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VZ SV6 Leaking coolant

1FATVZ

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Hey guys,

Last week i was driving along and my temp gauge was going up higher than normal, it didnt hit the red and i didnt get any warnings but i pulled over and called my mechanic, i let it cool down and noticed that my coolant level was terribly low.

I had the car towed to him last Friday and he got back to me early Saturday telling me it was ready to pickup, im not 100% sure on what he fixed because i didnt pick the car up and talk to him but it had to do with some hose or something that he replaced along with a pressure test and a coolant top-up and i was ready to go, ($160 later)

When i got the car home later that night, about two hours later i noticed some coolant on the concrete under the car, i thought this was just some over fill so i wasn't too concerned. A few days passed nothing was leaking so i thought it was all good, a few days later i was parked at a shopping center and as i was leaving i noticed a decent leak underneath me.

At this stage the coolant levels seemed ok and the temp gauge was fine, i have been keeping an eye on it everyday and noticed that last night there was a leak once again overnight, but then nothing today,

The temp gauge is still looking good even after ~45 minute drives but if i keep loosing coolant im going to be back to ground one. I'm planning on giving him a call tomorrow arvo and probably going to take the car in first thing Saturday morning,

im just wondering if you guys had any ideas of what could be wrong and if you guys had any experiences with this happening.

I've got a photo of where i have seen the coolant slightly run from, from when i got it re-filled:

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/ab314/grkwepn/IMG_0645-1.jpg

Thanks for any help in advance :)
 

Torquative

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alloytecs are prone to spitting the water pump, thermostat and/or the coolant cap. I would take a guess its the water pump going off your photo as the coolant leaks from the pump, runs down the pulleys, pools ontop of the sump (where your arrow points) then runs off that and onto the floor., but thats just a general assumption

just type coolant or water pump into the search and see what comes up, pages and pages of it...
 

Dz811

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happened to mine, the holden water pumps are rubbish. Unfortunately there's no quick-fix for them, the seals on them are a joke
 

slammedvz

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I would try a radiator cap first as it is cheaper, the caps allow the coolant into the overflow bottle but dont return them normally.
 

2005vzute

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exactly right slammed vz...i changed mine yesterday..20 BUX IT COST ME..but yea, youll find with a hell of a lot of these holden caps that the top seal inside them turn to rubbish pretty quick...the coolant will bypass the seal attached to the spring like it should...you'll see at the bottom of the cap in the centre there will either be a plastic or metal little disc sorta thing...you can pull it out about 5-7mm or so...when the system cools down it creates a vacuum and the coolant from the overflow bottle comes through that little plastic or metal disc that can pull down...what happens instead, is that the top foamy rubbery seal will become ****, and instead of sucking coolant from the overflow, it sucks air in from the outside because the top seal isn't sealing like it should.

im not saying that's what it is...but part of diagnostic work is to start with the simple cheap parts...example...theres an electrical fault somewhere...why start looking at control modules and broken wires when it could be a 50c fuse

cheers mate
 

1FATVZ

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so its either got something to do with the waterpump or the radiator cap, how can i tell if its got something to do with the cap, anything to look for?
cheers.
 

JHULLZ

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Also make sure you have the screw type hose clamps on all four ends of the radiator hoses, the original clip ones are no good and leak after the hoses have been changed!
 

Torquative

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true /\ and I believe there was a recall in the day to change them over to screw type. Actually I had a power steer hose come free for that reason (original hose clamp gave out)

If its the water pump you'll see it piss out with the engine running, that's my experience with them anyway. It is a known fault
 

2005vzute

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in your radiator cap, when the ugly side is facing you (the side with springs ad rubber etc) have a look in the very bottom and theres a foamy/rubberish kinda material there, if that looks ****ed, replace the cap...if the rubber seal at the end of the spring is damaged, replace the cap...also just "trip" that little disc in the centre should be either gold metal or black plastic...just pull it out and let it go...if it was hard or sticking or anything..replace the cap..also if you do replace the cap, only go genuine..theres abit to look for if you buy aftermarket stuff...kpa rating, depth etc

just check with where the coolant pisses out from with a cold engine...all leaks and faults will happen with a cold engine..all the rubber seals and hoses etc are hard and are not sealing properly because they're cold..it could possibly stop when it heats up
 
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