Radiator/cooling system

[zerodown]

Picked up a VS Clubby last weekend, fantastic condition and reasonably low kms at 125k. Thought I looked over it quite well but after driving it home which was 100kms I did notice the temp never moved over a qtr on the trip home. Haven't given it a second thought till I decided to go for a quick spin this morning( hasnt been driven all week) and again noticing the lack of movement shown by the temp, led me to pull over and check the coolant.

NONE! ZIP! Dry as a nun's nasty. For the life of me I can't recall if it had any when I bought it as with checking this that and the other something is always going to be missed. Just gone the quick fix by refilling it all with coolant for the drive to the mechanics for a flush, fill and pressure test.

What sort of damage may have been done if it's been dry for a while? No visible signs of leaking on the garage floor or in the engine bay and a service was conducted at 120kms so unless they were rather shabby I presume it's had some coolant in it the last 5k kms at least. Following the service I guess I'll soon know if I'm looking at something more sinister with a rather fast leak somewhere!

$50-60 about the ball park figure for a flush etc?

[hako]

It may have been empty due to 'neglect' although you don't specify whether it was the overflow or radiator empty. If the latter then I'd figure you'd have seized the engine.
I'd top it up if the former applies and see what happens and watch the temp gauge and also pop the bonnet from time to time and see if the coolant is OK.

[GH05T]

when its cold

[zerodown]

The overflow was bone dry mate and the radiator I couldn't tell but it did take some coolant. Curiosity got the best of me and decided to take it for a 10min drive. When I got home and let it all cool the overflow was just below the minimum and the radiator took around 300ml to top up and also noticed around a shot glass worth of a puddle below the radiator. Once again I thought lets see what happens after a drive.......

Get home let it cool and wow, everything seems fine all levels full. Get home from work today to find the overflow back to the minimum line yet the radiator is fine! No puddles to be found......fun and games lol

[hako]

Keep an eye on it as the plastic radiator tank where the top hose joins has a bad habit of snapping off at around the 10 year or 250,000km mark...starts as a dribble every now and then and next stage is it shears completely and instant no coolant followed 30 seconds later by a cooked motor. Also check the heater vacuun tap which also is prone to sudden failure.
It may pay to replace the pressure cap on the radiator - if either seal fails the overflow tank will empty quicktime....this will also leave a small puddle. Good Luck.

[zerodown]

Thanks for ya help hako, much appreciated.