[Guest]

Now I'm gonna sound a real 'dunce' here, but at what level should the coolant be in the reservoir normally. The thing is my coolant level has been running below! the 'low' level (i.e virtually empty) regardless of whether the engine is hot or cold. It doesn't matter how many times I top it up, it always runs back down, as soon as take the car out for a spin... I would assume I had a leak in the system somewhere, but there are no traces of any leaks whatsoever.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any advice would be much appreciated as the guys at Mitsubishi don't seem to know whatsup!

Daz

 

[Guest]

I aint no expert but, my coolant level runs low every so often, i have to top it up!! I would say once evey couple of weeks maybe, but sometimes after a hard run it loses quite a bit.. The bottle its kept in, is not very strong, sometimes my cap pops of from he top! And can leak!

 

[Guest]

Gung-ho,
The normal level for coolant in the expansion tank is a few centimetres above the min mark when the engine is cold. After a hard run, the temps and pressure in the system go up and the coolant vents via the vent pipe on the expansion tank. Sometimes this can cause coolant to leak out of the tank.

The other (more expensive) answer is that you have a knackered head gasket that is leaking water into your oil and not doing anything any good. If you are experiencing this problem with low coolant when you are not driving hard as well then this might be the most likely cause. Check the oil and see if it has any creamy deposits in it and get a pressure test carried out on your coolant system to see if this is the problem.

Djack,
The cap from the expansion tank shouldn't 'pop off' because the tank isn't under any pressure. The pressure is all contained within the radiator with the vent pipe running from the radiator cap (at low pressure) to the tank.

Andy

 

[Guest]

I know this tank aint under pressure, what I was getting at was that this cap is very flimsy, or week as such, and for me anyway, has come of on its own once or twice!

 

[Guest]

I would of thought if the rad cap was faulty you would see water marks or antifreeze deposits down or around it.or on the top of the hood.

 

[Guest]

Andy is correct on the coolant level.
As 4 venting , at Donington recently I was looking under the bonnet of a car that had just come in after about 20 mins and the expansion tank was venting happly from the overflow tube , not a problem , just heat soak from the manifold and turbo back in2 the head.