Major coolant issue. In dire need of advice..

[Gee-Lanty]

Hi everyone!

I recently bought a 2003 2.5i knowing it needed a lot of TLC as despite only having 65,000 miles, it had been neglected by its previous owner.

Thanks to this forum I could tell the car was leaking (major) oil from the oil filter housing gasket and despite everyone pleading me not to, I insisted on having a main dealer carry out the work along with inspection I, for a “piece of mind”.

I got the car back, and shockingly I got a significant discount from the price quoted to me the previous day. Lo and behold I received a car with blown speakers and rattling from a broken windscreen trim cover.

Cut a long story short it’s now been 3 weeks since it came back from the dealer and yesterday I decided to replace the spark plugs and see if I would notice any signs of oil around the valve cover, and replaced all the ignition coils, and having done that thought I would also check the oil and coolant levels…

The oil was fine however the attached pictures show what I found when I lifted the coolant cap!

What’s worse is despite the coolant being contaminated with oil (which I’m praying was a result of the ofhg leak) and crystallised “stuff” it was practically empty and there was no warning light on the dashboard!

How empty would it have to be to flag it on the dashboard?

Should this not have been checked as part of inspection i by the main dealer?

I obviously have a coolant leak as there is oxidisation on the on the thermostat housing and there’s gooey coolant sludge around the expansion tank (and inside it too).

The car didn’t overheat nor did any lights come on in the dash. I bought the car little over 2 months ago when the coolant level was definitely full.

Mechanics are not to be trusted in this part of the world and after the last experience I’m petrified of leaving the car for someone else to diagnose.

What should I do? I refilled it two days ago using substandard coolant and it appears not to have leaked since, I have never seen any coolant on the ground.

I’d be grateful if someone could help me with a definite diagnosis as I’d fare better going to a mechanic knowing what I need to have done.

 

[enuff_zed]

Hmmm. Difficult to immediately diagnose but I will point out that the float in the expansion tank only operates over the top 2/3s of the tank. The low level sensor is separate and operates over the bottom 1/3 of the tank. Therefore you could still have 1/3 of the tank full.
Step 1 - add coolant, measuring as you go, and see how much it takes to get to max on the float.
Repot back with that and then monitor to see if it drops again.
Likewise, clean up the cap and se if anything builds up again.
Step by step and we'll see how we go with it.

 

[bigwinn]

note its easy to override the float sensor too by looping it out- I've seen that before

Agree with Martin- top it up see if its losing fluid when at temp

 

[enuff_zed]

And just to follow up with the standard question............
Where are you?
We may be able to help.

 

[Dr. Zed]

Maybe this sounds a bit naive but why not bring it back to the dealer and get to fix all the issues they clearly missed. Having said that, I wouldn't trust this dealer anymore but it seems they either did more damage than they fixed or just grossly overcharged you for subpar service.

The fact they gave you a discount and it was immediately followed by issues suggests they messed up somewhere.

As mentioned, the only way to properly test for a leak is with the engine on so there's pressure in the system.

It's definitely going to need a full coolant flush regardless but before you do that I'd run a test on the engine for a leak if you think there's coolant getting into the oil or vice versa.

 

[bigwinn]

A learned friend who knows his stuff in this area suggests that the red rusty looking crud on the is RADWELD

I think the garage are clutching at straws

 

[enuff_zed]

A learned friend who knows his stuff in this area suggests that the red rusty looking crud on the is RADWELD

I think the garage are clutching at straws

Methinks the 'garage' should be cut loose!

 

[patriot66]

Hi Gee-Lanty. When were those photos taken ? Pre or post visit to the dealership ? The oil filter cap/housing are covered in dirt and dust and don't look like they've been touched. Also, those bare multicoloured wires should have black plastic corrugated sheathing to protect them

 

[Gee-Lanty]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all of your advice. Unfortunately someone crashed in to me the other day. The reinforcement bar behind the rear bumper is completely mangled, but the bumper itself is only slightly damaged and miraculously all the sensors are fine so car is going in for a repair and paint job. :x

 

[enuff_zed]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all of your advice. Unfortunately someone crashed in to me the other day. The reinforcement bar behind the rear bumper is completely mangled, but the bumper itself is only slightly damaged and miraculously all the sensors are fine so car is going in for a repair and paint job. :x

Pretty sure the impact must have disturbed the cooling system too? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more squire. :wink:

 

[Gee-Lanty]

Maybe this sounds a bit naive but why not bring it back to the dealer and get to fix all the issues they clearly missed. Having said that, I wouldn't trust this dealer anymore but it seems they either did more damage than they fixed or just grossly overcharged you for subpar service.

The fact they gave you a discount and it was immediately followed by issues suggests they messed up somewhere.

As mentioned, the only way to properly test for a leak is with the engine on so there's pressure in the system.

It's definitely going to need a full coolant flush regardless but before you do that I'd run a test on the engine for a leak if you think there's coolant getting into the oil or vice versa.

I will never take my car there ever again! There doesn’t seem to be any leaks at the moment. There definitely was when I bought the car and it was definitely from the ofhg which has been resolved. I check the oil regularly and it’s pristine, no milky substance or coagulation of any sort. Also the valve gasket seems to be fine as there was no oil in the spark plug cylinders or anywhere around the valve cover.

But the coolant is another issue! I have no idea if it was like this previously, it more than likely was. Just don’t understand how the dealer didn’t notice this when doing the fluid checks.

 

[Gee-Lanty]

Hi Gee-Lanty. When were those photos taken ? Pre or post visit to the dealership ? The oil filter cap/housing are covered in dirt and dust and don't look like they've been touched. Also, those bare multicoloured wires should have black plastic corrugated sheathing to protect them

In all fairness they were clean when I picked the car up. I live in Cyprus by the way. It’s a very dusty country!

Despite breaking everything else, they definitely did resolve the oil leak, which was continuously dripping on the floor.

Thanks also for the tip, I will get the sheathing to cover the wires.

 

[Gee-Lanty]

A learned friend who knows his stuff in this area suggests that the red rusty looking crud on the is RADWELD

I believe him! The seller did admit the cooling system had “blown” and that it was fixed, that’s probably what he meant by “fixed”! :lol:

 

[Gee-Lanty]

Pretty sure the impact must have disturbed the cooling system too? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more squire. :wink:

Absolutely!! Worth a shot…