thebigfelly Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 been driving the motor the past few days and on the odd occasion when stopped ,pulled up behind a car /traffic lights or parked and i noticed a lil steam coming up from the front of the car , not thinking much of it being wet weather and so forth i just thot water hitting hot parts of the car inside the engine bay , had a wee look under the bonnet a couple times but couldnt realy see steam coming from anywhere visible but did see drops of water hitting what id gues was a hot part of the subframe just behind where the bumper would be / infront of where the timing belt is but at the very bottom of the engine bay , saw teh drips and heard the sizzle so just thot ok water coming in from outside through the grill and under the bonnet then dripping down . so the odd times its happened ive thought nothing off it, tonight i get home from work, dry night lil cold about 3degrees, park up and notice a lil bit of steam come up from the grill ,so pop the bonnet thinking its strange that its dry night and its happening , so i pop the bonnet and theres a lil bit of water just at the top of the grill , on the pipe where id say its the radiator cap, if thats teh one right at the front with the silver cap and yellow sticker , it wasnt dribbling out or leaking , couldnt see any water coming from anywhere ,or leaks/cracks nothing , and it didnt seem like water when i put my finger tips in it , had a wee smell aswel and there was no odour , the consitency felt like a oilish water , johnsons baby oilkind of thing , but more watery , ( dont wana say water based lube ) LOL so was just wondering if anyone would have any idea what it could be .??? or am i just being paranoid. p.s theres no lights on dashboard, temp gauge sits under the half way point, car runs fine, no strange sounds, and its not like its spewing steam , its more like when you breathe on a cold day and can see your breath. so its not heavy steam Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Have you checked the water levels (when cold) at the header tank, O/S top of engine, and also in the expansion tank, N/S of radiator? Link to comment
ciaranrb5 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Used to get paranoid about this. It's probably water collected in the engine bay. First time I drove through a big puddle with uprated headers I proper crapped myself steam poured out from between the wing and bonnet though I had burst the radiator Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 FPMSL you drove it without checking first?? You can't be that paranoid ya fud!! Top header will be full, or half an inch down. Expansion bottle should have about 3-4 inches in it. It's marked min and max. Top header is important bit. At the end of the day, it's probably water on the rad just steaming off. Don't drive it without checking levels though!!! Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Will check when i finish at 5 the night baz. Before driving home. I wasnt paranoid to begin with like i said roads were wet cnditions were crap and so just thot it was water of the road causing it. Wasnt until it was a dry day and it happened i thot it was strange and had a look but never saw anything strange split loose or broke. . As for what to check, checking certain things or looking at a certain part to see a problem im not mechanicly minded and just baffled when looking at an engine or knowing to look for. as by example of of describing a part as a thingey ma jig. Thats why il post on here even if it means a good few litres p!ss takin out of me lol Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Gallons more like. Driver checks. Every day!! Levels, lights, tyres/wheels, mirrors. Thats every single day BEFORE you sit your butt in the car. Does anyone do it? Not really. You don't need to be mechanically minded to take sensible steps when you are concerned there is a problem. Prevention is better than cure. And cheaper Link to comment
scoobywho Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Could be a pinhole in the radiator mine used to puff a bit at the traffic lights after a motorway run could never find the leak would use about 5mm from top of header tank over a day or two. slung some radweld in and it never did it again so bought a new radiator Link to comment
benedwards64 Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Yep, mine did this and I eventually tracked it to a slight crack in the radiator. It only opened up when the engine was hot, so it was a sod to find! Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Gallons more like. Isnt that what part of the forum is about a good bit of banter and wind ups /takin the p!$$. Thats what makes it a good laugh lol Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Isnt that what part of the forum is about a good bit of banter and wind ups /takin the p!$$. Thats what makes it a good laugh lol Hell yeah, I like a laugh as much as the next one Paul, but where there's a chance you could be damaging your car beyond your wedding year's financial capabilities you need to be serious for a moment. Gaining a wife is sweet. Losing an engine is not! Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Yeah a know baz. Its a good banter tho. And il laugh as much as the next. Would be devestated if i done any major damage. Just going out wi my gaffer the now to check it as he knows his way around an engine. and im appreciative off the help and advice as always. Il happily lopse a gallon of pe-ash. If its helpin me out lol Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 Ok update. Check everythin and all levels seem fine. Only one was the coolant bottle just at the right side behind the radiator was about qauter full. There are two white lines/ridges of plastic on it and its at the bottom ridge the next ridge is about 3 To 4 inches above that. .. Could that be it and is it just water and anti freeze id put in it? Link to comment
davie78sti Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 thats your header/expansion tank,should`nt be loads in it but worth keeping an eye on,if you can smell burnt curry there may be a leak Link to comment
rig-pig Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 the plastic bottle behind the rad should be around the top mark when hot and a bit below when cold and yes its a water.antifreeze mix that is in there, as Baz said the main one to check is the one at the left hand side of the inlet manifold when the car is COLD m8 Link to comment
Phil MC Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I had a similar thing happen with my Bug STi. Turned out that one of the mounting lugs for the expansion bottle had come off and the rad fan had struck the bottle half way up and perforated it slightly. It was only when the contents rose up to that level that I'd get a leak and a small amount of steam where it dripped onto hot parts. Worth a proper check of the expansion bottle just in case . Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 OK UPDATE , parked it on the drive , cleaned all pipes hoses the lot , checked all levels when cold and dry , all seemed fine, turned engine on let it heat up and found out there is a small crack on radiator which is leaking when its hot/heats up circled the areas in red where small hairline split is . heres close up of the area circled where leak is now question is , im guesing i will need a full new radiator .. how much would this cost , and how much do we think itd cost to fit??? im guesing it would be ramp time and cpl hours taking of the front end and replacing everything? :( should i still drive the car slowly and easy.. no long distances? anything i can do to tempory fix it , rad weld or wouldnt that work on the pipe so far up ? plumbers tape on it hahaha Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Rad comes out in 5 mins Paul, no ramp required and comes up the way, but replace now before you damage anything engine wise. Theoretically the rad could be repaired but if it's cracked there then where else - renew and rest easy Link to comment
thebigfelly Posted February 12, 2012 Author Share Posted February 12, 2012 Rad comes out in 5 mins Paul, no ramp required and comes up the way, but replace now before you damage anything engine wise. Theoretically the rad could be repaired but if it's cracked there then where else - renew and rest easy can i book her into yours on wed baz? what am i looking at for a radiator £100-£200 thats the only place the water dribled out very slowly, hit the metal part of rad and steamed, so guesing thats what caused the steam which then collected on the underside of the bonnet, building up to condensation and then dripped down onto the the rest of the engine . checked while engine was hot on the rest of pipes and hoses and saw nothing else Link to comment
badbaz Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 Let me check rad price tomorrow Paul, I'll text you tomorrow mate. Can you text me your full reg please? Link to comment
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