Ok my hatch is fully forged with cosworth head gaskets and runs fine with no over heating issues until a good few hard laps on a track then it rises but I never let it boil. Everytime I go out in it I always check oil level and coolant level.

Everytime I check the coolant level it's dropped around 10mm from the top of the header tank so I top it up again only to find the same thing happen after every use. Now I know different cars have different levels so I've deliberately left it to see if it finds its own level and settles there however it just keeps dropping more each time I go out. In addition to this my expansion tank a always empty without a single drop in there. Even if I fill it half full and go for a drive it stays the same level and when the engine cools it empties the expansion tank. I have a presurised cap on the header tank and on the rad but not on the expansion tank.

Ive checked for leaks on all pipes and thermostat housing etc but only find a very small drip on the bottom hose of the rad but not enough to explain this problem. Can anyone shine any light on this?

Just to add more confusion when I check my oil filler neck it seems to have the dreaded cream in very small patches but if I remove the neck itself there is nothing like that in the engine or on the dipstick so I presume this is condensation, this also applies to my catch cans (made of ally) and my breather pipes which are all exposed to cold temps whilst the vehicle is stood still.

Sorry for such a long post, this problem is really annoying me and wanted some help.

 

Are you checking the header tank or the overflow tank? should be the overflow tank, levels should be above the "low" when cold and below the "high" when warm

maybe worth getting a sniff test done to rule out head gasket but sometimes a small amount of mayonnaise looking oil forms at top of filler neck in cold weather so not a sign of problems.

 

I always check both the header tank and the overflow/expansion tank mate. The header drops a little bit each time and the expansion never has any in. However I never have cooling issues. And yeah I spoke to Brian at cams about the creamy filler neck and he said that's fine it's just due to change in temps when it's really cold.

 

it's losing coolant to somewhere and my guess it could be linked to the small drip on the bottom hose. When driving and system under pressure the small drip could be a strong fine jet leaking.
Trev

 

This is my thinking and if I'm honest I've only just have the car on stands tonight and discovered the leak so it needs looking into for sure. But the fact my expansion tank is always empty puzzles me

 

First things first...fix that drip! You'd be suprised how much coolant loss you can get from a weaping joint.

 

Agreed I think some hose clamps as against jubilee clips are on the agenda

 

a failing headgasket is more likely to push coolant into the expansion tank, especially on track. The system is just sucking back the lost coolant and emptying the tank I would have thought

 

i had a minor drip from my rad a while ago, surprising how much my level dropped until i bought a new rad, the overflow tank should never be ran dry though, to lose that much coolant there is a problem more than a drip.

 

I usually leave the expansion tank empty and it only losses 5-10mm out of the header tank.

 

eh? don't leave it empty it draws coolant from there when it cools down your drawing air into the system when cold, that tank should be at least on the min when cold

 

I think I need to sort the small drip at either end of the bottom hose, when I say small drip I mean a single drip every 10 mins and only when the engine is reved to a decent rpm. And also keep topping the expansion tanks to see it it settles

 

sort the drip out and keep the bottle behind the headlight between the min and max, its that tank that keeps the header tank at the required level, leaving it empty is asking for one or both the hg going

 

No worries point taken mate. It's never risen in temp so don't think the hg's are in danger but I see your point.

 

Have you got any of the moisture cream build up in any of the r/h side ie turbo side breathers ?, its not uncommon for the l/h heads on the hatches to crack under the valve spring seat up into the water gallery, giving off a very fine spray of coolant into the l/h breather pipework, it only usually uses a very small amount of coolant loss, I have seen 4 like this now.

 

I would have to check this, I don't think I do it's only showing the moisture cream build up in the actual breather pipes near the catch cans as against the outlet from the head. I'll double check tonight though