coolant coming out of header tank
 

hi i have just had a new water pump fitted to my car and water is coming out of the header tank? i hear could be a headgasket but my heaters are working fine and there is no oil mixed? could this be a air lock? or could it still be headgasket? im sure the garage said the temp gauge in the car wasnt getting really hot jus water/coolant coming out of the header tank. any help would be great. thanks

Could be an air lock but most likely does sound like a head gasket. Put the cap on and run it up. Does the rade get hot? Also feel the hoses. If they are really hard then it is most likely getting pressurised by a HG failure. Oil doesn't have to mix with water, HG can fail between cylinder and water Jacket.

Did you also have the water out the header tank issue BEFORE you did the pump, too?

If not, then you'd be very unlucky to happen to have HG failure just after the pump was fitted (cruel timing, but obviously not impossible). Chances are the garage haven't reinstated the coolant by the 'correct' method and have unwittingly introduced an airlock...

I recently had the same problem on my fathers 53 WRX, then the garage which done the job diagnosed head gasket failuar ££££££. I borrwed a pressure tester from an ex employer and clearly showed a small hairline crack in the alloy header tank. i think something was dropped onto the tank while the work was being done

It could be a air lock with you just changing the pump, they are a pita for them but also HG`s as mentioned

do you mean the water is coming out of the expansion bottle by the battery?
or do you mean is coming out of the header tank next to the power steering pump.
if the later then its just a leak.

Hi mate...can I ask u what leak do you mean...?...because I have same problem on mine classic..
Thanks

I had the same issue, except i had had the left head off, and put it back on with the original ( race) gasket. The water was bubbling into the header tank and building quite a lot of pressure. Ive got a nasty 3 inch wide burn scar on my arm to prove it. I didnt want to believe it was the gasket, i had a hill climb that weekend and no time for an engine out. I convinced myself it might be the thermostat, but after testing it, gave up on that idea.

So,in an act of final desperation, i top the whole lot up again, and filled the over flow bottle by the battery to the neck, i just kept her running, and kept topping up at the header tank and eventually the bubbles and pressure stoped.

It was an air lock.

With that said, with all the messing around the header tank pressure cap started to leak at the riveted centre post, but it was prehistoric, a new csp seems to have cured that.

Hi there..so there was a problem with the cap? cause I have the same problem...and I can't find solution :-(

Im still not convinced, i took the car out last night for a pre ulster rslly shake down, and she was makin air like sounds at the header tank. I topped up the expansion tank and starter her again and the noises stopped. The new cap has stopped the leak for sure, but im still not convinced all is well with the gasket. The hose remain soft, so it doesnt look like shes building pressure.

I think she ll get a bit of thrashing tonight, and if im not happy itll be engine out in the morning:(

Ok, bad news, atill gurgling,, engine out yesterday morning, new gaskets goin on tomorrow, if i can get them