182 Expansion tank cap

[Patrick Bateman]

In my continuing saga of trying to rectify umpteen small faults...

Slowly been losing coolant for a while but no leaks are evident (going from max to mid-way on the tank after around 1000 miles) so replaced the cap with this-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radiator-...l:Clio&hash=item5b064e970f:g:WxoAAOSwajVUNqeb

Doesn't seem to have made a difference but in my attempt to tighten the cap more it appears I've gone too far and then it loosens off again. I can get it just tight enough to use though.

I thought the cap looked ok but does a genuine one make all the difference? Could it be the expansion tank itself not allowing it to seal as well as it used to?

 

[imprezaworks]

Would allways get a genuine one personally, but how much difference I've no idea. Have you had the head gasket checked? Rare but not unheard of.

 

[bloke]

that cap looks pathetic, painted by a three year old??

the 'description' is fookin' comical to say the least!!

 

[imprezaworks]

Could even be the water pump or the coolant bottle

 

[imprezaworks]

that cap looks pathetic, painted by a three year old??

the 'description' is fookin' comical to say the least!!

Could have picked a less cooler coloured car too

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Would allways get a genuine one personally, but how much difference I've no idea. Have you had the head gasket checked? Rare but not unheard of.

No, hadn't given it any thought. There's certainly no sign of the oil filler cap or oil being in anything other than good condition.

that cap looks pathetic, painted by a three year old??

the 'description' is fookin' comical to say the least!!

Didn't notice that before! The one I got looked ok.

 

[Jekyll]

The aftermarket ones have been known to be a s**t fit. Get genuine ones.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Anywhere cheaper for genuine than this?

http://www.renaultpartsdirect.co.uk/product/renault-expansion-bottle-cap/

Including delivery I'd be £15.

 

[Jekyll]

If you speak to Paul Templeton or drop RPD a message on here (they are traders and Paul is the man who you deal with) he will give you a free discount code

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Cheers.

If that still doesn't solve the issue then I'll need to get someone to have another good look at it.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

An original Renault cap seems to have made no difference. The car has gone from the max mark to the min mark in around 1600 miles.

This cap also feels like I could over tighten it to the point it will just loosen off again. Can anyone tell me if their cap does this? Any other car I've had you can tighten a coolant cap as hard as physically possible.

I'm wondering if it's to do with the expansion tank itself where the cap fits, I have since pressurised the cooling system and it held pressure no problem for a good 15/20 minutes with no drop or visible leakage- the adapter that fastened to the expansion tank had a seal on its face so it bottomed out completely tight. This is making me wonder if it could be the expansion tank.

 

[Darren61]

Is it a genuine bottle?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

As far as I'm aware.

 

[imprezaworks]

You had the head gasket checked? Or water pump?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

No to both although the water pump is only a little over 2 years old. Would a head gasket issue not present obvious problems over the sort of miles I've driven?

The oil looks totally normal.

 

[imprezaworks]

Be worth getting then both checked for sure. Very rare for a head to go tbf but worth a look

 

[shanks]

I had the same issue (no visable coolant) So i took mine to mick@diamond he found the rubber gasket in the thermostat housing had perished

 

[Patrick Bateman]

I had the same issue (no visable coolant) So i took mine to mick@diamond he found the rubber gasket in the thermostat housing had perished

Was there no sign of dried coolant around the housing?

 

[shanks]

Nothing.mick showed me the gasket and it had lost its shape and gone hard

 

[Patrick Bateman]

That's a bit annoying.

Trial and error through replacing parts when you don't have much money to spare isn't the best.

 

[shanks]

Think the gasket is a couple of quid from Renault.im sure you will find a thread on here to help you out.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Reviving this.

I reckon my coolant slowly going down could be the heater matrix. The car was back at SWR in Stirling a few months ago for an aux belt and a few bits and pieces, got them to investigate this and there was definitely no signs of an actual leak, they'd pressure tested it, held it for ages with no issue, no signs of coolant residue anywhere.

More recently I'd noticed my windscreen would fog up way too easily and it was the other half that actually clocked a bit of a coolant smell when the interior fan was on, I think I may have got used to it until it was pointed out.

Assuming it is a dodgy matrix, just how big a job is this to sort?

 

[bloke]

Matrix is fun to do, just about everything out upper and lower dash!!

You can just bypass the pipes under the bonnet to confirm though.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

That easy and quick enough for a garage to do? Would that just mean no heat from the fan then and I could run it and check if the coolant stays steady after a while?

 

[bloke]

Pretty much. Its a bit fiddly as the pipes are on a snap connector on the matrix, they are held on to that with a metal band so you need to cut that off first.

 

[ripp]

I have a similar problem. Have you fixed yours?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Yes, simple fix in the end...