General Losing water in radiator

[dvdfever]

Hi, I've had a problem for some time (well over a year) with my 1997 (which I bought from a dealer the following year) Punto 55S, such that I'm having to top up the water once a week - and I once left it for two weeks as I didn't think and then it started overheating, and this isn't with a lot of driving as I'm only doing around 2000 miles a year, for the last few years, so I pulled over, let it cool down, topped it up and then I was okay again.

Anyway, last July when I had it MOT'd the garage thought it might be the bleed nipple that needed typing (I've no idea what that was, but said I wasn't going to google for it while at work ) and the same thing carried on happening, but this time round, there was some other stuff that needed doing - timing belt (first replacement so I know I should've had it done sooner), head gasket, skimming the head, thermostat, and a couple of minor things but which all added up to a pretty penny - and is making me think that this car will last me another couple of years as I don't want to spend a fortune again (well, it was £532.58 inc. service and MOT).

However, a week or so after it was done I checked the water and it had dropped to the minimum level again.

I topped it up towards the max, left it another 5 days and checked again and the same. I'll check it again later today but I'm expecting the same thing again and am wondering where I go from here because I thought with all the stuff that had been done to it, that this would be sorted out and I did mention it prior to having it done so am really annoyed that it's still happening.

Is it something that's too difficult to fix or would require something really expensive being replaced (since I can only presume it's something that's not obvious to them), or is it something that happens due to the age of the car (unlikely I'd have thought because I've only driven short distances of a few miles and sometimes the water drops and sometimes it doesn't) or were they just a bit crap in not doing anything about it?

I've been going there for a few years and they've been so much better than a previous garage I went to, especially earlier this year when I was broken into and the driver's door was crowbarred out of shape so it was vertical and wouldn't close properly, and they bent it back enough for it to be functional again within the space of a few mins and with a lot of force, without charging me for it - and a couple of mins earlier the guy was using the words 'write-off'

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Ffoxy]

Do you ever see little pools of water under the car after a drive or can you see any visible signs of leakage under the bonnet? Maybe you have a lot of whitish smoke from the exhaust? Any extra info will help.

By the way, never top up your cooling system with just water, it is important you maintain a water coolant mix to prevent internal rusting.

 

[dvdfever]

Do you ever see little pools of water under the car after a drive or can you see any visible signs of leakage under the bonnet? Maybe you have a lot of whitish smoke from the exhaust? Any extra info will help.

By the way, never top up your cooling system with just water, it is important you maintain a water coolant mix to prevent internal rusting.

Haven't thought about the pools of water thing, but I'm going for a bit of a drive shortly so I'll check after that. Ta.

About the coolant, I don't think I've used that before. For a minute I was thinking of the stuff you put in the windscreen wipers to stop that freezing in winter but it's not that I presume (I'm bound to sound a bit thick when it comes to cars as I know naff all about how they work)

Thanks.

 

[Ffoxy]

Haven't thought about the pools of water thing, but I'm going for a bit of a drive shortly so I'll check after that. Ta.

About the coolant, I don't think I've used that before. For a minute I was thinking of the stuff you put in the windscreen wipers to stop that freezing in winter but it's not that I presume (I'm bound to sound a bit thick when it comes to cars as I know naff all about how they work)

Thanks.

OK, the coolant thing is what used to be called Anti-freeze. Fiat do suggest their own recomended type, these days it does far more than resist freezing during winter, it prevents corrosion of steel / iron bits and lubricates the coolant pump, as well as prevents the heater matrix and radiator furring up (like the inside of a kettle does) Very important really. Worth re-filling with the proper stuff after you have discovered whether you have a leak and sorted that or a duff Head Gasket. By the way, if it does happen to be the Head Gasket the head needs skimming before replacement of the gasket and it is recomended that the coolant pump, cambelt and tensioners are replaced at the same time to reduce the likelihood of future pain and costs.

 

[aaron_uk]

i've actually had pretty much the exact same problems (including being broken into) over the last year or so.

Mine drops to the minimum after about a week or a long journey, if i bleed it properly i can go longer without needing a top-up, although traffic helps it warm up quicker. i get no extra smoke, no puddles under the car and no Mayonaise. The oil level also seems to be holding quite well only dropping slightly in the last month or so.

I believe mines to do with the waterpump, i think i can see "tide" marks on the seal.
I've been quoted £200 to have the waterpump and cambelt kit done and i can't really afford that at the mo so i'm just going to live with bleeding the system once in a while.

I know i could easily do the pump, belt and tensioner myself but i need the car to commute to work so if i do decide to brave it i'll wait until next year when i no longer "need" it every day.

Did they change your water pump when they did the cambelt

 

[dvdfever]

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know the anti-freeze should go in the radiator tube as well and I've got some standard stuff for that so I'll look out the Fiat stuff shortly.

When I had the timing belt, head gasket (+skimming) and thermostat done I did have the water pump replaced also (I knew I forgot to list something and that was it). I can't remember if tensioners were involved but as this is something recommended and done as a matter of course with all this other work (I was saying yes to everything at this point because some of the things would need doing in a few months anyway so I wanted to kill all the birds with one stone), I can only assume that I also said yes to the tensioners.

aaron, about yours dropping to the minimum after a week, I'm checking mine once a week as well usually, but until a couple of years ago this never seemed to need checking and I just left it to its own devices. Do cars like this just tend to have this problem as they get on in years? Ta.

Also, how do I bleed the radiator and where does the mayo come into it?

BTW, after travelling for about 12 miles and having lunch, about an hour or so later I checked under the car and couldn't see any water puddles, nor at the next location where I was parked for about another hour or so. I checked the water at that point (after topping up before I set off with, just for today, the usual water) and it was between min and mid-way, although I'd only put the level just over midway before setting off in the first place, so I'll check it again later in the week.

Thanks very much again for the help Ffoxy and aaron.

 

[aaron_uk]

Bleeding the radiator is a good thing to do as you'll get rid of any trapped air in the cooling system.

Follow this guide...
https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/90237-bleeding-cooling-system-mk1-punto.html
(if you need any extra help let me know)


By Mayo i mean that under the oil filler cap theres what looks like mayonaise stuck to the inside, if you had it, it would mean the head gasket was going / gone (it's from oil mixing with the water)

 

[fiat-punto]

i m having same problem aswell. loosing antifreeze. but it never falls below minimum level(but at that level car does heat up) so you have to put little bit more antifreeze to stop that happening.
what i cant understand is why it doesnt loose all the antifreeze if there is a leak. or maybe Radiator cap cant hold the pressure when there is antifreeze up to maximum, or maybe thermostat is causing that becuase i know its stuck open(but i dont think stuck open thermostat will cause antifreeze going just below minimum level)