Water / Coolant Leak 2.2 Avensis 2006

[djjinx1]

Water loss outside of house whilst car was facing uphill (not a massive incline) , cant see any water around front of engine bay or from rad. Recovery guy said he thinks its the Matrix hose but they both feel dry. The funny thing is I turned the car facing downhill (which I never do) and this morning no coolant loss. Turned it round and within minutes there was a puddle underneath!

Car is booked in tomorrow to see whats up but its been driving me crazy :( 2 weeks after buying it grrrrrrrr

 

[Duggerz]

Hi DJ,

The matrix house runs into the cabin to the heater matrix, so it could be the noise or the matrix itself and the leak could be from inside the cabin but only expressing when parked in a certain position. I would elevate the whole car or at least one side securely and check underneath for signs of leaks there.

[Duggerz]

The other thing would be to check for signs of dampness on the carpets inside, as close to the heater as possible.

[djjinx1]

No signs of wet carpets at all?

[Konrad C]

Coolant leaks are hard to find. The best time to detect a leak is during the cool down period, when the engine has been off for a while. Give it up to 30 minutes and use kitchen towels when the engine is cool enough. Then before the moisture evaporates, you may catch the leak before it closes and ceases. Or wait until the leak really expands. 

[djjinx1]

27 minutes ago, Konrad C said:

Coolant leaks are hard to find. The best time to detect a leak is during the cool down period, when the engine has been off for a while. Give it up to 30 minutes and use kitchen towels when the engine is cool enough. Then before the moisture evaporates, you may catch the leak before it closes and ceases. Or wait until the leak really expands. 

But this is overnight whilst cold, not just whilst running??

[Konrad C]

22 minutes ago, djjinx1 said:

But this is overnight whilst cold, not just whilst running??

That is why I stated when parked up, not running! Most leaks evaporate under heat and pressure, especially when small. 

When the engine has cooled, put sheets of kitchen towels in suspected areas of the leak. Leave a couple of notes to remind you to check the towels in the morning .

Is the coolant level dropping and by how much? The water looks rusty/dirty. I assume the liquid found is confirmed as coolant!

The car has windscreen drainage under the wipers is covered, and could be hiding the fact it is blocked. 

Overall the kitchen towel is very absorbent, plus the liquid colour captured will confirm it is coolant. Also the dry towels will eliminate the dry areas.  

 

 

[djjinx1]

Thanks for the reply, the coolant is just the same dirty colour in the tank. No smell to it though.

The garage will reveal all I guess, hopefully its nothing major :(

Will update tomorrow........

[Duggerz]

This is slightly off topic, but I make sure I change the coolant on schedule with long life. Many people ignore this piece of simple maintenance until the head gasket fails on a water gallery or there's another leak caused by electrolysis of wet aluminium against steel. The coolant is also a corrosion inhibitor but over the years it's efficiency is reduced by doing its job until eventually it just looks and smells like rusty water, like in the description of the original poster.

[djjinx1]

The garage had it up on ramp and couldn't see a leak at all. I drive home (2 mins) and turn off, look under and it's dripping badly!

The incline must be why surely as the garage had it level??

It's back with them now

[Konrad C]

43 minutes ago, djjinx1 said:

The garage had it up on ramp and couldn't see a leak at all. I drive home (2 mins) and turn off, look under and it's dripping badly!

The incline must be why surely as the garage had it level??

It's back with them now

I would have done the kitchen towel test.

One thing I forgot to mention, but it may not be relevant, air-con drainage pipe. If the air-con has been in use, then the moisture sucked by the system is normally drained. But that is if you have been using the system for any reason, like demisting the windows. Confirm your heater settings!

When I first got my Mk3, every time I turned the fan on, the air-con came on. I made some changes and it works as it should do.    

[djjinx1]

Funny you say that as my brother said the same today. The garage have said it's a small metal pipe leaking somewhere under the egr afaik.

£80 and hopefully all is well. Get him back tomorrow :)