Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change

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Mon 16 Nov 2015 21:07
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Katus1986

Hi All,

I have just picked my car up following a timing belt and water pump change. When driving home I noticed water sloshing sounds when accelerating. Is this normal when having coolant drained and re-added?

Thanks in advance

Kate

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Mon 16 Nov 2015 21:54
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - RobJP

I cannot imagine any way in which you'd hear coolant sloshing around over the sound of the engine.

I'd suggest, in the morning, having a look under the bonnet and just checking the coolant level.

When driving, do you have a temp guage on the dash ? Did it go up to the usual level when driving home ?

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Mon 16 Nov 2015 22:00
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Katus1986

Hi RobJP,

I really appreciate your reply. The temperature guage remains at a normal level.

When I got home I let the engine rest and went back out and rev'd the engine when not in gear. Same noise.

Could it be an air lock?

Kate

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Mon 16 Nov 2015 22:04
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - RobJP

That's my thought, yes. Which is why I suggested checking the coolant level in the morning.

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Mon 16 Nov 2015 22:07
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Katus1986

If when I go out in the morning the coolant level is low would that indicate an airlock? If so, to rectify it do I just add some coolant or do you need to do anything else to release the airlock?

Sorry for all the questions. I know nothing about cars unfortunately!

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Tue 17 Nov 2015 09:13
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - RobJP

That's quite all right, we all start somewhere.

If it is an airlock, then hopefully it will have cleared itself during the engine warmup / cooldown on your drive home. In which case the coolant level would appear low this morning, and would need topping up.

You don't want to add neat coolant. You dilute it (instructions usually on the bottle) with water to the appropriate strength. I do believe you can buy pre-diluted coolant too, but not sure on that.

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Tue 17 Nov 2015 09:19
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Fernando P

The symptoms you describe point to an air lock in the cooling system. Ideally, the air should be bled from the bleed valves in the system when the engine is hot and the coolant topped up as it fills the void from the displaced air. The mechanics who changed the water pump should have done what I have described and I suggest you take the vehicle back to them given the extent of your mechanical knowledge. You should do this sooner rather than later as it the engine needs to have adequate coolant in it. Bleed valves in Renault engines are usually located at the top LHS of the radiator looking from the front and in the heater hose in the engine compartment.

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Tue 17 Nov 2015 10:55
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Wackyracer

It's probably air in the heater matrix if you can hear it inside the car. When I changed a waterpump on a clio 2 there was a bleed screw on the top heater hose where it goes through the bulkhead (it looks like a plastic gear wheel).

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Tue 17 Nov 2015 20:59
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Katus1986
Thank you everyone!

When I got up this morning the coolant was low and I topped it up. Since then the sloshing noise still happening but nowhere near as bad as last night. I noticed it happens less when engine is warmer than cold but not sure if this me just not hearing it over the engine to be honest. Even so I was hearing it over the engine yesterday so definitely heading in the right direction.

I took it for a drive to try and get it running through and it's improved but is still there to a degree. When turning too. I feel like I'm on a boat!

I'll check the coolant again in the morning and top up if needed. Back to the garage on Friday if it's no better. Hopefully it is just air and nothing more sinister!

last question I promise, I took the cap off the coolant and let the car run in idle with the heating on max to see if I could see and bubbles coming up but nothing. Would that trick always work or does it depend on where the trapped air is?

Kate
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Tue 17 Nov 2015 21:18
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - RobJP

It won't always work. But it's certainly worth a go.

Tomorrow, again, top it up if needed. I'd imagine if the car is being used daily then it'll continue to improve until the airlock is completely cleared.

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Tue 17 Nov 2015 23:30
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Andrew-T

If you just use the car normally (and the engine temp is normal) an airlock will gradually disperse over a few days as the air is carried round the system and ends up in the overflow bottle (where you top up the coolant). It may take a while if the 'bubble' is in the heater matrix, so use the heater a good bit if you can.

If this doesn't happen, then think about going back to the garage.

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Wed 18 Nov 2015 22:42
Renault Clio III - Water sloshing noise - water pump change - Katus1986
Thanks very much! It seems to be getting a bit better every day. I have a new concern now but I'll pop it in a new post. So far seems like all of your advice was spot on.

Kate
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