24 replies to this topic

[orangeLJ]

Well I thought I would ask the brains trust this one as we are completely stumped.


1998 VT acclaim, running your average ecotech V6 with cat back exhaust (just to be thorough in description)

Car was originally a repairable write off (flood damaged-fresh water)

Ive had the car for just on 12 months and for the last 6-8 It has been using a considerable amount of water, and some mornings on first start would have a slight fart that we put down to a small amount water in a cylinder due to a leaky head gasket.

The car has recently developed a missfire on idle when warm (another seperate problem, changed plugs, didnt work, now moving onto coil packs and leads wont be buying new ones, will steal the set off the old boys ute as a test)

But here is the mystery, I chucked a pressure tester on the radiator, it lost all pressure within an hour, I continued to pump it up for the day/night and lost about 2+ litres of water to the mystery problem.

No water hit the ground. No water in the oil, no water in the transmission.

I pulled the plugs out and spun the engine over, expecting to see water pour out of one cylinder, however we saw nothing, not a drop.

Removed the engine cover and found a small drip comming from an inlet manifold bolt (just left of the throttle body)

Removed, cleaned the thread, hi-temp siliconed and re tensioned, aswell as nipping up the other bolts.

Bled the cooling system.

thought I was out of the woods, and was happy it wasnt the heads, however it is continuing to use water, and for the life of me, cant figure out where.

If it was a welsch plug in the rear, I assume I would have seen SOME of the 2ltrs of water hitting the ground.

Anyone care to guess my problem?

[FastEHHolden]

are the floors wet?

[orangeLJ]

not the heater core, that was my second point of call.

hmmm, might have to pull the inlet manifold off, however Im a little hesitant to pull it off based on the lack of water in any systems. or signs of water leakage.

[orangeLJ]

that wouldnt explain where the water went when i pressure tested the radiator, you think 2 litres would find its way to ground somewhere.

[MRLXSS]

Could it just be Magic?

[orangeLJ]

copperfield is under my bonnet! bastard!

[Collo]

I assume youve checked all hoses.
My VP was usin water and couldnt find a leak anywhere or see water anywhere.
Gave the hose clamps a nip up and its been fine since.
They were tight but not tight enough i guess.

[orangeLJ]

no dice there either, checked hoses, and that much water doesnt exactly dry up and dissapear in the mid afternoon/night.

its really giving me the shits.

[Toranamat69]

A mate had this prob on his VT a few months ago and we were damned if we could find it - after hours of searching and pressure testing, we finally saw a tiny tiny weep of coolant coming out the rear of the engine onto the ground - it was the welsh plug on the back of the engine.

Bieng a piece of crap commodore we weren't pulling the engine or Gbox out - chucked in a bottle of radiator stop leaks and it fixed her up real good and it is still going strong.

I would have thought you would see 2L of water somewhere though when doing a stationary pressure test. Although my mates one was loosing a serious amount of water when driving and we couldn't see where from.

M@

[MRLXSS]

Water restrictions gotten this bad? People are even stealing it out of your Rad while your at work!!!

[FastEHHolden]

copperfield is under my bonnet! bastard!

There is only one trick of his I wanted to know.......





How did he get in Claudia Schiffers pants?

[FastEHHolden]

Magiver would chuck an egg in the radiator...but pepper works

[Statler]

^^^^^^^^
Same problem i have!
Same diognosis!

Still haven't fixed it though!

[makka]

just silverseal it Chris, its only a commodore

[orangeLJ]

its a commodore that cover near 1500kms a week, and is the only car thats going at the moment, hence the only way to get to work!

so it needs to be running, and running well!

Inlet manifold gasket and welsch plugs sound like they are worth a try.


Cap is fine, tested it at the same time as the pressure test.

[GML-31]

if the car isnt running hot, would be almost worth trying a bottle of bars leaks as a cheap fix, had a leak out of a welsh plug once...hard to find...used bars leaks for a week then flushed radiator and it never happened again

[TerrA LX]

^ I second that.

Chemiweld.

[orangeLJ]

If you have lost 2 litres with a pressure test and cant find the leak you aint looking hard enough. Have another look. If the sump/chambers/carpet/exhaust is dry there will be water on the floor.
Car yards dont even use bars leaks anymore because they get too many blocked radiator warranty jobs as a result of using it.

You are welcome to come look for yourself! no water!

I wouldnt be asking if i hadn't already looked hard enough.

All the parts came back for Karlies corolla, so this will have to wait again. Too much else to do!