Radiator Water

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Sho

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Ok lately, my Nissan Micra 2002 plate is drinking a lot of radiator water. Every fortnight or maybe abit longer i need to fill up the radiator tank.

First time im experiencing this problem so a newbie on this. Any idea?

I have checked the Head Gaskit, and i cant see any spillige/oil leak. My Temp gauge is normal. Stays half way once the engine is warm, never goes up/down.

The actual radiator does look abit rusty but nothing bad. Can it be a leak on of the pipes? Or actual water pump?

:confused:

Thanks.
 
Tell me where can a chap buy this special radiator water ?

Im sorry I know its not funny but the way you call it "radiator water" made me chuckle :(
 
ShakenNstirred said:
if you not seeing any leaks etc then its the headgasket thats gone
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i would imagine that water could be leaking from a pipe near the engine and evaporating? or it could be leaking but dissapearing before he thinks to look at the ground, if there are no leaks anywhere though then it could be hgf, what does the underside of the oil filler cap look like? what is the oil level like?
 
Rich1988 said:
i would imagine that water could be leaking from a pipe near the engine and evaporating? or it could be leaking but dissapearing before he thinks to look at the ground, if there are no leaks anywhere though then it could be hgf, what does the underside of the oil filler cap look like? what is the oil level like?
Click to expand...

I did get one of my work mate to have a look on saturday morning, and when he looked under the oil cap he said its fine.
He then had a look oil thingy where you check to see if you have enough engine oil. Had enough engine oil in there. But said its not a creamy colour which he was looking out for.
But it was normal. So he ruled that out for me.

I'll try putting a cardboard under the the car tonight to see any leaks. Even if it dries up, it should leave some marks behind.
 
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yea thats a good plan, might want to run it a bit as well to see if it leaks when the system is pressurised as it might be leaking when your driving because of the pressure and not leaking when your parked
 
Rich1988 said:
yea thats a good plan, might want to run it a bit as well to see if it leaks when the system is pressurised as it might be leaking when your driving because of the pressure and not leaking when your parked
Click to expand...

^ Yea good idea that. I'll try doing that after work tommorow. Hopefully the weather should be alright.
 
If it was the HG then you would have very noticable running problems, car running hotter/constantly overheating for starters. It could be a small leak on a hose from the expansion tank to radiator or radiator to the engine. It may also occur when the engine is hot and system upto pressure then any leakage would evapourate and leave the tell tale antifreeze crystals. hth

EDIT:should really read previous posts :)
 
Lol, typical OcUK diagnosis.

"Water you say, leaking you say, no big puddle on the floor you say, why you most definitely have a head gasket failure there my son."

"My job? Why im an IT technician, and no, I don't drive, or even have a licence, why do you ask?"

Lol.
 
Look around the obvious cooling pipes / block for any white - possibly crystaline deposits (chalky sort of thing) as this indicates a slow coolant leak that could be much faster when the engine is running.

Also run the car with the bonnet open and check for any whisps of steam from the radiator area
 
or if you want to DIY then get down to a motor factors and buy a cooling system pressure tester.
Basically you pressurise the cooling system with a pump up to the maximum pressure stated on the rad cap and check where it is leaking from.
If you do not find a leak and if the car fails to start or idles poorly immediately after starting, post doing this check, then it was the head gasket after all :D
 
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