radiator leak

[jordy_boy]

Hi everyone

Quick question about a hyundai accent I just bought.

After driving car for a bit it leaks a lot of water from bottom of radiator somewhere and this gradually slows down to nothing until you start the engine again.
But what seems strange to me is the level in the bottle is fine if anything it was over the full level. the amount of coolant that the car has now lost I would think this should be way down but it doesnt seem to have gone down at all.

Is this all normal for a radiator leak or has it got a blockage somewhere or maybe just been overfilled?

Thanks

 

[wotan]

Has the car got air conditioning? if so what you are seeing is probably
condenstate from the system.

Wotan

 

[Burnerman]

There's a pretty recent post about this, but the crucial thing is to forget about the expansion bottle, and check the radiator level from the cap direct. Only when the engine is cool though!
John

 

[jordy_boy]

Hi thanks both for your replies. Firstly im pretty sure its not got air con but even if it has I can tell its coolant and its way way too much to be just condensation dripping.

Also the guy I bought it from came straight over and did check the radiator cap and was able to pour a lot of extra water in before radiator was full.
Do i presume this means radiator is shot? Does level in bottle not necesarily go down?

Thanks for replies
much appreciated

 

[wotan]

Two ways at least coolent can diminish, either a physical leak, or it's being blown out by a faulty head gasket, or if it's being drawn into the engine, again by a faulty gasket, you would get loads of steam from the exhaust.

Wotan

 

[Burnerman]

I think there's a very good chance of your radiator leaking, and the common place is right at the bottom where the core is crimped onto the bottom tank. Look for crusty deposits as well as coolant down there.
With this type of system its common for the expansion bottle to remain full when the rad develops a leak. In order for the cooling system to work correctly, the rad must be brim full, and the dip pipe in the expansion bottle must be under the coolant level at all times.
If you check out Madder's overheating post, its been thrashed out there.
John

 

[jordy_boy]

Ok thanks again i will read that thread. Just one more point tho a guy a work suggested because its been topped up by the radiator cap which apparently you shouldnt do it could have created an air lock in the system and it might just be leaking out of an overflow pipe on the rad. He reckons it might just need the system bleeding. Does this sound feasible? Thanks again

 

[Burnerman]

Initially these systems must be topped up via the main radiator cap.
It is possible for the system to become air locked - generally this shows up as a non working heater, but there could be some bleed points or maybe none.....
Anyway, if there are some they are likely to be at the very top of the rad somewhere, on the top heater hose or on the thermostat housing top - as you can tell I'm not familiar with your car!
However, if the heater works well, and all hoses get hot when the engine shows warm on the temperature gauge, there's not much to fret about.
So - brim the rad completely and turn the rad cap down, then fill up the expansion bottle to the maximum level and job done!
What happens with these systems is the water around the engine and in the main rad expands, and travels through the filler cap into the expansion bottle. When things cool down again, coolant is allowed to return to the main rad via another valve in the rad cap.
John

 

[madder]

I see you're still putting out fires all over the place Burnerman!
Jordy_Boy, John won't send you wrong! Anything and everything to do with the radiator and cooling system is covered in my overheating thread, with excellent input from Burnerman.
One piece of solid advice though, if you do decide to go down the 'radweld' from Halfords road, only use around a spoonful at a time in between each check. If you use too much you'll risk blocking the radiator, as I must've done. But either way, if it's a rad leak, it might not hurt to try the radweld as all that will happen is it will work, or it won't. And if it doesn't you're still gonna need a rad replacement.

 

[jordy_boy]

Sorted Bloke I bought car from paid for a new rad.
If only everyone Ive bought cars from were that honest.

Thanks to you all for your help tho.