hey guys ive got a question about my 3.0 v6,ive noticed that im loosing water at the end of each day(the last three days)and when i take the radiator cap off,its dry so then i fill it up and it takes about a litre of water before its full again.however the engine is not over heating,there are no leaks from the engine(pipes,hoses,waterpump)there is no steam from the tail pipe,no water in the oil,and the water thats in there is clean.i also checked the oil filler cap and theres no sludge or milk colour on the underside of it.but when i had the car running for about 30 min i noticed that ther was a constant flow of water going into the overflow bottle,so i replaced the cap and its still doing it:nuts:this ones got me stumped im thinking blown head gasket,but it not showing all the sighns,but then why would the water still flow out like that,there must be pressure in there?or have i missed somthing,the car has done 185,000ksup until now ive never had to top up the water,any advice would be great thanks guys!!:happy:

welsh plugs?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_plug

Do you reckon the thermostat is opening fully? If its definitely not leaking coolant, but pushing it out into the overflow/header tank - then you'd have to look at reasons for overheating:

Possibilities: a/ stuck thermostat b/ cooling fans not operating correctly - could be thermo switch, relay, fan motor, fuses.

However, you don't notice temp guage being up do you? So I may be wrong (won't be the first time).

If you wanna check thermostat in a rough way: start with a cool car and radiator cap off, let car idel (having topped-up the radiator), wait until car warms up - you should have cool radiator and no visible flow in radiator top tank at first (thermostat is closed, water circulating in engine only). As the temp rises, should be visible with temp guage coming up, the thermostat should begin to open and your rad and hoses should begin to get warm, at same time you should begin to see some circulation of coolant in radiator top tank. While your at it, look for bubbles in the coolant - that would indicate a head gasket drama. Stop car or put radiator cap on before it gets too warm...... and WATCH your beast, don't wandewr off to make a munchie or something while doing this..... you don't wanna expel all your coolant with trad cap off and cook it.

That's about all I got - there are greater minds in here who may have better ideas.

Check all the hoses at the same time, it could be leaking (amongst other things) from the many hoses at the back of the engine people miss!

ok il check that later today,yesterday i did notice that the heater was blowing full hot air,thinking that the thermostat was ok,but il pull it out and check it anyway .and the water was flowing from left to right in the radiator. also i can hear some weird noise at the back of the engine sounds like when your blowing air through a straw into your coke,but a bit muffeld,so il get back with some findings

maybe the rad cap is faulty and letting out to much into the overflow causing the overflow to overflow!

also check under dash to make sure the heater hoses arnt leaking inside.

I had a very similar issue with the pajero laterly.. Was rather strange as i would be loosing water but there was no evidence of where it was going.

Anyway turns out i had 3 pin holes in the radiator. You couldnt see them or even see water dripping but when car got warm and radiator got hot it would leak. Because it was only leaking from a pin hole the water on the hot radiator would evapourate before it would get a chance to even leave a drop on the ground.

New radiator and she is like new. Id suggest you look at radiator. Maybe even pull it out and get it tested by radiator guys. Might just need a clean.


Other thing is if you car is loosing water but you cant find leaks i would also look at the thought of it maybe dumping it out of the overflow pipe on the overflow bottle when it warms up while you are driving. That what i thought mine was doing as thats the only way water could get out of the system. I put a 600ml coke bottle under theoverflow pipe to catch any water the system tries to dump. Least that way you can see whats going on. In my case turned out to have a few drops in there only. Baffling at the time but i now know it was getting out via radiator holes..

Goodluck.

ok ive checked thr thermostat and its fine,i filled up the water and started engine from cold wth the radiater cap off,i cant see any bubbles coming out,but as the water heats up it starts rising,and it just consistantly over flows at a medium rate its weird,i also had to use the car today about 20min each way and it wont over heat,it just stays just under halfway which it has allways done. on the trip back i kicked it in the balls hard,and still runs perfect,and still didnt over heat,i took cap off hour later and it took a litre of water to fill,this is weird,i replaced the cap by the way.tomorrow il take the air filter out and do a visual of the engine:nuts:

It's quite likely that the water pump is failing; I had similar problems to you when I had a KR. It was using a litre of coolant a day, but didn't leave puddles anywhere.

It's quite likely that the water pump is failing; I had similar problems to you when I had a KR. It was using a litre of coolant a day, but didn't leave puddles anywhere.

So where is the water going if the water pump is failing.

if it were the water pump you'd be leaving a trail of water as you drive - this happened to a friend of mine in his TS, it was like he was leaving liquid breadcrumbs lol
Have you noticed this or any pools of water under the car when its been parked for a while and allowed to cool?

It's quite likely that the water pump is failing; I had similar problems to you when I had a KR. It was using a litre of coolant a day, but didn't leave puddles anywhere.the water is passing through the radiator cap and into the overflow bottle,but i cant see any bubbles in the system,could this be very early stages of a blown head gasket?or maby i should get a compression test?:nuts:

So where is the water going if the water pump is failing.

The casing on mine had a tiny crack; as the engine warmed, the crack opened. The hot coolant was evaporating as soon as it hit the pump. Some steam, strong smell of coolant, but no liquid.

tefo: it's probably a good idea to get a compression test. I ended up replacing the entire engine cooling system tracking this problem down; the pump was the last part we tested.

yea thanks i think youre right,il get a compression test tomorrow

ok whats going on here???????????:nuts:filled up the water,20min drive to my uncles place for the compression test.we done that and its fine,i checked the water in the radiator before i left and it was full and the overflow was half,i then drove the long way home with heavy foot checked the water and its full!!:wtf:this is nuts!:nuts:

ok im going to wrap this up!i am losing water and now i know where,i noticed a water mark on top of the gear box where the water pipe runs out and into the top of the radiator,so i took of the inlet manifold,and there it was!theres i pipe that runs from the top of the radiator and through the two banks of cylinders and connects to the rear of the water pump,and thats where the leak is,so il change the rubber "o"ring and that will be problem fixed!:happy:

good to hear its all good. Leaks are a pain in the bum!