everytime i fill my header tank up within a couple of days its completely empty its puzzled me i had very slight leak from a bolt in thermostat housin but i got new one an its nice an tight and not leakin from there anymore. I have not seen it leakin from anywhere else either the rad looks gd to its got me bit confused? any ideas?

 

*could* be the headgasket.
I presume you've done the usual checks by removing your oil cap and looking in there for mayonaisse-like substance??

Make sure you go round and physicaly check every water hose as a leak may well be enough ot empty it over a couple of days. Is the floor wet under the engine bay? Another sign of external leaks. If the floor's dry, then more likely to be an internal engine leak

 

yer no mayo type at all the rocker covers been off etc its all fine. headgasket was done 2000 miles was built headupwards ago 1000 running in. No water on garage floor or coming from rad or pipes that i can i see. it has been off road for last month but i will start it an run it an see whats what.

the first time i noticed was my header tank light flashed at first i didn no what it was an got car home but was still 10 miles without any water would it damage head with no water?

 

Quite possibly as the water is used to cool the internals and prevent warping due to heat. Depends how you drove it as well...

 

nursed it home was worried about it and am gettin everymore worried it was fine then i painted up the bay and now has a horrible knockin rattle at certain revs a mechanic thinks its misfiring. i have changed plugs, leads, dizzy cap and now got new set of injectors but am quite worried 1200 pound head is ruined within 2000 miles

 

MNight be leaking into the chambers and evaporating off out of the exhaust? Have you been checking foe white smoke/excessive steam from the exhaust?

 

Mine was doing the same as yours, drinking water, then missfiring, took the head off an gasket had gone between 3 an 4 and one of the water jackets

 

Test's need to be done.



* Possible faults

coolant leak,
coolant temps
Head/block crack,
Headgasket,
Turbo core
Header cap ratings, but if nothing else wrong, wont be a issue



1st off i'd do a

- check for any leaks
- check the coolant system is running at sensible temps, 87-94oC.
- Comp test
- Pressure check each cylinder @ 100+psi for at least 30 mins each, with gauge on coolant system,
- Coolant system pressure test, inc testing the header cap rating.
- take the car for a spin with pressure gauge on coolant, and if it goes above 5psi on normal driving @ normal running temps, and below 15 psi on a little thrash.

=
If coolant pressure dont move on cyclinder press test, then usually the h/g, head and the block is fine.
If coolant pressure jumps up after a/few short blasts, then the h/g, head, block or turbo fault.





Mayo in the oil, dont mean head gasket is gone, nor does it mean it hasn't if not seen.

 

Mine did this. It turned out to be a combination of tired header cap, and the header tank to stat hose wasn't quite sealing, so under pressure a slight bit evaporated. It always used to the bottom of the header tank, then stopped using anymore.

 

Heater matrix is getting common these now too

 

Did you get this sorted?

I have the same problem