VE Commodore Sportswagon coolant disappearing

[VFSV6FORME]

One of the best $70 I have spent from ALDI and its comes very handy. Its a Fibre Optic camera System and comes with any tool needed to to retrieve lost rings down the drain, its water proof, Comes with 1 M lead + you can buy a extension lead for up to 4M

 

[Skydrol]

Geeee,, this job alone is a nightmare to flush out the old coolant

Is quiet easy if maintenance is done. Thr problem with Drxcool, when is old and trap air in the system, it will gum up. Once Dexcool start to decay, is a very slow process. When the engine overheat, is too late. By changing it with fresh new coolant, will remain nice and fluid. Same with ATF and peiple wonder why the transmission is fried.

Thr Owner Manual has all the maintenance intervals.

 

[bureng]

I have a 2011 HSV R8 sports wagon developed a leak at the bottom radiator plastic fitting after changing the radiator hoses. This elbow has a o ring that goes flat after a period and once disturbed from putting in the new hose developed a leak . The elbow is held in by a c clip easy to replace once the radiator is out.

Note: The radiator fins were totally blocked by road grime at least 15 cm up from the bottom , so some degreaser and a good hose out was necessary. Also time to flush the condenser fins out as well while the radiator is out. I was surprised by the total blockage and think this really needs to be a service item, as it would cause engine over heating down the track. I also have concerns about the dash coolant temp gauge it was showing the vehicle to be running at normal temp when I noticed the coolant leak , upon draining the system I noted quite a lot of fluid had leaked already. Can't say how much but enough to raise concerns that the temp gauge will only warn you when things are really in big trouble.

1.To remove the radiator first remove the air intake piping to gain access to the fans .
2.Remove the top and bottom radiator hoses if you can't get the hose clamp at the bottom leave it and just remove the bottom hose at the engine you can get at it when the radiator is out. Just the hose can get tangled up a bit when lifting it all out. Push the bottom hose down to let as much rad fluid out to minimise the weight.
3. Unclip and remove the over flow and bleed hoses at the radiator cap inlet.
4. Unclip the fan harness on the top drivers side of the assy., then unclip the two top plastic clips holding the fan assy in. Lift out the fan assy it sits in two plastic mounts at the bottom. Comes out easy with a bit of maneuvering.
5. Undo the top radiator mounts and the top air con condenser bolts.
6. The bottom rad elbow doesn't have much room as it hits the c frame. Now the a/c condenser bottom mounts are part of the radiator. So to get the radiator out you have to lift the condenser up and out to the front of the car , its bottom mounts to allow the radiator to come away.
7. Lift and maneuver the radiator out past the c frame & watch you don't damage the condenser cores as its bottom mounts on the radiator tend to scrape against it as you lift the radiator out.

 

[VFSV6FORME]

Hi admin and thanks for thorough response.There is no sign of any water in the oil at all nor oil in the coolant space in fact both are quite clear. Have never seen and fluid including droplets come from exhaust either. We are in Brisbane so does not get real cold here weather wise. I had a pressure test done a few days back and now it is clearly leaking externally from right side of the car. The bloke may have busted something when he was doing pressure test which did not show any fault at the time. Hopefully the radiator is not had it and it is a hose or something. I am also thinking of adding something like Bars or Blue devil gasket fix just in case once the external leak is sourced and fixed. From what I have read it seems to be a gasket problem and not a cracked head or anything like that.... Thoughts please?

Another issue I was told last night is on the V6 version of VE. Right!!! You know where you radiator cap is (not really a radiator cap but) Now follow that alloy pipe upwards to the engine and under the Manifold (you take that section off to Change Spark Pugs) where that pipe goes where you cant see it normally they have a few reports of leaking there ( i think gasket or "O" ring) then the Coolant runs backward and falls on the floor.
Apparently this is very hard to spot, all you see is coolant on the floor when it gets bad

Other experienced member might know about this know issue,

 

[greenacc]

Yep, there are 2 O rings there where that metal neck bolts to the engine. I've had them leak twice in 9 years. It's not hard to replace really, and you can usually see pink coolant running down the front of the engine as well as the back when they're leaking. $25 to do them at home. Not Surprisingly the cooling system holds a lot more pressure after doing these.

 

[vywgn]

Seen that leak alot. People think it's the thermostat at 1st, when it's actually those seals. W0117 is the Permaseal part number for them and are $22 from Burson and they would have them on the shelf. Very simple to replace just loosen off the bolts for the inlet manifold, lift it up and there is 2 10mm bolts that hold that housing in place. Little bit of a jiggle and it comes off

 

[VFSV6FORME]

Yep, there are 2 O rings there where that metal neck bolts to the engine. I've had them leak twice in 9 years. It's not hard to replace really, and you can usually see pink coolant running down the front of the engine as well as the back when they're leaking. $25 to do them at home. Not Surprisingly the cooling system holds a lot more pressure after doing these.

Holden wants $40 each LOL.LOL.
I will buy the NEW Alloy bit where the cap goes as it come with the O rings + the Bolts. My Alloy bit has slight pitting where the o ring is situated

 

[VFSV6FORME]

Seen that leak alot. People think it's the thermostat at 1st, when it's actually those seals. W0117 is the Permaseal part number for them and are $22 from Burson and they would have them on the shelf. Very simple to replace just loosen off the bolts for the inlet manifold, lift it up and there is 2 10mm bolts that hold that housing in place. Little bit of a jiggle and it comes off

Since I will be fixing this issue I will remove the top Manifold completely because I want to change spark plugs and coil packs.

 

[Skydrol]

Seen that leak alot. People think it's the thermostat at 1st, when it's actually those seals. W0117 is the Permaseal part number for them and are $22 from Burson and they would have them on the shelf. Very simple to replace just loosen off the bolts for the inlet manifold, lift it up and there is 2 10mm bolts that hold that housing in place. Little bit of a jiggle and it comes off

Good to know that is a common issue with the V6, I was assuming was a V8.

 

[MattSAU2XR8]

Probably also want to look at the transmission fluid if its an auto - since if the transmission cooler is inside the radiator then if radiator fails internally coolant goes into transmission - needs to be caught VERY early to have any chance of not replacing tranny