been having some coolant issues recently, on my wrx i have recently brought. burst main top rad pipe and spotted leak on pipe near turbo so replaced all pipes and topped up coolant.

all seemed great but now i have noticed what looks like the cap on the header tank is leaking coolant only say a couple of tea spoons after a 20min drive.

what does this mean? i have inspected the cap when cold and it looks ok, though it did seem a bit gritty almost, i guess from dried coolant?

is this HG or failed cap? i fear as previously the pipe burst this could be a sign of an over pressurised coolant system?

how do i tell if the coolant system has too much pressure in it?

in relation to the HG no oil/ water mix signs and the car does not overheat or show in the exhaust emisions, car runs as i believe it should.

any advise welcome, im fed up of smelling coolant!

 

Quite common for the neck of the header tank to start leaking where it meets the lid of the tank as it splits. Just had it on mine.

If it's just a weak cap then swap it over.

 

went to foresters subaru today in bilston, he showed me it was the neck (no coolant running down neck but appearing at base). so i have a new (used) header to fit tomorrow. £50, not too bad and was really helpful. fingers crossed i can fit tomorrow, looks like it should be easy enough.

thanks for the response Scotty 10/10 for diagnosis

 

No worries, you can get away with just swapping the lid over as it saves a mess.

 

yeah i thought that but some of the bolts were a bit rusted so went the whole hog. wasnt too bad just clamped the pipes and pumped out the headers coolant.

just a rocker cover gasket to stop a minor oil leak and i think im good. Booked in for that on thursday, im not brave enough for that lol