Afternoon all!
I'm just trying to figure out whether I've borked my radiator
Me and the missus were driving around the coast in Devon this last weekend (really nice area - first time I've been there) when I noticed an orange warning light on the dash reading 'Check' and the temp needle in the red - not 100% sure how long it'd been there but I'm guessing at least 10 minutes.
Stopped off at the nearest place and discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty (note to self : check levels before doing a long trip). Luckily we had a couple of ltrs of water with us so we threw that into it and nursed it to a car park (temp needle dancing up into the red each time we did).
Parked it up. Popped to the local garage to pick up coolant and more water and waited a hour for things to cool down.
From there I poured coolant/water mix directly into the radiator until it was full (took maybe 8-10 ltrs?), checked the oil (all fine there) and took it back on the road - where the temp needle stayed steady at just under half the whole way home.
Happy days. Problem fixed....or so I think.
This morning I notice there's a modest 'puddle' of water that has accumulated under the front of the car. Fearing a leak (but needing to get to work) I dropped another half ltr of water/coolant into the rad, checked the reservoir (plenty in there) and drove it into work - about 45 minutes and no blip from the temp guage. All appears fine.
Parked it up. Steady drip drip drip of 'water' coming from under the front of the car forming a neat puddle again.
So. I'm in work now (but luckily i've got about 5 ltrs of water with me in case I need to limp home) and my question is :
Does it sound like i've buggered my radiator? OR is it likely i just over filled it and the reservoir and it's just the excess spilling out?
When I drove it yesterday and it was half full of water/coolant the temp still bounced up to red (albeit slower) but when it was totally full it stayed steady...as it has this morning.
For reference, thankfully that 'Check' warning light vanished as soon as we put coolant in it - so I don't think i've broke the engine
(there goes my opportunity to give it to Vince and get a Lexus transplant!)
I'm assuming buying a rad online and swapping isn't too difficult anyway but I thought i'd check before I started spending cash.
Thanks for any advice.
Ant
I'm just trying to figure out whether I've borked my radiator
Me and the missus were driving around the coast in Devon this last weekend (really nice area - first time I've been there) when I noticed an orange warning light on the dash reading 'Check' and the temp needle in the red - not 100% sure how long it'd been there but I'm guessing at least 10 minutes.
Stopped off at the nearest place and discovered that the coolant reservoir was empty (note to self : check levels before doing a long trip). Luckily we had a couple of ltrs of water with us so we threw that into it and nursed it to a car park (temp needle dancing up into the red each time we did).
Parked it up. Popped to the local garage to pick up coolant and more water and waited a hour for things to cool down.
From there I poured coolant/water mix directly into the radiator until it was full (took maybe 8-10 ltrs?), checked the oil (all fine there) and took it back on the road - where the temp needle stayed steady at just under half the whole way home.
Happy days. Problem fixed....or so I think.
This morning I notice there's a modest 'puddle' of water that has accumulated under the front of the car. Fearing a leak (but needing to get to work) I dropped another half ltr of water/coolant into the rad, checked the reservoir (plenty in there) and drove it into work - about 45 minutes and no blip from the temp guage. All appears fine.
Parked it up. Steady drip drip drip of 'water' coming from under the front of the car forming a neat puddle again.
So. I'm in work now (but luckily i've got about 5 ltrs of water with me in case I need to limp home) and my question is :
Does it sound like i've buggered my radiator? OR is it likely i just over filled it and the reservoir and it's just the excess spilling out?
When I drove it yesterday and it was half full of water/coolant the temp still bounced up to red (albeit slower) but when it was totally full it stayed steady...as it has this morning.
For reference, thankfully that 'Check' warning light vanished as soon as we put coolant in it - so I don't think i've broke the engine
(there goes my opportunity to give it to Vince and get a Lexus transplant!)
I'm assuming buying a rad online and swapping isn't too difficult anyway but I thought i'd check before I started spending cash.
Thanks for any advice.
Ant
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