Overheating And Coolant Use

[danebuss]

Hello there,

I bought my 2004 is200 in October and has been a great car thus far. Only 75k on the clock and runs like a dream. In March my car overheated on a -2 celcius evening on the way home from work. I let the car cool and drove ti home didnt touch the red. Diagnosed the problem as the thermostat. I did a coolant bleed but noticed there wasnt a great deal in there. I removed radiator cap filled up with Pink coolant 50/50 with distilled water.

I noticed however that my reservoir tank was empty and has continued to do so.

Weeks passed and i kept my eye on the radiator fluid levels as reservoir tank has always shown empty. Topped up the radiator so i could see pink. I was using a litre a week at least.

Checking the engine bay there is white residue. I have checked the oil and its all fine. There is coolant in the engine bay but not a great deal and it doesnt leave puddles.

I over heated once again but upon letting it cool and top up it ran at half temperature ever since.

Last night sitting in traffic it went to very high again i immediately pulled over and let it cool. Once it cooled to just over half i removed the cap half way to let pressure out as I could hear the gurgle. The pressure fired it 6 feet into the air and all over the engine bay. Moved the car half a mile moved up to hot within 10 seconds so I parked up and left the car. Returned to the car 4 hours later topped up with normal water to get it home and ran good as gold.

My questions are why isnt coolant going into my reservoir and i keep getting trapped air pockets in the system. I suspect a leak perhaps but theres no water going into the reservoir. Its very annoying because my car is going through coolant like no tomorrow and i would like to get it running smooth without worrying about it over heating.

Many thanks

Dane

[ColinBarber]

Dane

Are you saying the expansion tank is being emptied? Are you filling it up to the maximum level, it sounds like you are only filling up the radiator?

If you are filling up the expansion tank and it keeps being emptied then check around the water pump for leaks. You may want to check/replace the radiator cap.

[petayV8]

It should be pretty obvious if its leaking coolant. Also have a look down the front inbetween radiator and front end. And above ^. Remember to fill from plastic cap on left not radiator, may take 2 or 3 fill before it settles at a constant level. Dont go past max, even a little below

[sjrainsford]

The radiators don't seem to be the best on these. If you are losing coolant and finding it difficult to see where from, then it is most likely the radiator.