Help - Water level Very low - what could be the problem?

[Atrecord]

wah many thanks for the replies so far.

 

first, temp was normal all the while, even when i had to top up ~3.5 litre water and had heard water gushing and steam sound... my mech said the temp gauge not accurate one...

 

my mech also said if no visible external leak, then it could be serious prob - water went into engine, and told me need to overhaul... which is one of the replies here too. i hope it's not the case, as it's gonna cost a bomb...

 

i find the other suggestion that there is no leak, but the water evaporated or gets forced out through the overflow tube, another possible explanation. But how to see whether the radiator fan or water pump that is mentioned, are working or not?

 

There is also no water puddle underneath car. i had observed this myself, and my workshop also reported the same, when i left the car there for more than half a day for them to diagnose... but couldn't pinpoint cause so told me to monitor further (the first time it happened).

 

And the unexplained part is it can go without problem for a good one week or so after top up, with the water level at all the way to the rim of the radiator before the overflow pipe... i had checked everyday, before slacking off thinking it was isolated case and so stopped checking after a week. Then it happened again ~20 days after it first happened... am wondering how come the (either leak, or vapourised or forced out explanation) was not gradual or obvious in the week when i checked daily. then can cause so big difference in (dunno which part of) the next ~2 week...

 

[Atrecord]

1) Check your parking lot to find any coolant stain.... if there is leakage, there must be stain somewhere.

2) Check your engine oil, if coolant leak into engine, your engine oil will turn milky.

3) Check your radiator fan, if the fan fail, your coolant could boil and evaporate very fast.

4) water pump or pipe choke and causes circulation problem....

 

 

From how you describe, I personally felt that the 3rd possibility is very likely to be your problem. If there are leakage/ chockage, the reduction of water level should be quite constant.

 

thanks, but how to check the radiator fan huh? which one is it (pls excuse my ignorance....)...

[Atrecord]

Do your mech have the cooling system pressure tester and leak down tester - if not how is going to check for very minute internal leak that happens only when the engine cools down and resulting in high negative pressure being created in the cooling system.

 

 

Hi,

 

Do you have any suggestion as to where should i go to check with these?

 

tks...

[Nzy]

Just look around for a leak. I think its leaking somewhere. I also have a verna and had the same problem. Every week need to top up the water. Brought to workshop and they fixed it in 30min. One of the hose was old and became brittle.

[Atrecord]

Just look around for a leak. I think its leaking somewhere. I also have a verna and had the same problem. Every week need to top up the water. Brought to workshop and they fixed it in 30min. One of the hose was old and became brittle.

 

but the thing is the ground underneath car remains dry leh... and my workshop also checked thoroughly after that reported they could not detect any leak...

 

sigh...

[Lamemonster]

Radiator chok....,termostat not working...,water pump not working.

 

All this wont have leak symptom....

 

Just my 2cent

[Qaz20]

Bro, I'm quite sure it's the radiator cap spoil, or in another words, means it can't keep pressure. In normal situation, temp can go up to Abt 93-95degs, but when your radiator cap spoil, water from radiator starts seeping into the plastic reservoir due to high pressure, it'll escape from radiator cos the cap can't keep them in the radiator. So, your plastic reservoir will overflow and water will escape from the pipe.to your engine bay.

It's easy to troubleshoot, just top up your radiator and plastic reservoir to the normal level, then start engine with the Aircon on, stay in the and just keep ramping your engine at neutral gear, like maintain at 3-4k rpm, until your engine gets heated up. Think it should within minutes.

All these while, u should leave your bonnet open. After engine gets heated up, go out and check your plastic reservoir, it should get hot and overfill due to water from radiator getting in. And you should see the area around the outlet of the small pipe from the plastic reservoir get wet.

If not hot enough, just try ramping your car again for a whole more. Let me know if need help. It happen to me before, so I know. Symptom is really almost the same. Normal driving all ok, but if you do hard driving or gets stuck in jam, temp will rise and radiator will lose water.

[Nzy]

but the thing is the ground underneath car remains dry leh... and my workshop also checked thoroughly after that reported they could not detect any leak...

 

sigh...

 

Might be other problems like the rest suggested. But maybe can ask the workshop go through once more at the same time. Cuz mine also nothing on the floor. Only notice the leak cuz my workshop noticed some parts of the engine bay like got white residue which means water was dripping there. But never get to the floor.

[Caravan]

TS got to update here when he found out the cause. Soooo many possible causes. Interesting case.

[BlueOldMan]

IMHO try topping up with coolant instead of water

 

And u monitor is there still a drop in coolant level

 

Water more prone to evaporate when overheat

 

Coolant should be more ideal

[Creativeshoot]

IMHO try topping up with coolant instead of water

 

And u monitor is there still a drop in coolant level

 

Water more prone to evaporate when overheat

 

Coolant should be more ideal

same as my opinion, but there is a mixture parts, and any recommendations for coolant?? i like to know too.. can post some aftermarket stuff for me???

[Tigershark1976]

thanks, but how to check the radiator fan huh? which one is it (pls excuse my ignorance....)...

 

 

warm up ur car at stationary and observe the temp gauge. see whether the radiator fan kicks in... u may need to observe many times cause in your case, the water level only drop occationally, which means, if the problem lies on the fan, it works sometime, but failed to kick start occationally.

 

Btw, just spoken to my friend and he reminded me that the radiator cap might be 1 of the culprit as well.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Tigershark1976

[BlueOldMan]

if i never rem wrongly, i bought the mitsubishi one

 

but it was not enuff, so my ws jus top up with the SPC n add 30% water to it

 

its easier to observe with coolant than water

 

if rad cap is the prob, with coolant u will observe stain mark near that area

 

if water, it jus dry up and cant see wheres the leak

 

imo

[Atrecord]

Sure i'll be glad to update - when eventually i've found the cause and fixed the prob. at the moment, it's quite frustrating, knowing that this prob will v likely recur, but dunno when or under what circumstances...

 

in any case, just now went to check: no leak, and water level still full, just like it was yest and the day before. So:

 

- 19 Sep: problem struck, topped up 2.7 litre at night till full

- 20 Sep: topped up negligible amt when engine cold, moved off heard water moving sound, had to top up ~600 ml till full

- 21 Sep: full

- 22 Sep: full

 

will short travelling distance have any part to play in this? I normally cover only typically 12-25 km daily on weekdays...

[Atrecord]

warm up ur car at stationary and observe the temp gauge. see whether the radiator fan kicks in... u may need to observe many times cause in your case, the water level only drop occationally, which means, if the problem lies on the fan, it works sometime, but failed to kick start occationally.

 

Btw, just spoken to my friend and he reminded me that the radiator cap might be 1 of the culprit as well.

 

 

Err... thanks, but paiseh i don't know which is the radiator fan leh... is it the one with a belt seen one?

 

i checked the radiator cap, but can't tell if it's a problem. at least the rubber is still there, and the spring too. the spring is a little stiff, which i feel is the correct tension required...

[Furrynadz]

when in doubt find a proper mechanic

[Hjteo]

Hi,

When you mention top up, I assume it is the radiator and not the white plastic expansion tank. (The white plastic expansion tank allows for expansion and contraction hence the water level at this tank will go up when hot and comes back down when cold).

 

What I experienced on my Hyundai Accent a few years ago was that we removed the thermostat to make the car run cooler. However, the car takes a lot time to heat up and also did not allow the expansion to work properly hence radiator runs low on water and then there is a pin hole leak from the radiator.

 

Changing the radiator and I noticed the radiator is losing water/coolant slowly while monitoring it daily. Hence, we bought and installed a new thermostat and the cooling system is back to normal. It is now working properly for the past 5 years and the Accent is now coming 8 and clocked 224K km.

 

So do check if the thermostat is there or if it is working properly. If not sure, just buy a new one (should be around $30) and get the workshop to replace the thermostat. Also ask your workshop if they had carried out a pressure test on the coolant system to see if there is any leakage. If they are unable, go to another workshop that can do pressure test.

[TVT]

Actually is your car's radiator having the correct coolant-water mixture?

 

I know of someone whose car often lose water (but not as bad as yours) but found no leak. Later he completely change his radiator water (with right % mixture) and no more such problem...his mechanic suspect his old mixture is not of correct % mixture hence it dries up quickly.