water level going down :(

[ludaprix]

hi guys of late ive been noticing that the water level on my ph1 172 has been slowly going down.

last week i topped up the coolant to max and have noticed today that it has gone down by about 1cm, i cant see any leaks, the coolant is fine, and so is the oil, although over the last couple of weeks i have been using the car for alot of short journeys and alot of stopping and starting

should i be getting worried?

 

[G_F]

I wouldnt worry tbh, just keep an eye on it.

It is a closed system, so it is getting out someware, how many miles has it done?

 

[White16valver]

Mine varies in the header tank depending on whether the engine's running or not lol

Take the engine oil filler cap thing off (technical term lol) - if it's got creamy mayonnaise-y stuff in it, Head Gasket is shot...

 

[Jim NM]

Have a look at your dipstick to see if your oil has become milky in colour, if so it will be the head gasket that has gone. Failed HG will allow the water into your engine and turn the oil to a milky colour. Check all your hoses and look for water marks as one of these could be leaking and the leaking coolant could be evaporating on a hot engine.

 

[G_F]

The head gasket can stall have failed and no mayo evident on the oil cap or coolent even getting into the oil, just depends if the failure is on a water passage or not

 

[ludaprix]

the car has 64k on it, theres no mayo, the dipstick is fine, i think to be honest that once i checked it whilst the car was still warm and when i checked it this morning it was stone cold, may have had something to do with it?

 

[len_beach]

Check all hoses and around the engine bay for any signs of the dirty water spraying out at high pressure. It might be better to check with the engine running so that the system is pressurised.

 

[Jim NM]

Whats the temp like on your car is it running hot or normal? Me thinks it could be an airlock and is slowly clearing. Pressure bleed the system.

 

[ludaprix]

car temp is always running fine jus done a 60mile journey, was under half way point on the motorway as it should be and on the middle in traffic but never goes any higher

 

[G_F]

Water pumps have been known to start leaking at that mileage, or have you already had the cambelt etc done?

 

[davebem]

When you checked it when it went down was the engine running or was really warm? As mine goes down a little when it hot but goes up slightly when cooled down.

 

[ludaprix]

Water pumps have been known to start leaking at that mileage, or have you already had the cambelt etc done?

the cambelt has now been done twice lol cut a long story short, i didnt know if it had been done when i got the car so got it changed anyways. mech said waterpump was ok

maybe i should just see how it goes, could be nothing, said that i do have a Budget car warantee so if it does go bang im covered :clown:

 

[Josh@Renparts]

mech should have changed the waterpump really... just because its a lot of hassle to change seperate.. theyre pretty prone to leakage.. probs nothing as the level varies wether the engine is hot or cold..