Coolant leak...

[Robb]

Last weekend when i had the radiator out to fit my oil level/temp sensor i did a quick coolant flush and an oil filter change. Now i have a coolant leak and it's not coming from any hoses. All i can tell is that it's dripping off the starting motor from the back of the block. Was just wondering if theres anything water related running by that? There is Mayo on the engine cap :(

It just seems odd as it was fine before it. The engine wasnt started up or even ran before it was flushed. And the water leaking is clear and not dirty/oily.

Hopefully i dont have a cracked block :( any idea's or suggestions?

Thanks

Rob

[Lunner]

What did you flush it through with, clean water or a flushing additive?

Could well be head gasket gone, and could be running down back of block if its leaked through to the outside, is there an oily residue on the top of the coolant in the header tank?

Wipe down the whole area where it dripping from / running down and see where it runs down and try to trace the leak.

Could be a core plug on the back of the block thats leaking

[Robb]

Thanks Lunner just water as i didnt have much time. Today i didnt have much time to see where it was coming from either. Also though it could be a core plug leaking. As far as i can tell its dripping around the starter motor facing the block. Havent had time to investigate any further. JUst seems very odd that its suddenly happened now.

[Robb]

Theres a slight oily residue in the header tank :(

[Lunner]

Well if you only used water that rules out the additive unblocking any holes that have become blocked up, could just be co-incidence.

Does defo sound like head gasket has gone, try doing a compression check, on the cylinders

[Robb]

compression test is a bit hard to do as i dont have such tools at my demand and its not on the road.. :(

[titcharoony]

get the aa to do one, or failing that - get a kit from halfords. I was always told to start the car from cold with the expansion tank cap off, if it bubbles straight away its a good sign ur head gaskets gone. Other signs like lunner says are oil in ur water, mayo on ur the oil cap is a sign also (although a small amount might just be condensation).
Check everything once again underneath to be sure. I had this on an old car of mine, I threw sand underneath the engine bay on the floor, filled up the water tank and left over night. When I checked in morning I could see where it was leaking, I swore i cudnt find anything before. U never know, might not be as bad as you think. Is the car overheating? Check the expansion tank when starting up though, its a decent indicator.

[Robb]

It's deffinatly not leaking from any of the hoses. The water comes out sometimes as many as 5 large drops at a time. It's deffinatly at the back of the block but i can't see where as the manifold and starter motor heashield is in the way as to where i can see the water dripping off. I have a tiny bit of mayo on the cap and quite a bit of water coming out my exhaust...

[Lunner]

I'd put my money on headgasket then

[Robb]

these are two spots where theres water coming from as well as a lot coming out the exhaust or just dripping down where the sections bolt on.

Any help? Im not sure if there anything water related near the first picture... (drivers side next to arch)

In the second picture you can see the water on the starter motor. hoses are dry.