hi all

I keep losing water from the coolant bottle. I did overfill the engine oil at some point buts it sorted now.. I'm getting good fuel consumption and the engine oil is ok. So what's the problem?

thanks

anyone???

LOL

Loosing as in

"Theres a puddle on the floor overnight"

or as in your engine is burning it off?

Check seals and pipes, make sure the cap is on properly, if its on right, get your engine up to temp and see if you can hear a fan kicking in, or a hissing from the cap

engine burning it off. I would imagine. I haven't heard the fan come on for a while though.

Anything else I should be looking for??

Thanks again

bigpigeon2004 said:

engine burning it off. I would imagine. I haven't heard the fan come on for a while though.

Anything else I should be looking for??

Thanks again

Click to expand...

Fan should be kicking in at about 90 degrees, if your engine runs much higher than 100 then water will find a way out of even a moderately secure system.

If it does go over 100 and still no fan, theres your problem.

Might have damaged the cap and not making a proper seal, if you can hear hissing (turn engine off at 90 degress and listen) then you need a new cap.

yeah I have been taking cap off to keep re-filling with water. Hissing from the cap you mean? Is it not tight enough?

I don't think I've heard ythe fan in a while though. Could this be the problem??

Thanks again

Fan not working isnt a problem per-se but if engine temp lives at 90 degrees of above you will be going through a lot of water. Often get stuck in traffic? With no fan and no moving air you get awefully warm! Leading to using more water

If the cap is hissing while its meant to be tight its possible the seal is busted and you need a new one. Again this wont cause a problem unless the engine is hot.

Its very rare for a cap to be damaged in crashes, so have a look round local scrappies for one, i THINK the 899cc and the sporting caps are the same.

As for fan, well you'll need to refer to the Haynes manual for that one.

Only other suggestion is to bring the car up to temp on a dry day and keep an eye on the floor underneath the car, could still be an actual leak.

Hope that helps

the thing is I never used to be losing/using so much water. Yes, I do get stuck in traffic sometimes. I'm always checking the water levels so much that I carry a 5L bottle around with me!!

I must admit the water & coolant mixture is very watery where I keep constantly filling up. Could this be something?

Fuel consumption good
Engine oil OK
No visible leaks

But getting tapping noises from the engine. Like I said; I did overfill the engine oil a while back. Could this be the problem? You haven't mention head gasket? I wanna be inventing problems though!!

Thanks again

bigpigeon2004 said:

the thing is I never used to be losing/using so much water. Yes, I do get stuck in traffic sometimes. I'm always checking the water levels so much that I carry a 5L bottle around with me!!

I must admit the water & coolant mixture is very watery where I keep constantly filling up. Could this be something?

Fuel consumption good
Engine oil OK
No visible leaks

But getting tapping noises from the engine. Like I said; I did overfill the engine oil a while back. Could this be the problem? You haven't mention head gasket? I wanna be inventing problems though!!

Thanks again

Click to expand...

I thought you said it was all sorted, I assumed you meant head gasket as well? Check the water cap for a mayo like substance, sure sign of head gasket failiure.

Wouldnt worry about lack of coolant in there, water is ok for normal use.

Tapping noise? Is it an 899 or a sporting?

Yeah I meant when I overfilled the engine oil a while back. No visible problems with performance etc.

There's denfinitly no substance around the cap or the inside of it or round the engine oil cap. Perfectly clean.

and yes it's a sporting 1108 8v

bigpigeon2004 said:

Yeah I meant when I overfilled the engine oil a while back. No visible problems with performance etc.

There's denfinitly no substance around the cap or the inside of it or round the engine oil cap. Perfectly clean.

and yes it's a sporting 1108 8v

Click to expand...

Weird on the tapping on an 1108, not a normally problem, well I'd check the fan and the seal.

Failing that I'm stumped

the fan and coolant cap seal??

bigpigeon2004 said:

the fan and coolant cap seal??

Click to expand...

yup

is there any rusty stains inside the engine bay? could be the water pump developing a leak but only when the engine is running. any lost water gets centrifuged around the place so you never see any drips.

Right, i have had same problem.. tryed it all.. & u know what it turned out to be?! a lil'piddley Temperature switch round the back of the block towards the rear left - u will see a plug about umm looks 3inches long.. well with the cover on anyway.. pull the rubber caseing off (it will easyily its a slide on connector.. & look for a leak all round that - Easy visual check u will see puddle formed not far under it.. seems silly that this could make u loose water so rapidly? but it did for me!! and guess what! fiat (dorchester olds branch) had to spend an hour looking through scruffy papers looking for my part and part no, to this day i've had no phone call & broken promises from thyem for my temperture sensor.. bastids! moan moan moan... lol hope u have sum luck,
BTW!! - Do not take this sensor off it has its own internal seal (IF the sensor is leaking this little seal is buggerd) if it isn't leaking don't undo it! try tightening it maybe?! righty-tighty..

Hopefully helpful,
Scott