Technical Coolant Bottle Failure

[ahmett]

Had replaced my coolant bottle about 2 years ago as it was completely opaque and couldn't see coolant level without opening the cap (not advised when hot of course). I started noticing a coolant loss and took it to the mechanic who showed me the leak from the bottle itself about 2 months ago. Kept on driving and monitoring coolant but got worse to the point where even putting coolant wouldn't hold it much. I even noticed a leak spraying out of the bottle (slightly burnt my finger). Anyway got it replaced for 60 EUR, apparently it's a very common problem. Let me know if anyone else had similar issues, it's the one with the outer coolant bottle 1.4 Engine.

 

[bugsymike]

Had replaced my coolant bottle about 2 years ago as it was completely opaque and couldn't see coolant level without opening the cap (not advised when hot of course). I started noticing a coolant loss and took it to the mechanic who showed me the leak from the bottle itself about 2 months ago. Kept on driving and monitoring coolant but got worse to the point where even putting coolant wouldn't hold it much. I even noticed a leak spraying out of the bottle (slightly burnt my finger). Anyway got it replaced for 60 EUR, apparently it's a very common problem. Let me know if anyone else had similar issues, it's the one with the outer coolant bottle 1.4 Engine.

The other issue with coolant leak from bottle or anywhere on system is that modern engines use a pressurised cooling system, this means if leaking it cannot hold water pressure so more chance of damage if engine overheats.
As an example a 10 pound pressure cap means water does not start to boil until 115 Degrees Centigrade (at sea level) many pressure caps are at least 1 Bar which equals 14.7lbs of pressure.
It is worth noting that it is not the higher temperature of the water that can damage an engine, it is when that water turns to a gas, at which point localised areas around cylinder head for example can then reach much higher temperatures which will quickly cause warping or even cracking.

 

[ahmett]

The other issue with coolant leak from bottle or anywhere on system is that modern engines use a pressurised cooling system, this means if leaking it cannot hold water pressure so more chance of damage if engine overheats.
As an example a 10 pound pressure cap means water does not start to boil until 115 Degrees Centigrade (at sea level) many pressure caps are at least 1 Bar which equals 14.7lbs of pressure.
It is worth noting that it is not the higher temperature of the water that can damage an engine, it is when that water turns to a gas, at which point localised areas around cylinder head for example can then reach much higher temperatures which will quickly cause warping or even cracking.

Yeah it was getting progressively worse. Looks ok for now! A cheap fix. Next stop water pump/timing belt depending on how long I want to push it, I am on timing belt number 2 after 120,000 kms. First time I changed it it looked good at that age, but good to change at some point.