car losing water - holts wonderweld ?

[sm_jamieson]

Well, radweld plus did not stop my 206 gti's water loss. One more thing to try - Wonderweld. It can repair some engine block / head gasket problems. T he car is 14 years old and if it needed a head gasket it would probably be scrapped. The instructions are here:

It says run the engine for up to 2 hours until water loss stops, topping up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in the op aque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safely wh en it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle conten ts, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up and tr y half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

Failing, this, how hard is a DIY head gasket change ? I think a garage woul d charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to skim th e blocks and replace the studs etc.

If I don't sort the leak I'll not be able to keep enough antifreeze concent ration to drive it this winter.

Simon.

[Mr Pounder]

It says run the engine for up to 2 hours until water loss stops, topping up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in the opaque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safely when it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle contents, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up and try half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

Failing, this, how hard is a DIY head gasket change ? I think a garage would charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to skim the blocks and replace the studs etc.

If I don't sort the leak I'll not be able to keep enough antifreeze concentration to drive it this winter.

The old fashioned remedy was to break a couple of eggs and pour the contents into the radiator, then run the engine until it was hot. It worked for me in my Mk 3 Cortina and you sound like you have nothing to lose. Changing the head gasket may very well turn into a nightmare.

[Andy Cap]

Have you tried K-seal? I've had success with it in the past?

Andy C

[sm_jamieson]

o try - Wonderweld. It can repair some engine block / head gasket problems. The car is 14 years old and if it needed a head gasket it would probably b e scrapped.

up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in the opaque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safely when it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle cont ents, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up and try half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

uld charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to skim the blocks and replace the studs etc.

ntration to drive it this winter.

Oh, this looks easier to use, no need to drain down or worry about antifree ze left in the system. Says it will do the same things as Wondarweld.

[sm_jamieson]

to try - Wonderweld. It can repair some engine block / head gasket problem s. The car is 14 years old and if it needed a head gasket it would probably be scrapped.

g up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in th e opaque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safel y when it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle co ntents, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up an d try half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

would charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to ski m the blocks and replace the studs etc.

centration to drive it this winter.

Our messages crossed in the post ! It has very good reviews on amazon. Simon.

[Dave Liquorice]

Leave the coolant filler cap off so the system doesn't pressurise? Or put the cap on and release it slowly to de-pressurise slowly, like opening a well shaken bottle of pop.

Skiming the blocks wouldn't normally be required but if there has been a long term leak there might be an eroded track that would need either the block taking back to remove it or filling and leveling. I suspect these days one can get a chemical metal filler. Some engines do need the studs replacing as they stretch when the nuts are torqued up. Think you really need to have a dig about and find what is involved for your engine.

Top it up with correctly diluted antifreeze or keep a record of how much water you bung in and every n top ups use neat antifreeze. I go for the simpler correctly diluted method. I buy concentrate and dilute it...

[bert]

In message , Mr Pounder writes

When I had a similar problem I simply topped up with an anti-freeze-water mix.

[Ian Jackson]

In days of yore, I found that Bar's Leaks was very effective.

It came in a much smaller bottle than in this video (like the first one in the Amazon advert below). The liquid was brown, and very gloopy. I believe it contained finely powdered cork.

[Chris French]

In message , sm_jamieson writes

Leave off the filler cap on the expansion bottle while it's running?

Years ago I remember doing this at least once. I don't remember it as being that hard.

[meow2222]

o try - Wonderweld. It can repair some engine block / head gasket problems. The car is 14 years old and if it needed a head gasket it would probably b e scrapped.

up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in the opaque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safely when it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle cont ents, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up and try half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

uld charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to skim the blocks and replace the studs etc.

ntration to drive it this winter.

Head gasket is perfectly doable.

Expansion bottle is pretty much an irrelevance. Top up the rad, running it cap off. FWIW you might get far less leakage if you run it without pressuri sing.

NT

[Adrian]

No, it can't. It can mask them.

[Ian Jackson]

In message , [e-mail] writes

Without pressurisation, it may (or will almost certainly) boil, so if you see signs of this happening, be prepared to put the cap on, or to switch the engine off.

From what I remember about my leaks, the best thing to do is simply to add the leak stopper, and go for a brisk half-hour drive (but take a bottle of top-up water with you, just in case). After that, let the engine cool, and top up the expansion tank to the 'full' mark - then keep an eye on things until you are certain that the leak has been sealed.

[Fredxxx]

Stopping a leak is sufficient.

If successful with any additive then that could well be described as a repair.

[Fredxxx]

I presume the car has a Haynes manual. I would recommend giving the section of removing the head a good read. If there are any special tools (I doubt that many would be required for a Peugeot) these would also be mentioned.

You have to be fairly confident to remove a head but is very doable, I've done quite a few. It is best not to be under pressure and to take your time.

Inspect the gasket and the head, and see if you can see where the leak is. It is generally obvious. If there is any issue with the head then you should consider a skim.

One question. Generally head problems stem for being overheated. Has the engine suffered anything like this prior to recent problems?

[meow2222]

That is most incorrect. Pressurisation only makes any difference at and abo ve 100C - below that, no difference. If your car doesnt hit 100 now, it won t without pressurisation. Presssurisation is a technique to allow cooling t o continue to function above 100C, and thus enable a small shave on the siz e/weight/cost of the coolant system. But no road car engine is designed to ever reach this temp in proper operation. If you drive through the Gobi des ert, perhaps.

Putting the cap on a boiling rad is inadvisable, and achieves little. Let t he engine cool. If its only overheating at idle in summer, put the interior heater on full at hottest.

NT

[harryagain]

It says run the engine for up to 2 hours until water loss stops, topping up as required. The problem is, you just cannot see the water level in the opaque 206 expansion bottle, and also, how can to top up the engine safely when it is hot? In 2 hours I reckon I'd get though an expansion bottle contents, so I'd probably run it for an hour and then cool down and top up and try half hour runs to see if it is still losing water.

Failing, this, how hard is a DIY head gasket change ? I think a garage would charge at least 500 quid. And I've heard horrors about needing to skim the blocks and replace the studs etc.

If I don't sort the leak I'll not be able to keep enough antifreeze concentration to drive it this winter.

Simon.

Run the engine at idle while parked with the top up cap removed from cold. It will still get to normal operating temperature, just take longer.

[Andy Cap]

Flush the Radweld out first and it would be interesting to know how the K-seal performs.

Andy C

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's natural to expect the worst - but before changing the head gasket, get some leak tracer added. It's a dye which doesn't disappear on a hot engine as coolant does. I had a minor leak from the water pump which didn't show up until this stuff was used.

[Mike Tomlinson]

En el artículo , Dave Liquorice escribió:

The system needs to pressurise to force the gunk in the leak-stop stuff into the hole that is the source of the leak.

[Ian Jackson]

In message , Mike Tomlinson writes

I think it might be a bit of a compromise. It may depend on the size of the leak. Unpressurised, gunk would tend to seep slowly the into the leak, and get a chance to start to harden and seal it. Under pressure, the gunk might continue to be forced through the leak, and never quite block it up. I'd be inclined to start off unpressurised, and when the engine is well up to working temperature, and the now-open thermostat is allowing the water to circulate freely, put the cap on.