MK2 8v Digifant Coolant Problem

[richandhazel]

If its going through the radiator then the thermostat is open.

Lets hope you find a big leak and a puddle on the floor Your carpets aren't wet are they........

[Mars Attacks]

no, the carpets are bone dry, which is good normally, but i was kind of hoping they would be soaked!! if you know what i mean

i'll do the leak test tomorrow and give it a good flush out. cheers

[richandhazel]

Oh well - good to rule out everything else before condeming the head.

Good luck

[wellfan]

Hi,
I can more or less guarantee that your cylinder head or head gasket is damaged near a cylinder bore and is blowing water into one of the cylinders. Take each spark plug out and I am sure that you will find that one of them looks as though it has been power washed, it will be cleaner than the other plugs. You will also have no heater due to loss of pressure in the cooling system. Get youself a Haynes manual and do the cylinder head job youself, it is very simple, just very time consuming. Let's know how you get on with the plug removal.

[Mars Attacks]

will be checking the plugs tonight. one thing were going to try is bridging the water pipes going in and out of the oil cooler to see if that makes any difference. its just strange that the car doesn't appear to overheat and the heaters still work fine. i don't mind paying to get head gasket done, but i don't want to get it done Unnecessarily if its gonna turn out to be something else afterwards. 

[Mars Attacks]

car gone to garage today to get head gasket done, thought i'd get cam belt and valve stem oil seals done as well while head is off. will have it back later on this week hopefully.

[billydude]

I'd say it's the return pipe to the header tank
the rad nipple blocks up then they chuck the water 

[Perfect 8]

I own a late Mk2 8v too and have recently been suffering a phantom loss of water.

I had the steel water pipe that runs near the oil filter replaced as it had corroded (quite disconcerting to look under the bonnet and see fountains of water!) I also had the flanges that attach to the cylinder head replaced as there was a leak from those. You can tell if they're leaking (so long as you have plenty of proper coolant in the system) as a residue will be visible around them. Check those too. However my car is still leaking after all this? :'(

r.e the lack of flow in the expansion tank - the top pipe is a breather i believe and not a pipe through which liquid should flow.

I am told that i may still have a leak on one of the flanges caused by a poor seal (donations welcome!) due to pitting of the cylinder head.
At the moment I am just living with the leak and filling up every 150 miles or so.

[Mars Attacks]

well i think mine was giving me a clue as to it's problem on the short drive to the garage yesterday. by the time i'd got there, there were plumes of white smoke coming out of the exhaust. talk about making a big entrance. i must have been laughing stock!

getting the head skimmed and re-gasketed so hopefully all should be well when i get it back. getting new cam belt and valve stem oils seals replaced as well to get all the annoying jobs over in one. thanks for all the advice guys

[Mars Attacks]

thanks for all the help guys. it was the head gasket.

got it back last night, had head gasket, new cam belt, oil & coolant change, valves reground and valve stem oil seals done while head was off and its sound as a pound again.

cheers