it after the rad changed though!) Is there a post on changing your spark plugs on this board? Roughly how long does it take?

Thanks for your help so far guys!


Mike