Buy cheap, buy twice!

Rambling from the Sage of Oxford
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Charles
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Buy cheap, buy twice!

Post by Charles » Sat Oct 14, 2017 1:56 pm

About two weeks ago I started losing coolant but couldn't, for the life of me, locate the source.

Top hose - check
Bottom hose - check
Water pump - check
Oil - clear of any contamination
Engine - running smoothly as normal
Puddles on the undertray - none

On very close inspection this morning, there are telltale signs of evaporated coolant on the viscous fan blades and the backside of the radiator, so it looks like the core is failing on the radiator but only apparent when it heats up and expands. The heat from the engine is enough to evaporate it and once stopped, the leak plugs itself. I am losing about 250ml daily which remains constant at the moment so I top up every morning but this is clearly not ideal.

The radiator is only three years old but was non-OEM due the need to fix a different problem - clogging up of the intercooler due to addition of a leak additive - and I have now decided to replace it with OEM, along with a new expansion tank (which last failed about 8 years ago) and new radiator cap.

Booked in for next Friday at CPC and plenty of nursing between now and then to avoid a visit to the M4 hard shoulder.
Charles
Teacher of Chemistry and driver of ALPINAs - not necessarily in that order ;)
B3S Touring (49/116) - been to the moon and now on the way back!
Renault Grand Espace - not mine but the wife's!

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