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MG MGF Technical - Lossing coolant slowly but no signs of leaks

Hi just wondering if anyone can help. Lately i've noticed that the water in the coolant talk goes down in about a week and a half. I've looked for leaks underneath but no sign of any water. Any ideas?
ll little

I'm currently suffering a similar problem on my F. First off, check the oil. Best check the dipstick and then unscrew the oil filler cap. Make sure there is no sign of any creamy residue in the oil as if this happens it means that the coolant has been getting into the oil. In my case mines clear, however I saw one small drip under the car the other day, just near the driver's side rear wheel (dodgy water pump?) If you get the chance stick some newspaper underneath the car overnight and see if any leaks surface that way.

Emma Jackman (& Green with Envy ~ S369 FAR)
Emma Jackman

Good advice from Emma.
How much is the coolent going down???
Mine always settled to just below the seam on the coolent bottle.If i topped it up further than this it just dropped back to the seam but never went lower, probably gasing off out of the coolent cap.
This would be the next thing to do(changeing the coolent cap)they are a few quid and if faulty will let some coolent out.
As emma says keep an eye on the oil for mayo(white sludge). Could also be leaking rad, coolent pipe,manifold gasket etc..
Mine did the same for about a month, i looked all over and unfortunately mine is a HGF or cracked piston liner. Still waiting to get sorted out.
One piece of advice i can give is to take it to a recommended garage ASAP it is probbebly something simple but if it is the Hg it is better to know now than drive it any longer hoping it will disapear like i did.
Good luck.
Mel..
m e johnson

foolishly assumed a HGF on mine to find out when everything was appart that it was the pump leaking, the pump has a small area to catch drips and 'evaporate' them away so for a slow leak in this area you will not see coolant.
Will Munns

Me three!!! Losing tiny amounts of coolant and just like me johnson says only a bit goes to just under the seam. (Sorry to hear about your car btw).
On any other car I would not worry about such a small loss but this car...Since I got it the coolant was overfilled to an inch over the seam and did not move. Left it well alone ignoring warnings in manual about not overfilling expansion tank. Recently cap got loose and coolant went down. Replaced cap and left coolant alone as down to correct place anyway. Now still get tiny loss, from just over (1mm) to just under the seam on the tank.
Can't take the worry, have just got a warranty from Warranty Direct!!! £32 a month out of my bank, cost of my cappucino addiction for a month or my nicotine habit for a week! Or one shoe out of a pair!!
Hope the warranty is worth it when the time comes!!!
Effectively I am paying for any repair in instalments in advance. WD betting that my car won't go pop and cost a lot to repair. Me betting it will? Except I would rather it did not!!
KS Gould

When you have tried all the most usual suspect areas. Take a look at the engine return hose from the underfloor pipes. It can rub on the clutch bracket and make a very small hole. Small amounts of coolant escape under pressure, nothing visible til the hole gets quite large. When everything cools down it seals against the bracket.
Ken Waring

KS Gould.....hmm £32.00 A month , i make that £7.38 a week...a couple of trips to the chippy at work a week for me!!!!
When you consider what cash we all probably waste a week/month its not bad for piece of mind.
If my mgf ever gets fixed ( heard nothing today) i,ll look into a warranty.I know some will say to just put the £32.00 a month in your own bank, but every time i saved up for repairs etc... i spent it on leather seats, that nice little chrome bit here another there,you know how it is!!!
I think it,s all the chrome (car now to heavy)that has cacked mine up:0)))
Happy mgf,ing
Mel.
m e johnson

Did look at the oil and alls ok with that. The water does go down quiet a bit. Have to fill it up about every 10-11 days. The head gasket has bin changed says the owner before me. Need 2 check the pipes underneath but it's a struggle 2 get under there.lol.
ll little

Update on my coolant loss. Radiator dripping quite steadily and pool of coolant under front of car.
New rad and pipes on way from Mike Satur, nice aluminium rad and stainless steel coolant pipes.
Luckily while driven coolant level never went under minimum, got home last night and rad gave up and started really letting go!
On outward journey loss in half an hour was from max to min so drove home really late so clear of traffic.
KS Gould

Looked at oil again a little while ago. There seems to be some white sludge in there?
ll little

LL little..That brings back memories from last month !!
I would get it to your local(recommended) garage for a hgf test.
If the slugde is like mayo oil is mixing with the water and that points to Head Gasket Failure.
If the car is not used often a small blob on the end of the dipstick with clean oil present around it could be that the car just needs a good run to get the oil up to temp and it will disapear.
If it is anything like mine as soon as a small amount of mayo was present the syptems rapidly went worse with the bottle emtying in 3 miles and all the oil was like ice cream.
Given that yours is losing such a lot of water this by my experience does not look good.
The head gasket on mine was also changed by the previous owner also.
At present mine is still the same with locating a decent garage being my main problem. I can,t use it as oil is mixing with the water and the bottle keeps emtying..i,m getting the head lifted ..hopefully to get a good result that it is just the HG.
If you have a recommened Garage in your area get ther advice first as last ,a diagnosis won,t cost the earth
and will probably save you money in the long run.
When i get mine sorted out i am going to post on here the story of the garages i have had contact with ..hence find a well recommended one first as last!!!!
Good luck mate get it checked to put your mind at rest it may be something simple
Mel..
m e johnson

£384 per year. That is £128 pa average repair cost, £128 pa admin and overheads and £128 PROFIT.
I just give a % of the equivalent of the cost of Warranty to my Local mg specialist each year to carry out extra preventative maintenance. The cambelt change also included a water pump, steel head dowels, gasket, bolts and a quality rebuild.
Geoff F.
G. Farthing

Had a look aat the oil again 2day and the sludge like fluid seems to have gone just clean oil there now. Really weird? Thanks 4 all your tips by the way.
ll little

This thread was discussed between 17/09/2006 and 21/09/2006

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