Water

[Merc]

Hi

I topped my car up with water/coolant last Monday/Tuesday to the mark,I looked at yesterday and it was about half way down the bottle again about an inch away from the black plug at the bottom of the bottle.Now Iv'e filled it again,but using this amount of water cant be normal,or is it?.
I was the one getting "whitish" smoke out the back when iddling,and greyish/black smoke when using kickdown to overtake.
I remember some saying it could be one of my gaskets "away" eg-cylinder head which will cause' a water/oil mixture hence the whitish smoke.
Again I know a few of you said that "white" smoke was down to "town" driving,well thats fair enough,but now this water cosumption!,or like I say, does it use that amount in a week or less,I dont think its right,can anyone help?

Regards

 

[Matt Crooke]

Hav you checked the system for leaks anywhere??

might be a good idea to give the system a good flush out, then re-fill.

You could always (Andy, Dave, etc etc please ignore this) sling a bottle of radweld in the expansion tank, then the leak is no more!!!

 

[Merc]

Matt

A' diny (I'll talk "normal",he,he), I dont have any leaks,well then again I shouldn't have said,you know whats gonna happen now!!.
Thats why I suggested (as someone did before) there might be a "blown" cylinder head gasket,****** hope not!!.

Regards

 

[Matt Crooke]

usually with a blown gasket, you will get very hot running as well.

the water that was in the expansion tank, was it a chocolate colour? ie mixed with oil? if so, then its certain to be the gasket.

One other thing to remember, when you filled the water, i presume the engine was cold, meaning the thermostat would have been closed. Dont forget when the engive warms up, and the stat opens more water will be needed to flow round the radiator as well. If it was already low then this is why the level dropped again. This time it should be ok, as the rad will be filled.

 

[Anonymous]

I have a strange thing that happens with the water in my expansion tank,  in the fact that when you give the engine a good rev,  the level goes down to almost the black pipe at the bottom, and then back up when the revs drop. As there don't appear to any side effects (oily water, scum on the oil filler cap or running hot), I haven't been too bothered about it. Should I be???  (the cars done about 170,000 miles)

 

[Merc]

Matt

Can it checked under torch light,cause' if it can I can check it later tonight,otherwise I'll wait till' tommorrow,can you/someone let know.
Iv'e checked a few things under torch light but never water.

regards

 

[dave elcome]

Matt.

PLEASE tell me you were joking re rad weld?? i'm sure Andy will back me up. No matter who makes this crap, or by what name it goes under, it causes more problems than it ever solves, and as a result more expense.

You must have been joking, please god you must have been joking............ you sound like such a nice guy!!

Merc.

Get you car pressure tested for starters, if that comes up blank, then consider getting a cylinder leakeage test carried out, this is involved, (i've described the method previously), but if you do have a gasket fault, then it will tell you exactly where the fault lies. ALWAYS remember, start with the basic, and easiest first, then work upwards from there, a few mins of proper diagnosis, will save hours of work.

 

[Merc]

Cheers dave,will do that!

regards

 

[Koolvin]

check your cooland to see if it is oily and check your oil to see if it is cloudy, if your oil is cloudy then it seems like a gasket is needing replacing, in anycase please get this rectified before you have any detremantal effets.

 

[Matt Crooke]

DAve.....i used to use that radweld gag in my stand up routine on the Wheel tappers and Shunters show....remember seeing me!

I have used radweld once....not in the merc by the way, and it saved me from a burst rad on the M25, so i cant say too many bad things about it, however i did flush the system out afterwards to get rid of it.

So to summarise, i personally think radweld is good as an on the spot saver, but a proper repair should follow when you get home.

Answers on a postcard please!!

 

[Matt Crooke]

Guzzler, sounds like you could do with a drop of water in the tank, however this is nothing to worry about. As you rev the engine, the water pump spins faster, thus sucking the water out the tank quicker. It just needs a chance to complete the circuit and get back into the tank again.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Matt.

A top up she will get!

 

[Matt Crooke]

let me know if it works!