What is wrong with my car? PLEASE HELP!!!?

Question

I have a rover 25 1.4i and recently im having to top the water up every week! when my car is low on water when im driving i can see steam coming from the top of my bonnet where the coolant tank is and the temperature gauge going up between half and the red bit but once ive topped up its fine, runs fine, I do notice sometimes a patch under car every now n then and also brown stuff in the coolant tank, what is the problem with it? help please (ps my exhaust sounds like a boy racer one, if you know what i mean)

Answer 1

You have a leak in your cooling system.



Odds are it is a hose or a clamp. With your engine warm and running look and see if you can trace where its coming from.



I have replaced just about my entire cooling system piece by piece in my vehicle.

Answer 2

Hi Laura,

Does the heater work, because some times water leaks due to cylinder head gasket problems, so if the heater is working fine,then its not likely to be the cylinder head gasket, you said steam from the top of the bonnet please take great care when dealing with the coolant system when Hot,as you can seriously scald yourself, so next time you see any steam if you can stop and open the bonnet and just look where its coming from,if a rubber hose then this is likely the culprit,or your cap on the header tank, may not be tight enough or the spring relief valve may have weakened,brown stuff in the coolant is Rust normally,although some rad leak stoppers are brown,if you can see a patch under the car then definitely leaking ,so you can have the cooling system pressure checked in a garage not normally expensive and quick,this will locate weak spots and any leaks in the system , but if you prefer look around the engine where the rubber hoses are and look for brown rust streaks from the bottom of them,as this would indicate a loose Jubilee/Coolant clip, you can tightened yourself,when the engines cold i.e. before you start it up, you can squeeze the hoses by hand and see if Any leaks appear, if your radiator has a cap this also has a pressure relief valve,normally in the centre of it ,only take caps off when the engine hasn't been running as pressure and exceedingly hot water will be ejected,blast out even,hope this helpful,the exhaust sounds like a silencers baffles have collapsed.

Answer 3

Your cooling system is loosing pressure, so it is leaking. It may be a VERY cheap fix, just a new hose-clip or replace a split hose, or it could well be the cap on the reservoir that you top up. These allow pressure to vent at a certain level, but they can fail. Or, sadly, it could be a failed head-gasket, which your B/F can change for you, but it will take him most of a day, using a Haynes manual.

The rusty water in the coolant bottle is NOT good news, it means the car has run WITHOUT anti-freeze/summer coolant, which contains additives that prevent internal corrosion. Ten quid spent on anti-freeze can stop you losing a grands' worth of engine, but people are tight and stoopid, so they top up with plain water!

Answer 4

if it is what you say it is ,yor water pump is leaking no wonder if ya say there is a screw missing it could just need a new screw and tighten back up or the gasket may have gone also. A gasket is a seal nothing more than that but if the gasket has worn out you will have to get at the water pump and take rest of screws out fit a new gasket (seal) and tighten things back up again. If ya go to a decent garage that wont rip ya off it wont cost more than maybe 40 quid to fix thats if its nothing major .If you are ok doing it yourself ,that is ,you only need a screw and a gasket go to a scrap yard and try to find a similar car you will have to take them off the old car but its no big deal hopefully it is what you say it is just a screw missing does that help any?

Answer 5

Easy part first: You have a hole in the exhaust, you can either get it patched by welding or replaced, any garage will tell you which is cheapest.



With regards to the other issue, if you have "brown stuff" in your water then your head gasket may have gone which is going to cost you around £400 to fix. The brown stuff being oil. Check your oil filler cap and neck and your dipstick to see if their is any water in the oil, this will confirm the problem.



Another possibility, which I feel is more likely, is the brown stuff is rust and you have a hole in your coolant system hence the loss of coolant. This wont be too much to sort out. Don't run your car when its hot or you will end up with the problem above. Take it to a garage and they will advise you the best course of action.

Answer 6

cleaning or flushing the system would help. you need to have it pressure tested to find the leak. water will evaporate and hopefully not have alot of sediment when it does this will clog radiators and all coolant passages over time. Could be a loose hose as initial culprit. may be water pump, or worse a cracked head or blown gasket.

Answer 7

you can't top up with water or a methanol based antifreeze or it will keep boiling off it has to be ethylene glycol based coolant with a high boiling point you usually mix it 50/50 with clean water, you might just have a faulty cap

Answer 8

You have a leaking water pump get it done cos if the K series motor gets hot it goosed

Answer 9

If I was to ask you to stop drinking or smoking you would just ignore me,my advice is to get rid as soon as possible , sales people who sold you this have taken advantage and are not nice people