Rover coolant help please...

[sloth]

Hi all, noticed when filling washer bottle yesterday that my coolant is well below minimum, almost none in the tank! It's a 2001 rover 25 1.4 petrol, the dreaded head gasket went pop <10,000 miles ago. It now has an updated (laminated I think) gasket, so that shouldn't be the source of the leak; oil looks ok too.

So before I dig out the haynes and check coolant type etc does anyone have any tips? Common causes of loss on this model maybe? Drain and refill, or just top it up?

Cheers in advance, Kev

[Ray1]

Is there a white sludge mixed in with the oil when you remove the oil filler cap?

[treequip]

Its been hot, it might just have spat some out because of that, top it up and monitor it

[agg221]

As Ray1 says, take the oil filler cap off and look for 'mayonnaise'.

 

Also, start the thing up and run it to warm, then when you stop, leave it for a few mins and have a look underneath for anything wet. It could be a hose has perished, radiator has corroded through etc. but you could spend a lot of time guessing where, hence much easier to look for a wet bit.

 

If nothing is wet, I would put it down to the heat.

 

Alec

[phirow]

Top up run it to temp make sure cooling fans working.

let it cool see where the level is.

Car Radiators find a level.

you will have to keep checking until you know that is it's level

 

I always after coolant repairs buy BARS LEAKS this stuff comes in a packet like a goose turd. or a bottle.

And before everybody starts shouting I HAD 38 YEARS IN THE MECHANICS GAME.

Always ran the fleet on it. The rad core would fall out first before leak.

 

Check temp gauge is that steady when you at normal running temp.

If not and the temp drops then rises you have an air lock.

 

Check the rad cap if that as gone weak that will let the water out through the overflow

Make sure the cap is the right pressure and the right length.

 

If that fails take it to the guy who did the head and ask him to check the head gasket by putting a rad tester pump to pressure at running temp. IF THE RAD TESTER GAUGE BOUNCES THE HEAD GASKET HAS BLOWN.

Hope this helps

[Daniël Bos]

It'll have a K-series engine.

 

Common faults are:

Rad leaking, Water pump leaking and I think the thermostat housing can crack (though its been a while since I touched one).

 

The slow leaks on these tend to be what bu@@ers the (inferior design) head gasket.

 

The recent heat should not really make any difference, seeing as the engine coolant operates at far higher temperatures so unless you had an overheating issue, coolant temp would not have been any higher than normal.

 

The water pump can suddenly fail if its started to leak, which often leads to near instant engine death...

 

An other common fault would be perished hoses or clips, as some of the factory fitted clips were of the "spring type" which get weaker when old, especially if taken off a few times.

 

It'll also be getting on a bit in age?

 

Good little car though.

[treequip]

It'll have a K-series engine.

 

Common faults are:

Being a K series engine

 

Fixed that for ya

[spudulike]

Fixed that for ya

 

I always found the K series engine a little belter - 105 BHP from a 1.4 in those days was pretty good when 75bhp was the norm....

 

Anyway - I had a slow leak in mine many years ago and it turned out to be the inlet manifold - think it is heated by the coolant and is prone to leak - it will have a slow trickle down the back of the engine where the manifold bolts on to it - new gasket O ring seal sorted it.

[robbo 110]

did your engine originally have the laminated gasket? this was introduced with a stronger sump which in turn allowed higher torque angles after initial problems with the k series engine, as you probably know the head bolts tighten in to the sump, the head gasket should be replaced with like for like & new bolts always fitted, this isnt made very clear unfortunately! you can tell from the engine number which gasket should be fitted!

 

i would keep away from radweld etc unless you have a visible leak!!

 

good luck!

[sloth]

Cheers for all the replies yes it is a k series, I'm told 60,000 is about right for head failure, it went at 63! I don't think it was originally laminated, but it is now; it was a proper job by a trusted and experience mechanic so I presume he did it ok.

My oil is fine and full, as is what little coolant is left, unlike the gloopy mess they were both in before :eek:

I think but can't be sure a new rad installed at the same time, my memory is hazy. Anyway, I feel its probably a bit overdue so going to wait for this rain to stop then run her up and check for leaks. If all goes well I'll change the lot.

Thanks again guys...