Losing coolant Not head i hope.!

[Denre]

I have what seems to be a common prob, my surf runs sweet and temp is always bang in the middle of the gauge. Prob i have is on a run if i need to give it some right foot for a long hill the temp gauge does rise to about 3/4, as soon as i ease off it drops again. I`m losing coolant which i think i thru the expansion tank. Just about to do a stat change and coolant flush but i dont really think this is gonna solve my prob. Does this sound like the dreaded head prob? Could the rad cap cause this to happen?

[coolsv650]

I have what seems to be a common prob, my surf runs sweet and temp is always bang in the middle of the gauge. Prob i have is on a run if i need to give it some right foot for a long hill the temp gauge does rise to about 3/4, as soon as i ease off it drops again. I`m losing coolant which i think i thru the expansion tank. Just about to do a stat change and coolant flush but i dont really think this is gonna solve my prob. Does this sound like the dreaded head prob? Could the rad cap cause this to happen?

Do you lose coolant all the time?

Mine has a tendency to get a sweat on when pulling hard up hills, not been so bad since a new radiator was fitted.

There are really only 2 sure-fire ways to know if it's a blown head or gasket.

1 is to remove the head and check it the second is to have a coolant test done to check for the products of combustion in the radiator

[Denre]

I`ve only had it 2 weeks so not too sure but had to top up twice now so not looking too good i dont think

[coolsv650]

I`ve only had it 2 weeks so not too sure but had to top up twice now so not looking too good i dont think

I'm assuming that you can see no obvious leaks?

I got a gas testing kit from flea-bay, cost about £25, that would be cheaper than removing the head.

one other way is to do the following, with the engine cold, or only lukewarm, remove the radiator cap, make sure the rad is full to the top then run the engine a blown head gasket should show as a steady stream of bubbles.

I've not had that much luck with this method on the surf though, I always seem to get gushes of water out! (tried it on 3 now)

[Denre]

No obvious leaksno, i tried that from cold, i seem to get a gush of water for a bout 20 seconds then it settles and cant see any bubbles at all

[Donk_UK]

I`m losing coolant which i think i thru the expansion tank.

I had this a new rad cap sorted it out as it wears out, like a rubber washer that pressurises the water in the cooling system. Might be worth ago is a cheap fix if it does. If not possible rad flush might be full off poop.

[Woodzie]

I had this a new rad cap sorted it out as it wears out, like a rubber washer that pressurises the water in the cooling system. Might be worth ago is a cheap fix if it does. If not possible rad flush might be full off poop.

Flush the cooling system , new rad cap and thermostat.......and for peice of mind get a tester .........


It takes away such a worry once the gasses have been tested



Oh if you are in the south of the uk . Go and see tony as he's the surf doctor

[mickey]

I'm assuming that you can see no obvious leaks?

I've not had that much luck with this method on the surf though, I always seem to get gushes of water out! (tried it on 3 now)

so, thats a common thing with surfs? i was a little worried..yesterday, my friends jeep cherokee needed filling yet again..his radiator does leak, but out of interest, i lifted the cap on his expansion bottle and announced in my best fake pro voice "if it was a head gasket, there would be bubbles"....and, ermmm, there were! which didn't please him much..a steady little trickle, like those escaping from a punctured inner tube dunked in a bucket of water..

then i started worrying about mine..the usual paranoia..i hadn't checked it for a while, but did recall lifting the cap on numerous occassions only to abandon a bubble search due to volcanic surges of red coolant..which i put down to airlocks? and the "spatters" jumping out of the top being due to vibrations? no bubbles though..yet when we changed a radiator once, then hoisted her aloft on ramps to check for leakage, she ran sweetly and without vomitting, cap off, for many minutes? couldn't get my head around it, so forgot about it..till you reminded me..still, i don't care, just as long as its not just me!!

to address the origional post..mine, whilst still newish to me (about four years ago) did start pushing the rad contents through the cap and into the expansion bottle..i too assumed the worse..but, a new cap from roughtrax did cure it..so i really hope your symptoms point to something as minor.

[RogerRoger]

Coolant Loss

No longer a problem for me. We tend to overlook the thermostat (on the bottom hose as opposed to the top) which is probably the original one and has been submerged in coolant for 10 years or more. When I took the old one out and poured a boiling kettle over it, the thing did not even open a fraction. It's another tenner well spent in my opinion.