Technical Stilo loosing water

Currently reading:
Technical Stilo loosing water

shahid129

New member
Joined
Dec 22, 2010
Messages
14
Points
6
Hi there
Don't know if anyone can help buy my 1.6 stilo seems to be loosing water. I have checked the oil and that is clean as a whistle, i have also put car underneath the car overnight to see if there are any leaks and that have come dry.

I just can't figure out where the leak is coming from
 
If the car's loosing water and there's no visible leak, the only place the water can be going is into a combustion chamber or oilway via the head gasket.

I could be that the water is only leaking when the cooling system is pressurised as it would be when up to running temperature.

You could leave the engine running until it's up to temperature then look for leaks, or a garage could test for leaks or head gasket failure with a cooling system pressure tester.
 
Last edited:
I think mine is losing water too. About a month ago I filled it almost till the max mark.. now it's on the min mark again. When engine's warm it goes up somewhere in between mix and min. When cold it drops to the min mark. I have also LPG injection which is connected to the cooling system..
 
Shahid
How big is the leak? How much are you losing over mileage?
radiator leak.JPG
Common problem is radiator crack at base lh side looking forwards



Neonglow
Fluid will expand with heat so there will be a difference in levels between hot and cold engine

From max to min in a month is very small but depends how much you use car and type of journey etc

Got a 1.2,1.4 or 1.6 engine?
Check your rad fan slow speed fan setting is working (mine was broken and it's just a time factor before everyone's breaks as it corrodes with time) because without it then your engine is running hotter than ideal and the coolant vents small amounts out the coolant reservoir cap. So I noticed a very small drop in coolant level over time

See Stilo Guides for reference to radiator fan slow speed resistor
 
Last edited:
Fluid will expand with heat so there will be a difference in levels between hot and cold engine

From max to min in a month is very small but depends how much you use car and type of journey etc

Check your rad fan slow speed fan setting is working (mine was broken and it's just a time factor before everyone who has one breaks as it corrodes with time) because without it then your engine is running hotter than ideal and the coolant vents smal amounts out the coolant reservoir cap

Yes, I know why the difference between hot and cold. But I was wondering if it's normal that it evaporates at all :confused: I thought it was hermetically sealed. The temp needle never got beyond the middle mark and I got the car for .. it's the fourth year now .. and more than 70 000 km.. I drive it on a daily basis. Is there a way to tell if I have a blown headgasket?
 
Coolant system isn't sealed, the cap will vent if it overpressurises

Dash gauge still won't go above N with rad slow speed fan not working as hi speed fan kicks in but engine is running hotter than planned

Coolant shouldn't evaporate much normally but if you are running at higher temps then it will start venting

Head gasket signs, any or more of below

discoloured coolant
misfiring
white steam out exhaust
mayonaise looking in coolant reservoir
overheating
reservoir boiling over
gurgling through heater pipes
very hot engine smell
dash temp gauge into red or zero
rad fan going on/off
 
Last edited:
discoloured coolant - Nope
misfiring - Nope
white steam out exhaust - Well, yes, but only when cold :)
mayonaise looking in coolant reservoir - Nope
overheating - Nope
reservoir boiling over - dunno :confused:
gurgling through heater pipes - Nope
very hot engine smell - Nope
dash temp gauge into red or zero - Nope
rad fan going on/off - Nope

So, I guess it's just normal that it loses some water... I have this fear that there is something wrong, cause my mechanic told me my oil looks weird and it looks to him that i have a blown head gasket.. and i then started thinking it's losing water. But I think i just got some immitation of castrol magnatec :) So I'm back to Selenia.. and no experiments anymore :) Thanks a bunch again for the support @Deckchair ;)
1aK+F4PJ7cBm32CUNiyI2GAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC
 
I'm in exactly the same boat - since I got the Stilo at the start of December, I have had to top up the coolant a number of times. I can't spot any leaks and it doesn't have any of the signs associated with h/g failure, but I can't help worrying about it. I was actually thinking about getting it compression tested, just to set my mind at ease...

Funnily enough, my old Punto also seemed to need the coolant topping up regularly. I had that 3.5 years and it never had any problems as a result of this strange coolant loss...
 
It is most likely to be the radiator. The coolant is so hot that it won't show any signs of leak, as it evaporates the second it emerges.

See this thread:

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/237751-coolant-leak.html

Picture 1 and 3 on post #24.

I had do use dye to find the leak, as there was no obvious leak. Coolant goes from max to min in a month, and the radiator area has traces of dye around it. So radiator change is in the timeline this spring.
 
Last edited:
It is most likely to be the radiator. The coolant is so hot that it won't show any signs of leak, as it evaporates the second it emerges.

See this thread:

https://www.fiatforum.com/stilo/237751-coolant-leak.html

Picture 1 and 3 on post #24.

I had do use dye to find the leak, as there was no obvious leak. Coolant goes from max to min in a month, and the radiator area has traces of dye around it. So radiator change is in the timeline this spring.
Mine goes from max to min in like a month. But it never goes below the min mark. When engine is running I think I can smell the coolant near the cap - I think it evaporates a tiny bit :confused: Did your engine overheat, @Morty Mort? I have no problems whatsover I just want it to be in tip top shape cause I plan some 1000 mile trips this spring.. and leaving me on the road in a foreign country will be very unfortunate...
 
It's easy enough to make a cooling system pressure tester to confirm whether there's a leak and where it is.

Use an old Fiat brake fluid resevoir cap (they are the same size and thread as the coolant resevoir) and a screw in tyre valve and nut. Fit it to the coolant resevoir and pump it up with a foot pump that's fitted with a pressure gauge to no more than the coolant resevoir cap release pressure (1.4 bar I think for the Stilo).

Look for leaks and watch to see that the pressure doesn't drop. If there's no visible leaks anywhere but the pressure drops, then it must be leaking into the engine via the head gasket, or the original coolant resevoir cap was leaking.

You can also use the same device and pump fitted to the brake fluid resevoir for pressure bleeding the brakes.

This is the one I made and often use for both puropses.
.
 

Attachments

  • Pressure Cap.JPG
    Pressure Cap.JPG
    160.2 KB · Views: 59
Did your engine overheat, @Morty Mort? I have no problems whatsover I just want it to be in tip top shape cause I plan some 1000 mile trips this spring.. and leaving me on the road in a foreign country will be very unfortunate...

Never overheated, and the engine's been in perfect condition all the time. It's been like this for over a year now. So the leak's pretty stable, but during summer and heavy load it evaporates faster. I always drove around with 2 0,5 litre bottles of water in the boot. It's just a couple of months since I put in some Tracerline radiator dye (for any water-based solution), and traces of the leak showed up pretty fast, as you can see of the pictures mentioned.

Now I will fix it for good, as I also plan to use the car for the summer vacation. 4500 km (2250 km x 2) up north (domestic) and back again. This includes a radiator change...
 
Use an old Fiat brake fluid resevoir cap (they are the same size and thread as the coolant resevoir) and a screw in tyre valve and nut. Fit it to the coolant resevoir and pump it up with a foot pump that's fitted with a pressure gauge to no more than the coolant resevoir cap release pressure (1.4 bar I think for the Stilo).

You can also use the same device and pump fitted to the brake fluid resevoir for pressure bleeding the brakes.

Slighty off topic, but Davren, how did you make this fantastic little device? Can I use this to bleed my brakes? Let's say I open up the nipple on one rear caliper, go to the front and just pump, until I have completely bled that line? Then I go back to close the valve/nipple and I'm done? If so, it's a genious one-man bleed kit. :worship: I've got a foot/pedal pump.
 
It's just an old Fiat brake fluid resevoir cap. Drill a hole through it and fit a threaded tyre valve (available from any tyre fitter).

Bleed the brakes exactly as you describe, but make sure the level in the brake fluid resevoir doesn't drop below the level of the clutch master cylinder feed pipe located part way down the resevoir.
.
 

Attachments

  • Tyre Valve.JPG
    Tyre Valve.JPG
    147.6 KB · Views: 34
Last edited:
What pressure do you recommend for bleeding the brake system?

Only needs about 4 or 5 psi but the air pressure in such a small resevoir goes very quickly so you, or an assistant, need to top it up frequently.

If I'm doing it alone, I use an 12 volt electric compressor and switch it back on for a few seconds when the pressure goes down rather than keep getting up from the bleed nipple to operate a manual pump.
 
Mine is now officially losing water. Yesterday I found the level dropped way below the min mark – 2 fingers off the bottom. And I have previously checked it two days ago and the coolant level was just fine. How could it drop so much in just like two days? And I just went to work two times during that time… no big trips… Yesterday I added half a liter and drove it for an hour in the city and no problem the level even surpassed the max mark as the engine got warm so I sucked some out so that it stays in the middle. The car hasn’t overheated, there isn’t any white smoke from the exhaust, runs like always… I have to drive 300 km to my university now, so let’s see what happens; I sincerely hope it won’t let me down on the road…
 
radiator leak.JPG
Have you checked the bottom of your radiator where they normally crack? They tend to leak just at a certain temperature and when pressurised so when cold they have no leak and when hot it evaporates. The radiator circuit doesn't get hot until it's in use and on some journeys it may not get used at all, so it can seem a mystery why it leaks only on occasions because it needs heat and pressure to show up

Always carry water with you, you can go forever with a small leak provided you top up regularly


eezibleed.JPG
For bleeding brakes, clutch or pressurising radiator for leak checks then I recommend one of these Eezibleed kits

For brakes then it constantly supplies steady air pressure from a reduced tyre pressure and refills hyd fluid at the same time which is great when changing the fluid. If you're doing just a quick bleed then you don't need to fill it with fluid so it makes the job very quick, just connect up and away you go

For coolant then it fits the coolant reservoir cap nicely and pressurises that for leak checks

But for both, watch the pressures you're putting in, niether will need much pressure and so don't connect it directly to one of your tyres at normal pressure, reduce your tyre pressure first
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the response
I have noticed that i get a lot of white smoke while driving, from what i can tell it is steam.
Does this sound like the radiator rather then a possible H/G failure.

I'm hoping so as i've only had the stilo for a month and i have got a few repairs bills coming up on it.
 
I have noticed that i get a lot of white smoke while driving, from what i can tell it is steam.
Does this sound like the radiator rather then a possible H/G failure.

That sounds like water getting into the combustion chamber, ignited with fuel and air, compressed and let out as steam through the exhaust.
 
Back
Top