Technical 500 coolant leak?!!!!

[Baglady1990]

I love my car but a woman can only be pushed so far.....& I’m right on the edge!!
Last weekend I noticed my coolant was just below min ... so being the good little girl I am I promptly topped up to just below max ...... I checked it today & it was below min again F,in great.... I taped the line I filled it to as I ran out of coolant ... just been to check and guess?? Yup below the min line!! Checked the cap seems fine? I can see down in the bowels below liquid (prob) coolant .... who the FXck knows!!! Is it poss a seal that’s gone? It’s so hard to check as limited space ... I guess it’s a trip to garage in morning then [emoji174][emoji36]

 

[Baglady1990]

best view I can get I see liquid at bottom loosing so much coolant .. must be a hole in a tube or something??

 

[John202020]

Is it the bottom hose connection that's leaking rather than the hose to plastic coupling to radiator?

 

[Baglady1990]

Is it the bottom hose connection that's leaking rather than the hose to plastic coupling to radiator?

Oh god I have no idea if I had ramps I would check .... you got any tips how I can check??

 

[Funky Spike]

Mine was doing the same right up until the thermostat let go. They get a hairline crack then eventually go pop.

Spike

 

[Baglady1990]

Mine was doing the same right up until the thermostat let go. They get a hairline crack then eventually go pop.



Spike

Sounds expensive ??

 

[Funky Spike]

Sounds expensive ??

Nope. Part is around £30, fairly straightforward to do. I paid someone to do it for me but only because it was Christmas and I had no time.

I seem to recall there was a pink residue from the coolant around the back of the engine before it let go.

Spike

 

[John202020]

Sounds expensive ����

Thermostat is near the battery and if required is only about £16, if you can safely park the car half on the curb, this gives you more space to look from underneath? assuming the leak is near the base of the rad, either hose, coupling, or rad itself or seals, non of which are hard to sort for the DIY person, ideally you need to get underneath to find the exact source of the leak? Plastic failure could be high on the list.

Rad if required is only £45

Bottom hose £8

Note too the metal pipe that runs behind the exhaust manifold also rusts way causing leaks ; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RADIATOR...e76594f:g:5PAAAOSwnJpcp2YI&LH_ItemCondition=3

 

[Baglady1990]

Thermostat is near the battery and if required is only about £20, if you can safely park the car half on the curb, this gives you more space to look from underneath? assuming the leak is near the base of the rad, either hose, coupling, or rad itself or seals, non of which are hard to sort for the DIY person, ideally you need to get underneath to find the exact source of the leak? Plastic failure could be high on the list.

I’m defo up for getting under the car at least if I can find the leak I’ll be happy [emoji2] even happier if I can sort it myself!!!

 

[Baglady1990]

How would I know if thermostat is issue?

 

[John202020]

How would I know if thermostat is issue?

Coolant would be leaking on the right side of the engine down and over the gear box area just to the left of the battery, thermostat is in the area under the engine ECU here with the two plugs side by side

 

[Baglady1990]

Coolant would be leaking on the right side of the engine down and over the gear box area just to the left of the battery

Thank you!!!! Gonna get stuck in tomorrow!!! ?

 

[John202020]

Thank you!!!! Gonna get stuck in tomorrow!!! ��

I added a pic to help find it. Given its in a totally different area its unlikely this is the issue.

 

[Baglady1990]

I added a pic to help find it.

Thank you so much it really helps [emoji16]

 

[Baglady1990]

I added a pic to help find it. Given its in a totally different area its unlikely this is the issue.

Where would I get parts? If it turns out to be a pipe ect ... euro car parts??

 

[typecastboy]

I think you need to get underneath really but my money is on the main metal water pipe

 

[Ralf S.]

My guess is radiatore. My Stilo and my old Alfa 145 both had a similar sly leak around the bottom of the radiator mount.

For the '45 I checked that there wasn't a leak anywhere else.. but the factory fit clamps don't ever come undone... a bit of fluid on the pipes can seem to be a leak from the joint (and had me foxed...) but it had actually run along the bottom of the radiator from a split in the radiatore. It only leaked under pressure, so wiping everything and waiting for a drip to appear from somewhere didn't show any leak.

My Stilo started the same way and I initially only noticed a slightly leaky water pump.. and that's where most of the fluid was collecting... but I was in Paris at the time so no chance to do more than just top it up. Then one day the temperature touched 38C and I was stuck on le peripherique ring road, which was too much for the radiatore and it started really pissing out.

Luckily, I found a Fiat garage with an Italian mechanic who spoke French, so I explained to him in Italiano what was wrong and he phoned up a local place that could fit me in and passed on the symptoms in French.

I learnt "pompe a eau" and "radiateur" .. which slightly offset the €1200 cost of having a pump, cam-belt kit and radiator fitted "bloody rapide, por favor" so that I could still get back to Calis in time for my ferry... Missed it by an hour due to a traffic delay (migrants climbing the fences.. ) and had to pay an extra €11 to change the ticket... but on the other hand, the Younger Mrs S. still laughs about it (I can still only cry) to this day, so I suppose it was "memorable".

Anyway, it's le radiateur, sans aucun doute.

Ralf S.

 

[John202020]

Found what appears the right one IF its le radiateur, £32 new!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTO-MAN...56b3:g:Ej8AAOSwq4xcdTJ4&LH_ItemCondition=1000

 

[Baglady1990]

Found what appears the right one IF its the radiator $40 new(bloody american key board)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ford-KA-...eebf:g:A9AAAOSwuTldtJaU&LH_ItemCondition=1000

Well my coolant level below min again after a trip of 17 miles been under car with torch ect and cannot find any signs of a leak from any pipe any ideas???

 

[typecastboy]

Well my coolant level below min again after a trip of 17 miles been under car with torch ect and cannot find any signs of a leak from any pipe any ideas???

If it’s a pipe that has nothing underneath then it might not be hitting anything, top it up, run the engine up to temperature then get underneath. With a warm pressurised system that’s losing fluid that quickly you must be able to trace it with the engine running.