Engine Using Water. Help.

[sir john]

Serviced the old girl 2 weeks ago. New filters, oil and spark plugs. While i was under the bonnet i noticed the coolant in the expansion tank was low. About 30mm below the low level mark so i topped it up.

The rear screen smashed 2 days later so it been laid up inside for 8 days.

While the new screen was being fitted today i put the Battery on charge and noticed the coolant is down again. So i topped it up.

i started the engine with the car still in the garage. Lots of water vapours and lots of water blowing out of the exhausts.

As it warmed up the amount of water blowing out reduced but the vapours are still there. The gases also smell funny.

Could this be a blown head gasket? i thought these engines were bullet proof.

Any ideas???

There was also a whining noise when the engine was running. I put this down to the PAS pump though.

[ALAN MCK]

Serviced the old girl 2 weeks ago. New filters, oil and spark plugs. While i was under the bonnet i noticed the coolant in the expansion tank was low. About 30mm below the low level mark so i topped it up.

The rear screen smashed 2 days later so it been laid up inside for 8 days.

While the new screen was being fitted today i put the battery on charge and noticed the coolant is down again. So i topped it up.

i started the engine with the car still in the garage. Lots of water vapours and lots of water blowing out of the exhausts.

As it warmed up the amount of water blowing out reduced but the vapours are still there. The gases also smell funny.

Could this be a blown head gasket? i thought these engines were bullet proof.

Any ideas???

There was also a whining noise when the engine was running. I put this down to the PAS pump though.

Engines are strong but a head gasket can easily go.

Do you have any water getting into your oil? It will be emulsified, white looking if it is.

Do you have gases bubbling into the rad when engine is running?

[steve2006]

There are a couple of things you can do to help diagnose the problem.

If you have a local friendly garage which does MOTs ask them to put the exhaust gas probe into the expansion tank ( not in the coolant itself) with the engine running, if there are exhaust gases present they will show up on the analyser.

The other test is to have the cooling system pressure tested.

When was the water pump replaced?Does the temperature gauge read normal?

[sir john]

it may have been a false alarm. I left the car in the garage to cool down. About 2 hours later i fired it up again. No nasty vapours or water so it might have just been the standing around for over a week that did it.

In answer to Alan and Steve. There is no mayonnaise in the filller cap. I dont know when the water pump was last changed but im guessing it was some time in the summer of 93 in Japan. ie never.

I guess ill just keep an eye on the water levels and get the expansion tank sniffed next week.

Thanks guys.

[steveskeggy]

There was also a whining noise when the engine was running. I put this down to the PAS pump though.

That could also be a sign of the fanbelt is getting a bit loose, mine sounded like a tensioner bearing going till I changed the belt (which looked ok but was a good few inches longer than the new one, so dont go by looks).

So be a good idea just to swap the belt, just for the sake of it.

Its an easy enough job, probably take 20 - 30 minutes, just make a diagram of the way the belt goes before you take it off as its a head scratcher to figure it out after!

Then you can waggle the water pump to see if there is any play and replace it before it gives up if there is.

Try the idler and tensioner bearings as well, just to put your mind at rest.

BTW got mine from lexuspartsdirect.co.uk for £43 inc P&P.

[sir john]

There was also a whining noise when the engine was running. I put this down to the PAS pump though.

That could also be a sign of the fanbelt is getting a bit loose, mine sounded like a tensioner bearing going till I changed the belt (which looked ok but was a good few inches longer than the new one, so dont go by looks).

So be a good idea just to swap the belt, just for the sake of it.

Its an easy enough job, probably take 20 - 30 minutes, just make a diagram of the way the belt goes before you take it off as its a head scratcher to figure it out after!

Then you can waggle the water pump to see if there is any play and replace it before it gives up if there is.

Try the idler and tensioner bearings as well, just to put your mind at rest.

BTW got mine from lexuspartsdirect.co.uk for £43 inc P&P.

Thanks for your thoughts. Ill take a look at the fan belt.

Was it the water pump that you got for £43 or the fan belt?

[steveskeggy]

Thanks for your thoughts. Ill take a look at the fan belt.

Was it the water pump that you got for £43 or the fan belt?

Thats for the fanbelt, worth it because if that goes while you are driving it will hurt.

Cheapest water pump on E-Bay is £107

[Malc]

Thanks for your thoughts. Ill take a look at the fan belt.

Was it the water pump that you got for £43 or the fan belt?

Thats for the fanbelt, worth it because if that goes while you are driving it will hurt.

Cheapest water pump on E-Bay is £107

Coolant level reduced then !!

I've had this " problem " for ages and I just top it up periodically. The engine never misses a beat and the temp gauge is always spot on ! No gunge in the oil cap either.

I was told that the re-filling of the coolant is tiresomely long winded when you have an anti freeze change and the levels are desperately difficult to bottom out to. I take comfort from this that the levels just haven't bottomed out yet and ( hope ) that's all it is.

I don't worry about it at all !! Should I ?