Strange Water Loss On 205 Gti...

[gerry 5]

Just curious has this happened to anyone.....

 

Was driving the car as normal done around 20miles in it, when we decided to go shopping got to the shops and as we pulled up to the shops (reverse parked) and parked up.

 

I noticed a huge amount of water under the car?

 

I quickly turned the engine off got out to inspect and popped the bonnet to see nothing obvious (burst pipes etc) but a big puddle of water under the car on the passenger side and i couldnt see were it was coming from...

 

So went shopping, bought some water got back to the car put the fresh water in and got it home quickly (2 minute drive if that)..

 

Now what is baffling me is i filled the water back up, got the car on axles stands got the engine running to temp left it running for at least 20 minutes and not a single drop of water coming out from anywwere??

 

Yet it dropped around 4 litres maybe more at the shops??

 

Has this happened to anyone??

 

Only possible thing i can think of at the moment is, thermostat basically... because the overflow pipe is now not in my engine bay/on my coolant bottle and i am guessing if the thermostat didnt open at that point it would just send the water out of the expansion tank??

 

Anyway as there is way more people on here more techicnally minded than me i was hoping some one could shed some light on this??

 

Thanks in advance Gerry.

[GLPoomobile 958]

1) Stupid question, but was the expansion tank actually low on water when you refilled it? Is it possible that it had just run low over time anyway, and is completely unrelated to this incident (see next point)?

2) How do you know the water was from the Pug, and not just a puddle that was already there?

3) Where does your overflow pipe exit?

4) If the thermostat is stuck shut (unlikely as they should stick open if they fail) then it would have overheated and your dash would have lit up.

[Wes 86 1 Cars]

was it parked on a slope? it might be a build up of water in the sills, give your drain holes a poke and check they are not blocked.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

Buy a new expansion tank cap as these are generally knackered now as the spring loses its ability to hold pressure so it boils quicker. I had a 1.6 that used to do that and a new cap solved it. A 306 cap fits.

 

As has been said, water in the sills may do that and I know you have had some rain recently! You would usually hear sloshing when you break though. If it is a sunroof model, check those drain holes work by parking it on a hill and pouring water in to the top. Remember there are 2 at the front and 2 at the back

[gerry 5]

The rain is over east guys!! We aint seen rain for about 3 months now...

 

Car is always garaged and doesnt come out much at all.

 

It was deffo coolant, there were no slopes on the carpark it all appeared as I was reverseing back into the parking space, I got out to see the coolant all over the floor, popped the bonnet yet couldnt see anywere were it had come from, temp gauge didnt have time to raise it just sat at its usual place, that is between the 3rd and 4th bar.

 

In the shops I bought 2litres of water and put that in and when I got home I filled the kettle up and put that in, so say another 2 litres???

 

I then put it on axle stands started the car (which was already to temp anyway) and let it run for around 20 minutes,

 

Fan kicked in as usual and I just sat under the car waiting for coolant to come down, but nothing.

 

I even turned the air-con on and off thinking that may of had somthing to do with it???

 

I think so far it the only plausible reason could be the pressure cap but that "screws" on.....

 

Its just really baffling

 

I am now worried to drive it in case it happens again, next time i may not be as long and could be miles away from home.....

[gerry 5]

Oh and the overflow which exited down the passenger side wing (on the engine bay side) has now gone also i dont know were that ended up?

 

Another thought i had was that the pressure (if it leaked from that) just blew all the water out of that and that went along with it too?.....

[GLPoomobile 958]

Lets have a logic check for a moment....

 

If you had suddenly blown a few litres of coolant all over the floor

1) You'd see the steam rising from the puddle

2) You'd have steaming water/moisture all over the passenger side of the engine bay, becuase you are saying that the overflow pipe has disappeared. Without that pipe, the pressurised water is going to spray out horizontally, and IIRC the pipe points directly forward towards the battery

 

I'm not saying you don't have a leak, but it doesn't sound to me like you dumped coolant on the car park.

[muddatrucker 125]

Buy a new expansion tank cap as these are generally knackered now as the spring loses its ability to hold pressure so it boils quicker. I had a 1.6 that used to do that and a new cap solved it. A 306 cap fits.

 

As has been said, water in the sills may do that and I know you have had some rain recently! You would usually hear sloshing when you break though. If it is a sunroof model, check those drain holes work by parking it on a hill and pouring water in to the top. Remember there are 2 at the front and 2 at the back

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PEUGEOT-205-83-97-1-...d#ht_3160wt_904

 

Does this one look any good? mines become a bit of a pain getting it sitting flush without effort.

[gerry 5]

Lets have a logic check for a moment....

 

If you had suddenly blown a few litres of coolant all over the floor

1) You'd see the steam rising from the puddle

2) You'd have steaming water/moisture all over the passenger side of the engine bay, becuase you are saying that the overflow pipe has disappeared. Without that pipe, the pressurised water is going to spray out horizontally, and IIRC the pipe points directly forward towards the battery

 

I'm not saying you don't have a leak, but it doesn't sound to me like you dumped coolant on the car park.

It deffo dropped it, it was 90degrees that day and i had been driving around for a good hr, I saw the water with my own eyes pouring down near the wheel and inner wing...

 

I have come up with one other thing that i think may of caused it, and thats rad cap not screwed on right (or enough).

 

I got the engine to temp yesterday and when i turned the car off i turned it rad cap slightly and water started to come out of the sides of cap and thru overflow plug, today whilst its up on axles stands i am gonna change "pas" leaky lines then go for a drive so fingers crossed leak is gone.....

Edited January 24, 2011 by gerry

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

remember how the expansion tank cap works. It releases water out of the overflow when it exceeds a certain pressure. This spring goes weak over time and allows water to be released at a much lower temp. However you would never lose a couple of litres of water out of the top of the tank unless it was some major headgasket failure.

 

Are you sure no one is playing a sneaky prank on you?!!

[smithy 1]

If it has lost a lot of water and suspect it dumped out pressure cap I would be inclined to think either head gasket fault or engine has overheated.

[GLPoomobile 958]

It deffo dropped it, it was 90degrees that day and i had been driving around for a good hr, I saw the water with my own eyes pouring down near the wheel and inner wing...

 

Well you didn't bloomin' well say that at the beginning, did you?!

 

and popped the bonnet to see nothing obvious (burst pipes etc) but a big puddle of water under the car on the passenger side and i couldnt see were it was coming from...

 

I'd

1) Get new length of overflow pipe. You don't want it shooting all over your battery/coil/dizzy/ign amp etc

2) Check for signs of cooling system pressurising - pulsing from the header tank with engine running if you remove the cap and press your palm over the top, hard coolant hoses etc

3) Check for signs of HG failure if step 2 shows possible pressurising

4) If 3 and 4 check OK, get a new cap

Edited January 24, 2011 by GLPoomobile

[gerry 5]

Been out in it today, I really do think cap wasnt put on right as there is no issues at all now.

 

 

I think the issue may of been when the cap was put on last time by myself ( I generally top the coolant up monthly with about half a cup of water, maybe less) and i reckon the last time i did it, the cap has only caught on side (when you press down and turn)..

 

Its the only thing i can think off as there is no head issues at all ie overheating water in oil/oil in water etc

 

Even when the engine is at running temp and i release the cap it only lets out about 1/4 of a cup and stops. And that might just be because i had/have to much water in there??...

 

Either way cheers for the replys guys, I shall update this thread if anything else with the coolant happens, but fingers crossed it was just the cap not on correct.....

[Carbs4me 45]

i had a similar problem to this... it did it afew times but not regulary, dropped the water out of the engine switch off ONLY...

 

After a couple of months, i got silly in the car, boom started over heating... so i stopped turned the engine off, it dropped all the water, and everytime i started it from that time onwards it would smoke alot, and drop all the water on switch off.... i might be wrong but keep your eye on your head gasket because thats what caused mine and sounds like it might be starting to do the same, once head gasket was done everything was fine.

[gerry 5]

Engine was running on mine when i clocked the water....

 

Head was only done around 12k miles ago new valve seals etc

 

But yeah if heads goes i will be getting a mi16 for it

[CaptainK 11]

out of interest, does your fans come on all the time when your car sits in traffic and gets hot? Reason why I ask was my fan connector near the radiator was a bit dodgy and it'd work most of the time unless someone had knocked the wiring slightly. I once had it where it had come back from the garage and I got stuck in the traffic and it chucked its water everywhere. Then I realised the fans weren't running and shut if off. The fans connectors were still connected, but I wiggled them and the fans came back on.

 

I've had it fixed since then, but its worth a thought with yours.

[gerry 5]

Yeah they are on (its hot over here) and you notice em when i was in my garage and i had the revs upto 5k for around 5 minutes the 2nd phase fan came in and that is loud compared to the 1st phase..

 

Thats the only time i have heard the fan on the high speed mode, water dial was on 5bars as opposed to its usual 3 or 4 only because i was doing the revs upto 5k and car was stood still.

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

You may have a fan switch fitted that could do with being a little lower in its operating temps. Also thermostats are at different temps too

[gerry 5]

Yeah i used to buy low temp senser switch and low temp thermostat from a a place in accy.

 

Although dont know were i would get em both from now....

 

Doesnt need either tbh as the temp is fairly constant, it always stays between the 3rd and 4th bar

[Matt205 14]

I had a similar experience and it did turn out to be the sping in the cap. Cheap part, so you can't do any harm in changing it!

[gerry 5]

Cheers anyway so far so good not a drop lost or any overhating yay!!!

[JRL 14 1 Cars]

Hi mate, I replaced my old worn header tank cap with one of these stant caps. It fits perfectly and the coolant never drops.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stant-21-25-Psi-High...=item415630e98e

[gerry 5]

Well a few months later and still not losted a drop or had to top it up!!

 

I genuinely believe now that i ddint lock the cap on right as it cant be anything else!!