Help! Coolant loss puzzle.....

[Mightyquin]

Firstly let me say my home internet is pants (Orange) and keeps dropping the line so I've given up trying to search for info. I have probably 5 mins to post something in the hope I can read a few responses in the morning when I get to work.....

Took the MR2 for a spin tonight - not touched it for a few weeks. I drove to the local garage to check the tyre pressures, then carried on. A short distance on I noticed that the temp gauge had risen right up (was only about a mile up a hill). I was on a roundabout so came back round and let the car run down the hill to where theres another garage.

There was no obvious signs of a problem at first but after leaving the car for a few mins I checked the coolant level and the bottle was empty. Bought a large bottle of ready mixed in the garage (£21!) and poured it in. Some splashed about so drips coming from under didn't worry me but then I noticed a few small drips near the front end - looking closer it seemed that coolant had come out from the from the front end too.

Anyway, after letting everything cool right down, I started the car and it seemed alright. I wasn't far from home so started off. The temp gauge started climbing again after a few minutes (I was about a half mile from home then) so I pulled over again. This time there was a lot of coolant coming from under the front nearside. I poured some more into the tank and there seemed to be some dripping from underneath but again hard to say if it was a spill or not. There was also a trail of drips up the road.

After letting the car cool down again I limped the rest of the way home, and it's now back in the garage. It was already too dark to see or do anything.

So, can anyone guide me as to which pipes/joints to check first? Is there an overflow pipe on the rad? How do I even get to the rad - do I take out the plastic panel under the bonnet? I'm praying that it's a pipe/joint that's gone and not something more sinister, although after cooling down the car started and ran fine the short distance back so I'm pretty certain there's no head gasket issues. It doesn't seem to be a thermostat problem either but I guess it's possible.

Any pointers or photos of relevant parts most welcome!

[2 of the left]

Check your radiator - My guess it's leaving coolant on the road!!

[mrzwei]

^^^^^+1

That sort of catastrophic loss is not head gasket or thermostat, either a split hose or more probably the radiator.

Take the plastic off, easily done but you will break some of the clips.

[Anonymous]

Bottom of rad or where the two pipes go into the firewall behind the box bit for the heater matrix

[E]

Almost always the radiator passenger side bottom corner.

[loadswine]

I'd agree with the rad being the likely suspect. Good news is that they aren't mega expensive to replace or that hard to do. Pop all the clips off on the frunk plastics and remove that and it will look a lot less complicated.You might well spot where its coming from as well.
 Rads can be sourced on the bay pretty cheaply these days, which is a help.

[nathanMR2]

Also take a look at this  l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=44439&hilit=+pipe l

[dcod]

If your radiator looks like this ... it needs changing. If so, when changing the rad, pressure test the system and look for any leaks (even a slight weeping) at any pipe connections. I had 2 months of occasional overheating after changing my rad due to a small weep from the pipes that go into the heater matrix. I don't know if overheating caused my rad to go or my rad going caused my pipe to leak.

[dcod]

Almost always the radiator passenger side bottom corner.

That's where my rad went.

[Mightyquin]

Thanks for the advice. Most of the coolant loss when I stopped the second time was coming from the rad, on the nearside. I guess prior to that it was just leaking as I was driving along.

Well that's my Saturday sorted out then! I'll take the plastics off, refill the system and try to spot the leak. Maybe I'll get lucky and find it's just a hose or clip. If it's the rad, the car is due an MOT at the end of the month so I'll maybe source a replacement off ebay and get my mechanic to fit it - was planning on a service at the same time.

Must also renew my breakdown cover.........

[loadswine]

Fitting the rad itself is pretty easy really, it is the bleeding of the system that can be tricky.

[Joesson]

I've had my pfl 2002 2  since June 2011.
Had it serviced by MrT on 02/06/11, mileage 53705.
Serviced again by MrT 28/05/12 and replaced coolant (and brake fluid) 12/06/12, mileage 55258
Serviced again by MrT 01/05/13, mileage 55812 (554 miles only! top down only and I don't like rain which was most of the 2012 summer!)
02/05/13 I noticed leak on garage floor from n/s front area found this to be the radiator, n/s bottom.
From info on MR2ROC:
I got new radiator from coolpartsuk via  w www.for w  £46.50 (I also got Jubilee clips to replace the OE hose clips). After clamping both hoses to prevent coolant loss the radiator was replaced with the new.( I did change the drain and bleed valves of the new rad with those from the old 'un as they were tool less type. I changed O rings new to old as these were same size).
I needed only 1 litre of MrT's coolant at £9.40 to "refill" the system.
I did explain my dissatisfaction with MrT's service schedule as this was oe radiator with Toyota long life coolant from new to 2012 when changed and I had done less than 600 miles since. They explained that the intermediate service just carried out did not include removal of front trays to inspect radiator etc. My view was that this should be the case as witness the leaking oe radiator that had always been filled with Toyota long life coolant!
On the plus side for the garage they had just fitted 4 x Falken tyres bettering  the on line price from Black Circle and with no charge for 4 wheel alignment that was quoted at around £75 additional by others.
My point is that we (and the garages) should be aware of the possibility of corrosion damage.

[Mightyquin]

Again thanks for the info.

I'm pretty sure that this is going to turn out to be a weak hose/clip (I can hope!) or a corroded radiator, given that the fluid was spilling out of the nearside front corner.

Can anyone point me to a 'how to' summary of how to get to the radiator or change it?

I'm just worried now that the overheating may also have caused other problems, although after letting it cool down and topping up the fluid it did drive fine the short distance home.

Cheers.

[nathanMR2]

The rad comes out fairly easy.

Remove front plastics under bonnet.
Drain Rad from bleed tap underneath.
Jack front of car up.
Remove bottom tray.
Move clips down pipe off the rad joints.
Undo L shaped brackets that hold rad under bonnet (2 x 10mm bolts).
Lift rad out and replace in reverse order.
Lower front of the car back to ground level.
Jack the rear of the car up as high as you can get it.
Fill with fluid from the rear slowly and until the rear tank is full.
Go back to the front and add the bleed pipe onto the upper bleed nipple (this should be under the bonnet near to the fire wall).
Raise pipe high and open tap part way to release air.
Let settle and add more fluid at the rear when needed.
Massage pipes to help release air.
Continue to do this for many hours until all the air is out.
Run the car and make sure you get hot air through the heater.
If no hot air you most likely have an air lock.

Continue trying to remove air following the above process for more hours!

I get fed up with mine and left it over night. This seemed to help things find their own level

This might help also  l viewtopic.php?f=47&t=20138&p=305600&hilit=rad#p305600 l

[2 of the left]

I had a similar problem with the radiator on my Mk2 a few years back - End result was that the top end of the engine casing was slightly warped by the overheating!! AND it was traumatic trying to get the head gasket to re-seat!!

[Anonymous]

Sounds  like my resent experience and it turned out to be the radiator has disintegrated with age but thanks to ebay  new one in the box only cost £40 plus £6 for next day delivery its a quick and easy swap total it cost me £55 with new coolant.

looks a common issue with the age.

[Joesson]

I agree.
(Following on from my previous post)
Perhaps I was  "lucky" with finding my leak very quickly. This meant that most of the coolant was still in the system. As I mentioned above clamp the 2 bottom radiator hoses to isolate the rad. The clamps keep the system full and you are draining only the radiator. I wasn't careful enough to catch all of the (new) coolant but caught about 500ml. I needed only 1litre to top up and bled only the radiator. (I also changed the spring type hose clips to jubilee clips as these can be tightened up!)
If the system is substantially drained when you start then a lot more fluid, bleeding and cursing will be necessary I am told by a  MrT service manager.

(I would like to believe that I would have clamped the hoses as I did this with brake hoses many moons ago. But I did also read that tip on this forum and the same MrT man said that is what they do if changing the rad.)

[Mightyquin]

I had a similar problem with the radiator on my Mk2 a few years back - End result was that the top end of the engine casing was slightly warped by the overheating!! AND it was traumatic trying to get the head gasket to re-seat!!

That's a worry but I realised pretty quickly the car was overheating so I'm hoping that no other damage has been done.......

[Mightyquin]

Thanks, sounds pretty easy to get the rad off but I don't have a trolley jack (damn it why didn't I buy the one I saw at a car boot the other week for £4!) and as the car has to go for an MOT shortly I think I'll let the mechanics sort it - although I might buy the rad off ebay first.

I'll have a look at the weekend anyway, just in case it's a split hose or something more simple.

If it is the rad, the other issue is getting the car to the garage!

[nathanMR2]

You really want axle stands also to be safe.

Just don't drive it until its fixed. Providing you didn't get too hot for too long you'll be fine. I pulled over as soon as the needle got to 3/4 as I knew something was very wrong

[Mightyquin]

You really want axle stands also to be safe.

Just don't drive it until its fixed. Providing you didn't get too hot for too long you'll be fine. I pulled over as soon as the needle got to 3/4 as I knew something was very wrong

Yes good advice, safety first! I've got a few old wheels in the garage I've used for safety's sake before, and a pair of those metal ramps, but I've not done much of my own work on cars for a few years.

I've been trying to figure out how long it was before I noticed the temp gauge (it was right up the scale). I'd driven the car from home to the nearest garage to put air in the tyres and left the engine running (the battery had been left a while and I was worried about stopping after such a short distance). No sign of any issues then and I'd have noticed if coolant was leaking whilst doing the tyres.

Then I drove about a mile up a hill, and noticed the problem as I got to the top, I was on a roundabout so carried on round and then let the car run back down the hill to where I knew there was a garage. I also figured the air would help cool things down. My guess is that the leak 'blew' as I left the first garage, as the car had probably only just about warmed up by then.

There was no steam coming from either end and it started and drove fine after cooling right down too, so I am hoping everything else is OK.

I'll update this later when I know for sure what's happened.

[K T M Rider]

just fitted a rad to my old car a couple of weeks ago, easy to fit and seemed to bleed very easily also (only needed about 1 litre or so of coolant, after a minimal bleed I just checked all of radiator was getting warm with the engine running & once I revved the engine above tickover the heaters soon started to blow hot).

Old rad had a tiny weep from passenger bottom corner   s:) s:)  but was hard to spot as car has aircon and aircon rad is in front of engine rad.

I used some old, standard car ramps under the front wheels but the angle is too steep (car isn't lowered either) so had to drive the car onto bricks and then build up the front of each ramp with a plank of wood - not ideal but as the front is very light and the wheels aren't driven it just rolled up easy with no fuss.

There's  a good how to link in this thread (third post) :

   l viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40150&p=474297&hilit=+radiator#p474297 l

[Mightyquin]

Update - not had time to do anything about the car until now and missed all the great weather to use it!

Removed the frunk and determined that the leak was definately coming from the rad, so new one ordered which arrived today.

I've read the links about how to replace the rad, which seems straightforward enough, but bleeding the system sounds a bleeding pain! The leak was pretty big so I reckon the system is pretty much empty.

The car is due its MOT and I want a service at the same time. My garage is about 3 miles away.

Do I press on at the weekend and try to fit/bleed the rad myself, or could I limp the car over to the garage and let them get on with it? Obviously I'm worried about the engine getting hot, but thinking that if I take it over very early one morning when there's little traffic about, drive for 5 mins then rest for 5 etc, I could get it there safely. Any thoughts/experience of this?

I'm really itching to get the car back on the road and enjoy what's left of the summer with it!

[Wabbitkilla]

Just do it yourself.
When refitting my engine we found that if you have the back end of the car up in the air by a serious amount (front bumper almost touching the ground) bleeding is pretty easy.

[tomaky]

Never though of that wab haha woulda saved me a little bit of time while waiting for the engine to warm up.