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I've just bought a Sykes Pickavant cooling system pressure tester to try and find where my coolent Is going. Looks like a very nice piece of kit, I'll post the results once I've had a go with it.
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OK I've had a go with the tester now although I didn't have the correct rad cap adapter I just held it on, put 15 PSI in and it held pressure ok, only lost about 1 PSI over a few minutes, I will also try it hot later...... -
Check for a damp footwell carpet and if you have a rear heater have a look at the hoses going up into the heater matrix.
I added some uv dye to my coolant so leak tracing is easy
How much water are you losing?Eat.Sleep.Surf.Repeat.Comment
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The heater is disconnected and there are no damp patches!
I have now tried the test with a fairly hot engine with the same results, no real pressure drop.
Not sure what's going on so I will keep on trucking until something else happens.Comment
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How much water are you losing?Originally posted by Dobbslc View PostEat.Sleep.Surf.Repeat.Comment
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About an inch out of the header tank every week or two...Comment
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Originally posted by Dobbslc View Post
When you notice the header tank level has dropped, is it by the same amount each time?Comment
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Mine was doing that and it turned out the head was cracked.Originally posted by Dobbslc View PostSWIFT AND BOLDComment
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sorry mate. If i were you i would go get a sniff test done to at least rule it outSWIFT AND BOLDComment
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The 'header tank' isn't a good way of monitering coolant level, its only an overflow, its not really part of the system and the level can change, the engine can only take coolant back from the tank if there is a vacuum in the system, its really just an expansion tank.
Always check coolant level from the rad cap.4x4toys.co.uk - Keeping you on and off the road...Comment
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Good point, the rad is normal full it was only the first time I checked it that it took a bit to fill it up.Originally posted by TonyN View PostComment
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Sorry Tony, have to disagree with this. I'd be lucky if I remove my radiator cap once a year just to check the seals. Always monitor the level via the expansion tank. Level goes up by about 20/25mm when hot and drops back to cold level, when engines cools down. If not then I start looking for a problem. This is how I found that I had a leak from rear heater. Expansion tank level was dropping below the cold full mark. It was loosing coolant and using the reserve in the expansion tank. engine was always full of coolant though, because I topped up the expansion tank to compensate for the loss. Providing all hoses are connected and working and there's no change to hot and cold levels in the expansion tank then all should be ok.Originally posted by TonyN View Post
NevComment
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Update:
Just got some of that uv dye that goes in the rad then you run the engine and check for leaks with a uv torch.
Couldn't find a thing! all clear. Then I thought lets check the transmission oil and bingo it was glowing yellow so I thought the rad / tranny cooler had gone.
Then I checked some new oil and that ###### well glows as well!
So back to square one.Comment
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Are you saying that be because you can see yellow in your transmission oil you have a false positive ?
What colour do you think the uv dye should glow under uv light?
If you had coolant in your transmission your ATF would look like strawberry milkshake.
Are you absolutely sure you are actually losing any coolant?Eat.Sleep.Surf.Repeat.Comment
you've cheered me up 
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