Hughsehhh Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 After having to top up my coolant a little recently, I thought it must be the usual problem with the coolant cap ending in 00, so have ordered a new one. Last night I jumped in the car about 2 hours after a 4 hour journey, and the red light flashed slowly on the temperature gauge. Checked, coolant level had dropped again but not by much. So drove 15 mins home and parked up. Came out this morning and there is a small pool of liquid, I strongly assume coolant under the offside radiator. Now assuming it is the radiator, is there an easy way to confirm without taking the bumper off? I've seen other threads where the coolant pipe was at fault. Also, assuming it is the radiator, can this be done without removing the air con radiator in front? I replaced and regassed the air con rads within the last few months, so would be annoyed at having to do this again. Also, is the job any more difficult than replacing the air con rads, as I did this myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted September 6, 2019 Report Share Posted September 6, 2019 First guess would be the feed or return hose to the rads. The spring clips, whilst applying a more even clamping force do corrode and fracture thus no longer clamping as well. I had a leak from a hose end and as I took the other end off that spring clip fractured too, so have spares available when you come to fix it if you DIY. You need to take the wheel off and be able to look under the car a bit too to see the hose ends. The other option of course is a leaky rad ont hat side, the bottom outer corners can rot out just like the air con condensers due to accumulated detritus from the air intakes in the bumper. Its about 17 to 18 litres of coolant to do a whole system change. (about 22 on the S which is what I've got...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted September 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 Managed to get a look at the hose you refer to and it looks all clean. I can see from the back of the fan as looking up from underneath that the leak is coming from higher up, which leads me to the radiator itself. Not looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted September 9, 2019 Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 Could just be the top hose on to the rad as if they rot it is usually at the bottom of the core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted September 9, 2019 Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 Probably the radiator. I had to change mine so also did the air-con radiators at the same time. But it is possible to change this without disconnecting the air-con radiator. If you remove the bolt(s) from the outside edge of the air-con rad then pull it outwards from the two clips there is enough free play in the flexible pipework to do this, support this rad then you can drop the rest of the radiator pack from underneath. If you use hose clamps on the radiator hoses you should only lose the coolant that is in the radiator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted September 9, 2019 Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 Good point for @DaveH about hose clamps if it is the rad. Just make sure you bleed the system through to get rid of any air in the system. Lots of 'How To' advice and YouTube vids on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hughsehhh Posted September 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2019 Thanks for the advice gents. I've had the wheel arch lining off and whilst not able to get up and close to the top clamp, I can see it and there is no obvious sign of leakage from there, so must be the radiator. I took the car for a 20 minute round trip yesterday and no signs of any further leak before and after, so a little confused. I kept the air con all throughout this last journey and I'm wondering if the air con fans kept the radiator at a lower temperature than the previous journey, thus the pressure in the system was lower and not forcing the coolant out through wherever it is leaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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