Losing Water but nothing leaking???

1. avard22 L-plater Joined: Jun 2011 London Posts: 39 Saxo West Coast

   #1 6th July 2011, 14:13

   Every week I check my water and every time it has dropped from max to around minimum.
   I am not leaking from anywhere.
   
   Could it be my water pump or is this normal?
   
   Any help would be much appreciated
2. mimi179 Regular Poster Joined: Feb 2010 Derby Posts: 453 182 with Cup Packs.

   #2 6th July 2011, 14:14

   is your car overheating cause mines doing the same? x
3. Gandi699 Saxperience Post Whore Joined: Apr 2011 Posts: 9100 Amazon green VTR 16v, Inferno RS clio 182

   #3 6th July 2011, 14:19

   No external leaks? Headgasket or at a push cracked block/head.
4. avard22 L-plater Joined: Jun 2011 London Posts: 39 Saxo West Coast

   #4 6th July 2011, 14:52

   nope head gasket and block/head is fine and temperature is perfect!!!
   I do have a slight oil leak im fixing this weekend - it is just the oil switch, but the water thing has got me scratching my head lol
5. Gandi699 Saxperience Post Whore Joined: Apr 2011 Posts: 9100 Amazon green VTR 16v, Inferno RS clio 182

   #5 6th July 2011, 15:13

   How do you know the head gasket is fine without taking the head off? It could have blown between a waterway and the cylinder. It wont overheat right away if the leak is slight, you'll just be chucking water in the bores and evaporating it off.
6. Chief8802 Infrequent Poster Joined: May 2009 Orpington Posts: 106 Bianca 306 Rallye

   #6 6th July 2011, 15:30

   If you're 100% adamant that there are no leaks and that you're headgasket and block/head are fine, then I would hazard a guess at you're heater matrix leaking as obviously you can't easily see if it is or not, however often when they go you do get a bit of a smell from the blowers or water/coolant in the footwells.
   
   To me that does however sound like a lot of water is being lost if it's on a weekly basis, although that does also depend on how much you use the car. It's definitely not good though, it's a sealed and pressurised system so there's clearly a problem somewhere, and all it will take is for you to forget one week or for it to empty quicker than normal and you will soon start having problems with overheating and potentially damaging the engine. That's what recently happened to me and it cost a fair bit to fix, despite doing a lot of the work myself! How are you certain that the headgasket and block/head are fine? Also have you checked absolutely everywhere possible for any visible leaks?
   
   Alternatively all else I can think of is that a bleed point may be slightly open or the cap itself may not be sealing properly.
7. manta Saxperience Forum Bum Joined: Jun 2009 Jonathan Tonk's yard. Posts: 4232 '85 Opel Manta '88 Manta GT/E '87 Rayleigh Roadi

   #7 6th July 2011, 15:33

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by avard22 Every week I check my water and every time it has dropped from max to around minimum. I am not leaking from anywhere. Could it be my water pump or is this normal? Any help would be much appreciated

   I'm having the same problem.
   
   no idea what it is.
8. avard22 L-plater Joined: Jun 2011 London Posts: 39 Saxo West Coast

   #8 6th July 2011, 15:45

   Quote:

   Originally Posted by Gandi699 How do you know the head gasket is fine without taking the head off? It could have blown between a waterway and the cylinder. It wont overheat right away if the leak is slight, you'll just be chucking water in the bores and evaporating it off.

   I think this sounds quite likely - looks like I got a busy weekend ahead of me now!
   
   Thanks everyone, its a big help, I need to find out asap and get it fixed.
   
   I will updated everyone when I find out what the problem is anyways.
9. iSlayeR Established Member Joined: Aug 2009 King's lynn Posts: 2073 Turbocharged vtr

   #9 6th July 2011, 15:55

   There is a kit you can buy that can test if combustion gases are mixing with your coolant to determine if your head gasket is at fault.

   1 user thanked this post: avard22
10. user_20080 Saxperience Hardcore! Joined: Dec 2007 smurfland. Posts: 17346 Ex saxo owner.

    #10 6th July 2011, 18:17

    Take the rad cap off sniff the coolant can you smell petrol?If so the head gasket has gone,no way on earth should you be using that much water.
    
    Steve.
11. Stevo123 Established Member Joined: Apr 2009 Redcar Posts: 1971 2000 Posi Blue vtr

    #11 7th July 2011, 14:02

    If the rad cap is weak it will allow pressure and therefore steam to escape. You might not see any water dripping. Try a new radiator cap first - might save you a lot of trouble.
    Note that the saxo radiator tends to find its own level - once topped up it will chuck out what it does not want and settle down. I find this quite strange but I have noted this on quite a few saxo's i have come accross.
12. user_20080 Saxperience Hardcore! Joined: Dec 2007 smurfland. Posts: 17346 Ex saxo owner.

    #12 7th July 2011, 15:45

    The other maybe worth doing is to get the radiator pressure tested,I had a radiator that looked ok but I kept on losing water.So I had the radiator pressure tested boy did it chuck out water.
    
    Steve.
13. avard22 L-plater Joined: Jun 2011 London Posts: 39 Saxo West Coast

    #13 8th July 2011, 13:43

    thanks guys, I did put a new rad cap on about 4 weeks ago as the seal had gone on the old one.
    
    Could quite possibly be the radiator itself, will have it checked out and let you's know.
    
    Thanks again!