major water issue

[too jazzy]

hey guys got a major problem with my dads cab every second day theirs no water left in the engine its complete bone dry, nothing left in the reservoir bottle either, so just wondering what could it be?
all pipes have been checked, gas regulator checked, radiator only two months old

cars a 06 statesman v6 almost 450 000 kms

[RiCeY]

Top the water up and idle it till its hot and check for leaks.

[caaf]

Any chance of you getting it pressure tested (by a pro, unless your capable) Do above if nothing shows then my bet (as it's on gas) you've done a head gasket or associated thingies :P

Oh one thing to remember, the age of something means nothing plus assumptions are a killer

[too jazzy]

Bit of an update have been to few different mechanics all saying headgasket. We were not convinced it was the head so had taken it to a mate at holden apparently the large fan was not kicking in. But the actual problem was the bcm or ecu wat ever is controlling the fan had crapped it self. solution so far was to bypass it so the fan is running constantly. Hopefully this has solved the issue will report back if any trouble.

[Brenah]

Nice 1... Hopefully thats it.
I hate when a mech says that word "head gasket"

[richardpalinkas]

dont see how the fan not coming on will evaporate all water in the cooling system. check behind the manifold on top of the gearbox, leaks are prone to come from the thermostat housing

[RiCeY]

^^^ If its overheating and pumping all the coolant out into the overflow then not drawing it back in due to the common problem of failed coolant caps.

[too jazzy]

update 2: no water leak at all cars been on the road for over five days straight and not a single leak.

my question now is what controls the fan is it the bcm?
if its bcm can it be fixed by changing the relay in the bcm just like the sticky indicator issue alot of people were having before? just becoming annoying as the cars on the road about 20 hours a day and the fan is continuously running

[richardpalinkas]

I still see no logic in the problem and solution...

[too jazzy]

Yeah i understand richard but the problem is gone. So it had to have been the fan

[impulsive]

i dont understand either, the fan only comes on for me when the aircon is running or the car is in the red, as in it's over heating. I dont see how this can cause 6L of water to 'evaporate'.

If there were no leaks, perhaps it was not filled up correctly. remembering that if the car is cold, the thermostat will not be open, therefor no coolant can pass through. I dont mean to insult anyones intelligence, but this is a common mistake found with driver's at work.

[RiCeY]

The fan comes on much earlier than the temp being in the red.

[Brenah]

In Sydney the last couple of days we have hit 30+ degrees. My fans turn on just above the quarter mark. And thats with no a/c on, windows down

[leethal1]

correct, the ecu controlls the fans, for the a/c by default the low speed comed on at 220psi and high at around 250 psi (R134a), as for the coolant by default the low speed comes on around 95 - 98 degrees, not too sure where high comes on. so the fact that they come on with the a/c suggests that the problem may not lay with the ecu, I would get an autosparky to check the temp sensor, there should be 2 there, they should just need earthing out, one should sent the gauge up and the other should bring the fans on and maybe make the car run a little rough.

as for the disappearing coolant - if it is the red stuff it will react to uv light, get yourself a blacklight or uv torch and it will stand out like anything. the coolant has to be going somewhere...

update 2: no water leak at all cars been on the road for over five days straight and not a single leak.

my question now is what controls the fan is it the bcm?
if its bcm can it be fixed by changing the relay in the bcm just like the sticky indicator issue alot of people were having before? just becoming annoying as the cars on the road about 20 hours a day and the fan is continuously running