Last wkend i had to top up the coolant as it was on the minimum.

After a week of driving i checked it yesterday and it had gone down to between max and minimum.

Whats most common place for a coolant leak? I've had a look at the rad and theres a kinda wet look to one part of it but when i touched it, the rad was dry

 

Could be a range of things, rad, split pipe, leaky thermo, heater matrix, or at worst head gasket going. mine likes to loose a bit, but then I know i have a slow heater matrix leak

It will use some water tho you know

 

Am i ok to just keep on topping it up until i located the leak?

 

Not much else you can do really Unless the leak is really obvious it's unlikely you will find it without the engine running anyway.

Have you lost performance at all, fan kicking in ok still etc?

 

Yeah my temperatures on the dash are still really good, never goes above the N where it says "Normal"

 

The "N" you say? That's a tad high...well depends, are you running a large front mount cooler? Ideally the fan should cut in just after half way up the guage (about in between "O" and "R") and should bring it back down to around the "M" about 1/4 mark... roughly.

If it is getting right up the top that seems exsessive, but again if your running a big cooler then it will get hotter quicker and cool down slower (personal experience)

I'd be checking the thermostat is not sticking myself

 

The normal on my gauge runs from bottom to top like this

L
A
M
R
O
N

Its got standard fornt mount intercooler as its running standard boost

 

Ahh, well what the hell type of temperature gauge are you running, I assumed the standard one! Which is not like that!

 

I've been quoting my old gauge form my old car

Sorry.

The gauge reads

N
O
R
M

And at the moment it never goes above the M

A lot of the time its under the M

 

Well, in that case you need one of these that's the second one 2day

Oh, and now that is cleared up, ignore my post about the thermostat, if its running at normal temps, can't be that....

Keep an eye on it

 

Look for white salt around all water unions - if you spot any, that is where the leak is. Undo the union, scratch all the salt away, clean up the pipe, and tighten the jubilee clip - problem should then be solved.

 

Im having to add 150ml every 2 days

 

check if you've got damp carpet on driver's side, if you have it could be the heater matrix leaking

 

Also check core plugs under manifold when cars hot

 

Have found the leak Its the pipe going from water bottle to the water pump is leaking when car is up to pressure