View Full Version : No water in expansion tank
Been so busy fixing all the problems with the car, and trying to move into my new place (building lots of flat pack today! *sigh*) that I haven't had a chance to really take a good look at the car for standard servicing stuff.
All I can say is that this car has not been taken care off. Such a shame as no reason to neglect it. Seems that every common problem with clio's has manifested itself on this car. Today I happened to open the expansion tank (when cold) and noticed a severe lack of water (i.e. none!), quickly topped it up but will need to investigate further. No mayo in oil or anything, but does look rusty in the water. I wonder if I have a headgasket leak as the car does sound very rough on first start up?
Oh and for a laugh, on way home tonight, the battery light flickered on an off. Turned out to be the throttle cable shorting out of the positive terminal, lol. I think I have bought a cursed car. She will be good, one day :) Defo needs some proper TLC.
Matthew
Imperial_16v
26-03-2007, 11:19
Hopefully nowt serious. :) Probably just needed re-filling. Did mine the other day, half empty lol.
VIPERONE
26-03-2007, 11:38
just do a full check of each hose clip and check the radiator bleed screw(top left of radiator)
..
look under car any leaks?? ie under the water pump... hopefully it will be something and nothing
Didn't think I was gonna get any replies for a while lol. So thankyou guys, will get it on the ramps in next couple of days and have a look underneath for anything naughty. Will check all the pipes and the bleed nipple as well. Also rad fan was working again this morning so no problem there with my rewire :) It's getting there very slowly... so much needs replacing though :roll:
Matthew
VIPERONE
26-03-2007, 12:05
you get everything right.. then something else materializes! lol
mine had a leak, was coming from the metal pipe tht is fixed to the head and goes to the nearside of the car...water pipe.. check its not corroded...
good luck
you get everything right.. then something else materializes! lol
mine had a leak, was coming from the metal pipe tht is fixed to the head and goes to the nearside of the car...water pipe.. check its not corroded...
good luck
tell me about it! Discovered my brakes are basically useless at the weekend, will need to take a look at those as well. Doesn't help that whoever put the wheel nuts on has used a uber-torque air gun or used glue lol.
This car needs to be cleansed/purged/stripped down and reworked. I could never sell it if it wasn't fixed either, even though it costs me money. I hate it when people sell cars and lie to you "KNOWING" that the car is dangerous.
Matthew
No luck finding why my water is dissappearing but have noticed that water appears to be coming out of the cap on the expansion tank! I have noticed 'hissing' before even when the engine had been left off for several hours.... but seems a lot of water to lose through coming out the cap (steam?)
Matthew
Sounds like you need a new cap then!
When it tries to pressurize the coolant system, im fairly sure all of the coolant will dribble out the top if you have a dodgy seal..
Could be wrong tho
white16valver
04-04-2007, 13:12
It needs some 'breathing ability' though doesn't it?
Like the power steering reservoir? (which pisses out gallons it seems LoL)
I wipe off my power steering, next day... cap is all lovingly moist again from the fluid coming out :roll:
The expansion tank... I would think has a pressure release valve.. so maybe that's knacked. Water can go over 100 degrees without boiling if kept under pressure so relieving the pressure isn't such a good thing unless is pressure is extreme.
Will look more at where it's coming from etc as it beginning to worry me (only because I can deal with not having a working sunroof.. but having a dodgy engine is something that is gonna cost big if it goes wrong).
Matthew
I'd say water pump mate.
Mines losing water at the moment and shows no signs of it until you investigate further then its apparent its the water pump. Push and pull pump about and watch the water trickle out.
Opened bonnet today to see water bubbling out of the expansion cap. Think it might have gone duff. How likely is it that these go weak on the pressure relief spring/ dodgy seal?
The fan cut in a fair while later so don't think it's actual temp that the problem. Will look at the water pump tomorrow as I'll be at a loose end at the folks place all evening.
Matthew
very strange, i can honestly say i have never put more than a cup full of water in my header tank as a top up in the two years I have owned it, it just never seems to loose any.
The cap has a rubber seal, if it is overtightened it will put am imprint in the seal and never seal properly again. I would go for a replacement cap and bleed the system to be sure.
:D
my water goes down pretty fast an im sure it must be a leak coz the car runs fine but i cant see it
new waterpump worked wonders on mine - never loses anything now
How much is a waterpump (before I phone and scare myself) :D
Matthew
MatBrown
05-04-2007, 12:13
Not much for the part, £25 from GSF.
Fitting it will be a bitch tho.
Mat.
Clio_GTT
05-04-2007, 12:30
Not much for the part, £25 from GSF.
Fitting it will be a bitch tho.
Mat.
fitting is indeed a bitch, lots of stuff needs to be removed to get to it, the PAS bracketry etc all needs to come off the block :cry:
:( This isn't sounding good :(
Matthew
Not much for the part, £25 from GSF.
Fitting it will be a bitch tho.
Mat.
fitting is indeed a bitch, lots of stuff needs to be removed to get to it, the PAS bracketry etc all needs to come off the block :cry:
yep its a bitch :cry: hope you can sort it without all the work
ah.. must phone renault... just reminded me!
Matthew
Ideal.... expansion cap in stock and ony £3.50 (ish) :) Hope this solves my problem as I REALLY don't want to have to do the water pump :roll:
Now just gotta find one of those silly little red clips for the rear central locking bar and i'll have fully working central locking again :)
Matthew
Got to renault at 5:25 at the latest.. (they shut at 5:30) and to be told all the parts people had left already :( not happy, but it is bank holiday so I guess they just wanted out. Still... it does mean I can't get a new cap till Saturday now as they are not open tomorrow :(
Matthew
Just a follow up/update :
I have fitted the new water expansion cap and left it to settle (doing normal work runs etc) and not checked it for a few days. It seems like it has solved the water loss problem. Not bad for £3.50 lol.
As a side note, I am surprised how much water can be lost by it bubbling out the cap. I assume it's meant to be a pressurised system and it couldn't cope with not being able to build up pressure.
Just glad it's sorted and cheaper/less hassle than a new water pump :)
Matthew
Problem has returned to haunt, and unfortunately, it seems even worse with my wifes car :( Uses so much water a day have to refill!! (and she needs the car as she is a mobile care worker at present).
Wouldn't mind if it was slightly easier to get to lol.
Matthew
Whats the temperature like? Can you see any deposits of coolant anywhere in the bay?
Temperature with wifes car is fine until it gets too low, then flicks up an down pretty much with what low water/steam would cause. Thankfully no blown HG yet! I keep telling her it is serious and got rad weld as temp measure but not the best. Will have a good look when I have sorted my car's MOT I guess.
My car doesn't have a working temp guage so can't tell what is happening lol :(
Matthew
... and no... can't see any deposits. Only rusty bit I see (light brown) appears to be below the alternator on my wifes car.. it is not wet at all just light brown, so looks like some of the water may have got dumped there. I never see a leak though... wierd :(
Matthew
MatBrown
08-02-2008, 16:50
Waterpump.
Mat.
Opps.. sorry, for some reason I put alternator. I actually meant its below the distributor on the gearbox housing. (had mind on other things)
Matthew
MatBrown
08-02-2008, 18:33
Opps.. sorry, for some reason I put alternator. I actually meant its below the distributor on the gearbox housing. (had mind on other things)
Matthew
Ah, that could mean the headgasket has gone at the back of the block, they build up with silt and overheat on the corner which causes the water to seep out, thats if it round the back of the engine, not the side.
Mat.
I think you will agree though Mr Brown around that area it could be a variety of leaking points. HG is worst case I'd say, so before you plan on scrapping/repairing it make sure it isn't the same problem I have had recently with the T-Pipe section coming out of the thermostat housing. I could not see this had been corroded until I accidentally hit the t-pipe section and it crumbled to pieces!
Piece shown here (sorry for crap pic)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/My%2016V/DSC00255.jpg
In the folowing pic, you can see several hoses and stuff, the brown arrow points to one of the possible leak points you need to check. My car is different (as that pipes been bypassed, usually it feeds oil cooler), but on most valvers/willy's there is a hose attached to the pipe.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w102/barneywobba/My%2016V/pipe1.jpg
Above that is the thermostat housing. Check all the pipes and the t-pipe just off the top of the pic for leaks. You'll see the t-pipe, give it a check over and make sure it isnt moving. If it is it may be like mine i.e. fukced.
Hopefully it is one of them. If so, it's a simple case of replaceing it and confirming all coolant hoses are secure and flushing system/refilling with correct coolant/water ratio.
Job done.
If any of those possible suspects leak, they go onto the gearbox housing in the form of shitty brown sediment from a coolant system that is in need of TLC.
If it is as Mat says, and it's HG. Get it fixed before terminal overheating and potential head warping!
MatBrown
08-02-2008, 21:08
Well put. :P
Mat.
Awesome informative post, thankyou :)
Birthday tomorrow, but will have a good long look in those areas.
Matthew
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