So I've just got home, left the car running for a couple of mins, switched it off got out and noticed a White puddle of froth near the passenger front wheel, had a look and it seems (although it's dark and can't be certain) to have cone from the coolant bottle. The heat gauge was normal in the car, any ideas guys?

 

Rabies

TX.

 

take the car for a good run and then pop the bonnet and look at the bottle by the battery. if its spewing up water youve got problems. could be head gasket, thermostat, or rad cap, or air block or leak in system somewhere.
not sure why you would get froth though!

 

put screen wash in the wrong tank maybe?

 

Ok so I've just drove to work opened the coolant cap, it didn't overflow but it looks like this

 

Looks like screen wash or fairey liquid to me.

 

agree, someones filled it with something they shouldnt. suggest drain system, flush and refill with 50/50 coolant mix.

 

Erm I'm a little confused I thought the coolant went in the header tank on the other side of the engine.

 

This is a joke right!
that's a pic is of a screen wash filler neck and cap, the cap does not screw on nor contain a sealing rig to keep pressure in the system, if you have put coolant in this tank then DO NOT use the screen wash as it can easily damage the paint, the tank need draining and flushing a lot before you can use it again, that includes draining the pipework or squirting it into a thick cloth or towel and not spilling any on the paint

 

^wrong. that is a picture of the expansion bottle by the battery. the header tank is on the left, the expansion bottle on the right by the battery.
the washer bottle has a bigger lid and does not have an extruded filler neck like in the pic.

 

Lol - Wrong am I - Really!
OK, the top shown looks like it pops on and off, removing it with the tab shown (to one side)

The coolant system on any modern car is a pressurised system and this sort of top is not suitable to keep the pressure in the system as it does not have a sealing ring nor twist/screw on to secure it. The system is pressureised to increase the boiling point of the coolant so it does not burn off.

If i am wrong then fine but what i say is true, that cap (shown) is to stop the contents of the tank from spilling and not to keep the system pressurised.

It would help to know what car the pic is for, make/model/year

 

the pic is actually of the over flow tank on a classic,paul is right on one thing that the pressurized system needs a screw cap but is wrong in that the pic is part of the coolant system

 

Yes you are! its an EXPANSION bottle!
The header tank on the left of the engine has a cap on it which holds the pressure in the main part of the coolant system. This cap is also designed to bleed off coolant as the water expands (due to heat) to prevent the pressure getting too high (0.8-1.1 bar on the classics). The coolant which is bled off has to go somewhere so it is directed into the expansion bottle which is NOT under pressure. When the system cools the water is sucked back in via the cap into the header tank.
You need to read up on coolant systems (there are several styles)!

 

Thats definatley the expansion tank on the left hand side of the engine just above the turbo and I would say from looking at the pics someone has filled it with some kind of soap and would suggest a full drain of the system and flush the rad and pipes to ensure you get rid of it all before using the car agian.

 

Cool you live and indeed learn

 

So I'm slightly confused! So no one here thinks it a hg problem as I really cannot afford that at the mo!

This is the top of the lid I showed above



Then there's a metal pipe that goes across the front of the car and leads to this part

 

top pic expansion bottle (not under pressure - open to atmos
bottom pic header tank - pressurised to 1.1 bar.

from cold top up the header tank. then put the pipe from the expansion into a coke can.
then take the car on a run with boost. pull over and check the coke can. it should not have any water in it.

 

Ok so I've flushed the system and filled it up and hey presto no more bubbles. BUT... When I got back from taking for a spin it leaked water from underneath the coolant bottle which I'm hoping is from the tube behind the passenger wing, hopefully I haven't put it back on properly. It's not leaked from the top of the coolant bottle like it did yesterday! Will investigate tomorrow when it's light!

 

Absolutely bang on ,and whats funny is my mate came over last night and i noticed exactly the same thing happening to his expansion bottle (full of froth).I waited for engine to cool,then added 50/50 water & anti freeze and topped it up to the top mark on the 'EXPANSION' bottle.Took the car out for a short blast,and when we returned the level had increased,but as the car cooled down the level went back to the top mark. The car did not seem to have any more bubbles coming up the pipe ,but the radiator hoses were soft and could be squeezed . I think it needs a pressure test imho