Overheating Issue - Coolant reserve leak?

[TazMania]

Hey all last week for the first time since i've owned the car (05 SV6) the temp gauge went right up and a warning sound came on. Pulled over let it cool and went right back down again and never had another issue. Forgot about it to be honest.

Almost happened again yesterday - temp went up but I stopped the car before it reached the red. Checked the coolant reserve and noticed it was pretty much empty so I started to fill it up only for it all to pretty much just spill out down under the car directly under it.

Question is - since I haven't had a chance to have a proper look at it (and I'm not mechanical savvy at all) - what would cause the water to spill out like that? Is there a hose under there that might have come loose? Would the reserve itself be cracked? Something much worse?

I opened the radiator cap as well and noticed (obviously I would assume) that it was a little low so i topped it up straight into there as well for now until I can get it looked at properly.

Cheers.

[PaulSV6]

Theres a possibility there could be a crack in the reverse tank.
On the radiator cap, did u check the rubber ring? These can fail.

[the_trademarc]

Theres a possibility there could be a crack in the reverse tank.
On the radiator cap, did u check the rubber ring? These can fail.

*Correction* These WILL fail. Around 60k generally.
Radiator Capr would be the first place to start. If it was pouring out from underneath it could be a crack in the tank, and also the water pump could have eaten itself up and causing a leak to. But I guess if it didnt piss out when you filled up the radiator its more likely the coolant res tank.

[TazMania]

Thanks guys for the responses - much appreciated.
I checked the cap and it seemed ok to me - but I'll get that replaced anyway just in case. I'm thinking this probably isn't the cause of the leak though because as you said trademarc - it's only spilling from the reserve tank directly under it.

Does anyone know if it is common or known for this to crack or water to spill from this area?

Where is the water pump located?

Thanks again all and sorry for the questions - I dont have a chance to get it looked at until the weekend so any help now would be appreciated.

[calay]

mine has been getting a bit warm the last few days and it seems as though about 1L of coolant was missing - funny since i had it changed in october... since refilling to the top its been sweet

[MySV6]

*Correction* These WILL fail. Around 60k generally.
Radiator Capr would be the first place to start.

Yep I had mine replaced at 50,000km, and then again at 120,000km. Both times the car boiled on a warm day with no prior indication of issues. Mine never leaked from around the cap area - it spills into the reserve tank, filling it, forcing the water out. When the car cools it sucks back into the engine from the reserve tank, and the only indication is the reserve tank low. Basically it's not the rubber that fails - it's the pressure relief built into the cap that opens early, relieveing pressure & thus water, earlier than designed

[davenmarcia]

just wondering as i have only had the vz for 4 months had no cooling problems and still don't guage always sits at 1/4.
My question is the reserve tank is always about half or full but when opening the radiator cap i don't see any coolant at all. should i see coolant?
i did top up and it only took just over half a litre untill it was at the cap.

[j-mo]

Sounds familiar

My VE Lasted 75,000kms

[Bulldog Edd]

whats the best way to check if the reserve is cracked or not because the exact same thing happened to me yesterday, I put coolant in the reserve and it just poured out quickly? Are there any hoses that could of come lose as well or is it a crack?

[RiCeY]

Did you check the level in the reserve first or just add water?

[Bulldog Edd]

It was bone dry, then a started to add the water but as soon as it was going in it leaked out quickly