On saturday I did a small run in my car (about 4 miles) to try my new ecu chip. When I got back home I noticed that the car dropped about a cup of water on the drive whilst I opened the garage door. When in the garage I realised the engine sounded really rattley on the top end so I switched it off (temperature gauge still on normal though). It made quite a lot of gurgling and hissing sounds around the balance bar area, the leak continued for a short while. I topped up the radiator (it needed lots to top up), and decided to leave it to cool down before I looked for the fault.

 

Yesterday I went into the garage to start investigations and it looked like the leak had continued as I needed to top the radiator up again. It looks like the culprit is either the two small rubber hoses at the front of the engine or the water pump itself. It was hard to tell so I decided to get it up on ramps to have a look from underneath. The problem then transpired that the car would turn over but wouldn't fire up. I did a few quick checks, code 55 on ecu and also on another spare ecu I've got. Swapped relay for fuel pump to ensure its getting petrol. Still wouldn't start.

 

I'm worried that the water loss at the weekend has caused some damage to the engine (even though the temperature gauge never went above normal). Would a head gasket or warped head stop the car from starting?? I can't see any emulsion in the coolant to suggest a head gaket. Whats concerning me is that there seems to be water 'missing', the amount I'm topping the radiator up with doesn't seem to be the same as what is leaking out? Its not evaporating as the engine is obviously stone cold.

 

I guess I'm looking for ideas for fault finding, I plan to do the following over xmas:

 

Check for spark (PTU fault)

Check condition of plugs (although they have only done about 1000 miles)

Check for fuel pressure (whats the best/safest way?)

Fix water leak!

 

If it doesn't start after checking fuel and spark then what should I look at next?

 

Any suggestions would be great. I'm trying not to jump to (big) conclusions, but knowing my luck then the engine is shagged.

 

Cheers

 

Gareth

1st thing is do a compression test if the cars turning over ok,then that isnt a problem check engine health,allthough this wont tell you if your HG is faulty

 

2nd if you have spark then you can rule out PTU check maf conection and CAS plug remove the fuel line and turn car over check fuel flow is present once car has started do a cylinder leakage test on the radiator,if it turns out ok then fix leak and then car should be fine,the temp gauge isnt to be trusted in any case if it rises it normally starts to creep up in temps excess boiling point 100+ so

Thanks for that Greg, I just need some ideas of tests to do to eliminate possibilities. I'll see about borrowing a compression tester and try that as well.

if the leak is directly at the front it will be one of the following

 

water pump

 

alloy water pipes new sealent required

 

2 short hoses

 

radiator itself or hoses

 

if at the side

 

turbo water feeds

 

overflow bottle

 

 

if at the back

 

heater matrix hoses

 

under plenum hoses,bypass to be needed

 

common caulprit turbo feed,directly above bellhousing at the back,PITA to do :D

 

HTH greg

Have you checked your ECU temp sensor? It might not be knackered enough to throw an error code, but if its values are off enough then it can stop your engine from starting (I know it did mine).

 

Does you car smell like its overfuelling when you turn it over?

if the leak is directly at the front it will be one of the following

 

water pump

 

alloy water pipes new sealent required

 

2 short hoses

 

radiator itself or hoses

 

 

Or the two steel stub/pipes that bolt to the heads - they rust through.

Or the two steel stub/pipes that bolt to the heads - they rust through.

 

 

yep,forgot them your right there always in a state

Have you checked your ECU temp sensor? It might not be knackered enough to throw an error code, but if its values are off enough then it can stop your engine from starting (I know it did mine).

 

Does you car smell like its overfuelling when you turn it over?

 

Both temperature sensors are nearly new (as are the harnesses), but I will check that in the morning for good clean connections.

 

Cheers

if the leak is directly at the front it will be one of the following

 

water pump

 

alloy water pipes new sealent required

 

2 short hoses

 

HTH greg

 

I know one of the 2 small hoses on the front has a split in it but I'm going to strip out the rad and fan to check further. I'm just having difficulty in understanding if the overheating and non-starting are related :confused: . I'm pretty sure they must be so I'm going to investigate the compression tomorrow as you suggested.

 

Thanks