Where’s my coolant going?

505604

Well-known member
Fellow Frogger
Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
1,160
Location
Junee, NSW
Hi all,

The coolant in my 307 HDi is disappearing from somewhere.

I don’t remember which day last week, but I parked the car and returned to it less than 5 minutes later to see a huge puddle of coolant on the ground under my car.

I was near a radiator shop so I went to them. They inspected the car and then pressure tested the system. It was holding 15 pounds easily.

There was no sign of a leak anywhere.

They topped up the system and bled it and I drove the 40 odd kilometres to home.

I didn’t check the coolant level until yesterday. It’s gone again.

It’s been raining here ever since I got home that day. And I had also parked the car in the grass. So I don’t know when the coolant came out.

The glow plugs were changed just before this. I don’t know what relationship that has to the coolant problem, but I’m mentioning it in case someone thinks that there’s a link between the two.

There is another problem with the car that I think does relate to the glow plugs being replaced. But I’ll start a separate thread about that.

Thanks for any help, as always!

Cheers,
Andrew
 
Water pump? You are going to have to climb under with a torch. Apart from the engine proper and attached hoses, coolant goes to the EGR, the turbo, and the oil cooler.

Internally it circulates through the heater, but leaks from this leave puddles inside.

In the case of an oil cooler breakdown, it will finish up in the oil, so check the dipstick and filling cap for mayonnaise..
 
Water pump? You are going to have to climb under with a torch. Apart from the engine proper and attached hoses, coolant goes to the EGR, the turbo, and the oil cooler.

Internally it circulates through the heater, but leaks from this leave puddles inside.

In the case of an oil cooler breakdown, it will finish up in the oil, so check the dipstick and filling cap for mayonnaise.
Thanks, seasink.

To me, any of those leaks you mentioned should not allow the system to hold pressure. Is my thinking wrong on that?
 
if a seal is leaking on a rotating shaft ,say with a faulty bearing it may manage to seal when stationary ,but not when the shaft is wobbling around ,.if this is the case i wouldnt run it for long as pump bearing failure will cause the timing belt to jump or loose teeth causing catastrophic damage to the engine ,its been a while since iv been there but i think you may be able to see the pump pulley with the cam cover off ,the other plausibility is that it wasnt bled properly when the glow plugs were done so air pressure in the system has blown coolant out the overflow tank,same at the rad place ,from the way your post reads they pressure tested it, before they toped it up and bled it ,they are the experts but that sounds back to front to me,pugs,
 
Let the engine run a bit before looking for a pump leak. As above, they sometimes seal stationary. A really bad pump can cause damage as mentioned.

This looks like a fast leak. Slow leaks can need a prolonged pressure test.

Unless they have been dismantling a lot of bits, the glow plugs shouldn't need the water box or turbo or EGR cooler disturbed.
 
Under pressure won't leak as seal will still work OK
Check bleed hole under water pump, if coolant colour, get out spanners
Bush Mechanic -- raw egg in radiator works a treat to keep you going
 
Unless they have been dismantling a lot of bits, the glow plugs shouldn't need the water box or turbo or EGR cooler disturbed.
Ha!

Have you seen where the glow plugs are on this car? The Peugeot dealer didn’t quote me over $1400 plus parts to do the job because they are easy to get to. No, I didn’t get the work done at the dealer; I was just interested to know what they would charge.

I don’t know if the turbo was disturbed, but the EGR pipe was definitely out.
 
from the way your post reads they pressure tested it, before they toped it up and bled it ,they are the experts but that sounds back to front to me,pugs,
Sorry if I made it sound like that.

No, the system was filled and then bled.

And then they pressure tested it.

Thanks for picking up my mistake.

Cheers,
Andrew
 
is this a 1.6 hdi dv6ated or 9hz motor or a 2.0 16v rhr dw10bted4 diesel or an 8 valve dw10ated motor
 
My comment and Frenchiemech34's are related. There are multiple HDI engines. What are the three letters starting from position 6 in the VIN, to clear up misunderstanding? These are codes for the engine.
 
At the back of the RHR (DW10BTED4) engine is the EGR which is water cooled (a horizontal affair above the exhaust manifold). It was disconnected. You'll need a light and mirror to check.
 
Yes, that was one of the first things checked.

It’s in place and secure.
 
Could this be the same as my 208 coolant leak issue?
I could not see any leak but then the bottle went dry and I was even running on empty coolant
costs about fifteen hundred to fix I have pics in my thread some pipe I could not see underneath was leaking and they replaced it.
Linky
 
Could this be the same as my 208 coolant leak issue?
Linky
Thanks for your reply, Palo Verde.

I don’t know if the problem I’m experiencing is the same as yours, but I’m glad that I read some of your thread. Kelpiebat has mentioned something that I haven’t thought about - the overflow cap. That’s going to get checked when I can get to the car next week.

Cheers,
Andrew
 
Morning Andrew, this is kelpiebat and I've just read all the preceeding and will put the house on your issue being a C C of mine. When testing the 308 with RHR engine the mech kept 14 PSI at it for 30+ mins and not a drop leaked. It looked to be a mystery gremlin till looking at the recovery tank cap and there it was a break in the sealing ring. Swapped caps and issue solved. My leak was less dramatic than yours and when looking closely a faint trail of coolant colouring could be seen emanating from beneath the cap. All the best with it, enjoy!!
 
G'day kelpiebat,
Thanks for confirming what I had read overnight. What on earth made you check that cap? Was it a case of 'there's nothing else? I'm clutching at straws!'? Because that's how it feels at this end.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to checking it next week. And I'll report back, for certain.

Cheers,
Andrew
 
Morning Andrew,
The answer to your question is that the mechanic who pressure tested the coolant system is GOOD so I had faith in his testing and knowledge and well below the recovery tank was the faint sign of colour and I have a couple of stat write off 307s with likely to fit caps handy. So why not swap if it fits. From memory the sealing ring is plastic, but could most likely be replaced by a thick 'o' ring. Have just looked at the 308's cap and the sealing is done by an 'O' so it must have been a part of the plastic where the 'O' ring mounts that was broken, which would be unlikely unless someone with more brawn than brains persisted with fitting a cross-threaded cap Might be findable if really necessary.
Cheers
 
To throw things into further confusion, I checked the car this morning, and there's been no coolant loss. My mechanic has had the car for most of the past week and he was pressure testing it, stone-cold (overnight temperatures below 0ºC helped ensure that) and then he'd drive it to get it hot and pressure test it again. All of the time it was showing no signs of leaking.

I mentioned the experience of kelpiebat and so we checked the cap and the O ring very carefully. There was nothing to indicate a break. So I drove the car all day and checked the coolant level again.

There's been no loss of coolant. Twice.

Twice it dumped the coolant - at least the quantity of the overflow bottle. And twice now that I've checked it after town and highway driving and there's been no coolant loss.

For now, I'll continue to keep an eye on it …
 
Top