Radiator

[coolvxss]

Gday today i went for a drive and came home and when i got out of the car i noticed that there was a fair bit of coolant on the ground. It was coming out of radiator somewhere. Anyways i filled it back up because i had to go somewhere, and put a water bottle in my car in case i needed to refill it again and drove off. When i got back my car has not leaked one drop of water. What could be the problem??? I thought i would have to get a new radiator this weekend but the leak has seemed to stopped. But i know something is not right for the radiator to leak that much water in the 1st place. Cheers.

[pandaman]

Well I'd reccomend keeping an eye on the coolant level and temperature for the next week or so. If it starts leaking again try and figure out where. If it was coming from the overflow bottle or overflow hose, it could be a sticky thermostat. That's the only thing I can think of at the moment that would explain an intermittent leak.

[coolvxss]

Yeah i will just keep checking the water level. I just thought it was weird to have water pooring out, then an hour later its not leaking a drop.

[xcop5l]

a sticky thermostat wont cause a leak it will cause it to get hot ot stay cool depending on what state it sticks at.
over the week end take it for a long drive (about an hour) and park it for about 10 min then go out and have a look if its leaking. if it is try and locate it

[coolvxss]

Well went for a pretty big drive today and it didnt leak. And then i idled it for a while in the driveway to get it really hot and still nuthin. When it was leaking, it seemed like all the water was coming out from somewhere on the bottom of the radiator. But could see the exact place because there was heaps of water coming out everywhere.

[pandaman]

a sticky thermostat wont cause a leak it will cause it to get hot ot stay cool depending on what state it sticks at.
over the week end take it for a long drive (about an hour) and park it for about 10 min then go out and have a look if its leaking. if it is try and locate it

Actually, a thermostat that is stuck closed can cause water to come out of the overflow as the coolant has gotten hot and pressurised but the thermostat is closed so there is no flow and you get backflow out the overflow. But you are correct in that it should also overheat or at least run hotter than usual. While he reckons it wasn't overheating, it's the only thing I can think of that could possibly fit if it's leaking one minute and not the next.

[coolvxss]

Yeah well i think the thermostat is ruled out cause my temp is just normal. temp gauge stays under 1/4. Stays pretty cool.

[pandaman]

Yeah well i think the thermostat is ruled out cause my temp is just normal. temp gauge stays under 1/4. Stays pretty cool.

Interesting. Buggered if I know then. How about the hose to the coolant resevoir, what condition is that in? Hoses are always good for a laugh.

[Fu Manchu]

Check the radiator cap is ok. Also if you have air trapped in the cooling system then that can cause over heating and the coolant to flow out the over flow and down onto the ground on the right hand side of the car (drivers side). This will happen in even brand new cars occasionally. Try the air bleed screw on top of the thermosat houseing or just bleed the cooling system thourghly and properly.

[coolvxss]

Well the water was coming from the left side of the radiator. I couldnt find the bleeding screw on my car. Its a series 1. I could find it on my mums vn. she got series 2. Is it around the back of engine or where? A few weeks ago i changed the bottom radiator hose and had to re-fill the radiator, but i did not bleed it cause i didnt know where it was. Could this be the reason why it happend? But like i said before. The temp was staying low.

[coolvxss]

Im guessing know one knows where the bleeding valve screw thing is on a series one? And if not bleeding it properly will cause water to all of sudden poor out then fix itself?

[Christina]

THIS HAPPENED TO ME TODAY well has happened for a while.... i think i have a leak, gotta go back to my mechanic soon, it hasnt happened since earlier today but does happen alot

[coolvxss]

Well mine was leaking a bit from my bottom hose. So i replaced that and then it didnt leak a drop for about 3 weeks. Then all of a sudden i pulled in the driveway and it started pooring out. I thought i was up for a new radiator. I just put more water back in it and it hasnt leaked a drop since. i dono whats happend and its buggin me.

[xcop5l]

there is no bleeding screw on a s1

[coolvxss]

cool. thats what i thought. i couldnt find it anywhere. But still doesnt explain why my radiator decided to drop its water then repair itself.

[Dan355]

Wheres the hose that dumps excess coolant on an s1? Mine has NONE what so ever...... well i cant find one anyway.

[coolvxss]

I have no idea. I believe it doesnt have one??? I have no idea where water decided to come out of my radiator.

[defa]

series 1 will let it go out of the plastic cap. well mine use to but that bottle was buggered. i have a new one now.
one comon problem with series 1 vn's. is ya can fill them up even while they are warm and they will look full but if ya wait a few mins it will bubble a bit then the level will go down. i couldn't work out why my car kept over heating and that was the trouble.. they get air locks in them. they are a shit of an idea. i am thinking of putting a series 2 radiator in mine..

[Dan355]

Yea thats what i thought......Im on my third rad. Should of gone s2 by now lol

[coolvxss]

So can you put a series2 radiator on a series one? The one with the radiator cap?

[Dan355]

I dont see why not....?