Hi all i need abit of help,

ive read all the posts i can find on water loss on here and I'm still not sure.

i have a 1.2 8v 02 punto with 73k on the clock now the lad i bought it off i know & he told me the head had already been done about 50k but no paper work to prove it tho. now over the last 2 weeks ive noticed that ive been losing coolant, I'm not losing loads as ive only toped up with 250ml of coolant so far but it is going down,
ive already checked the oil & its black not the creamy colour you would expect if the head was going but i was told it could be going straight threw the exhaust and not into the oil is this right?

Now for the main part of the question I'm not willing to spend £500 getting the head done, so can anyone tell me if that seal steal actually works or if its even worth trying?

thanks

Are you sure you're not loosing it anywhere else? heater hose, matrix etc etc, Why do you suspect HG? Any other symptoms?

Dear zilart,
Another probable cause that I've experienced before, to my Mk 1 and Mk2:
My engine overheated due to leak hose and it bent the headblock. The head gasket leaked the water to the combustion chamber and I can see the exhaust puffed extra white smoke and it was watery.
It happened to my other Nissan Sentra and Kia Carnival too.
If you see that the smoke is whitish, try to spread paper at the exhaust outlet. If it quickly formed water, it may be the culprit. If yes, you may need to check the block if it requires skimming and off cause, a new set of gaskets and seals.
Just sharing.

This time of year you will get **** loads of water out the exhaust hg or not due to the fact its winter and the engine doesnt burn the heavily moist air.... it just boils it = steam

You need a coolant pressure test to find nwhere water is going
A small dribble underpressure can hopefully be found

I made a diy cap and had some sucess....

Ziggy

im assuming head gasket as its on 78k now, I have been told by the pervious owner that it was don't around 50k but no proof.
I drained the coolant out over the weekend flushed it and refilled it adding in k-seal.
it still looks as though its losing water, im leaving no obvious puddles under the engine so I don't think its a leak coming out, under the thermostat is dry and the water pump was replace 4 months ago so I wouldn't expect a leak from there but id have to get under to be certain. the only other place I know you can lose water is via the head, is there anyway I can check if its the head without having to strip it down?

if I go out and get the car upto temp leave it to cool down a good few hours then open the radiator cap I get a nice whooshing sound of air.

zilart said:

im assuming head gasket as its on 78k now, I have been told by the pervious owner that it was don't around 50k but no proof.
I drained the coolant out over the weekend flushed it and refilled it adding in k-seal.
it still looks as though its losing water, im leaving no obvious puddles under the engine so I don't think its a leak coming out, under the thermostat is dry and the water pump was replace 4 months ago so I wouldn't expect a leak from there but id have to get under to be certain. the only other place I know you can lose water is via the head, is there anyway I can check if its the head without having to strip it down?

if I go out and get the car upto temp leave it to cool down a good few hours then open the radiator cap I get a nice whooshing sound of air.

Click to expand...

Leaving it a few hrs will cool water right down and u wont get a woosh

If ur loosing water you need 3 tests doing
A coolant pressure test - will the cooling system hold about 1bar of pressure (14psi)

A compression test - are ther cylinders loosing compression due to a duff hg?

Sniff test - a chemical reaction to see if coolant contains combustion gases


Ziggy