I had the engine running on the project 1.9 while I was doing some work elsewhere on it. It's not on the road yet so I thought it would do no harm.
When I bought it home it ran fine but the temp needle never made it to the normal half way position. It got to maybe one third of the way. So I assumed it needed a new thermostat. It would have got that and a new water pump anyway as it's a new to me car. In fact the new parts are already in the boot.
Initially I noticed a drip of water. I didn't think too much of it as I thought it was just rain water running off where it got moved.
But I kept an eye on it as the temp needle was now reaching half way which I thought was weird as it didn't do it on the way home or when I've had it idling on the drive previously.
On the next check the drip had become a steady stream. I checked the temp gauge and it was still in the middle before switching off.
It was getting dark so I didn't have the opportunity to check for the source of the leak. And as the car is in Swansea and I'm back to Swindon on the weekly schedule I shall remain curious.
Obvious possibilities are a split bottom hose or shot radiator. Is there anywhere else it would leak from?
I'm a little concerned about possible damage to the engine from overheating but I guess that would only be the case if part of the problem is a faulty temp gauge and no real reason to think that.
There was no steam. In fact the water was stone cold despite the temp gauge being half way. I guess that should be a clue what's going on but I don't know what it means.
Any thoughts about what might be going on?
When I bought it home it ran fine but the temp needle never made it to the normal half way position. It got to maybe one third of the way. So I assumed it needed a new thermostat. It would have got that and a new water pump anyway as it's a new to me car. In fact the new parts are already in the boot.
Initially I noticed a drip of water. I didn't think too much of it as I thought it was just rain water running off where it got moved.
But I kept an eye on it as the temp needle was now reaching half way which I thought was weird as it didn't do it on the way home or when I've had it idling on the drive previously.
On the next check the drip had become a steady stream. I checked the temp gauge and it was still in the middle before switching off.
It was getting dark so I didn't have the opportunity to check for the source of the leak. And as the car is in Swansea and I'm back to Swindon on the weekly schedule I shall remain curious.
Obvious possibilities are a split bottom hose or shot radiator. Is there anywhere else it would leak from?
I'm a little concerned about possible damage to the engine from overheating but I guess that would only be the case if part of the problem is a faulty temp gauge and no real reason to think that.
There was no steam. In fact the water was stone cold despite the temp gauge being half way. I guess that should be a clue what's going on but I don't know what it means.
Any thoughts about what might be going on?
As stated above be safe and wear glasses and keep all skin covered if you cannot locate the issue when the coolant is cold. I think there is a product that you can put in the coolant that glows which can be helpful?????