Guess now Im finding out that I have been ripped off, exactly a day after my months warranty has run out. Took a ten minute trip not going any more than 40mph and noticed that the car seemed to be over heating (no lights came on just noticed dial was reading hotter than usual). When i had a look i couldnt see coolant level clearly but could hear a slight hissing noise. Popped into local halfords and they wasnt very helpful so i drove home with my heating on full blast trying not to let it get too hot. After it all cooled down I added some water/anti freeze and it drunk about a litre and a half, obviously loosing water somewhere. That was yesterday, today before I took it out i thought i had better check water and i topped it up, took another 3 quarters of a litre (and i noticed a damp patch on floor under engine). Does anyone know what this could be?
I have a garage appointment tomorrow and explained the situation, asked if it was likely to be expensive and he said if pipes/tubes then no but if it was a cracked radiator then yes it would be expensive. Does anyone know of a rough price they might charge if i need a new radiator? Ive only got £80 tops to spare at the moment.
I only bought the car a month ago, is this something they would of known about? If so im gonna be angry, he knew i was single parent with not alot of money. And if he did indeed know is there anything i can do about it?
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forgot to mention that when i stopped after 10 minute journey yesterday i stupidly undid coolant cap to see if i could see level clearer, it spluttered out very hot liquid and steam so i shut it again quickly, dont know if it is supposed to do this. On my last car micra i used to have to top up water before it properly died, i didnt bother getting that leak fixed though as i knew car wasnt going to be around much more, but it never used to splutter and his when i took cap off like the polo did yesterday. (ive learnt now that i should take it off when hot, i didnt realise this before doh!) Cant keep using excuse that im a girl, need to learn more about cars!
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Water pump might be leaking. Or radiator. Or a hose.
Whatever, I don't think £80 will get you very far - unless it's the hose.
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Leaks are usually from joints. Sometimes just tightening up a jubilee clip will stop one.
The first thing to do is to look above the damp patch on the ground after the car has stood for a while and locate the leak. Take it from there.
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Usually its radiator or water pump. either will be about the 100 mark supplied and fitted.
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< Ex RF, Ex TVM >
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NEVER undo the rad/header tank cap on a hot engine. You were lucky not to get a face full of scalding water! Likewise never top up a hot engine with cold water as you could well destroy it.
I did both in my ignorant youth!!
Try GSF for parts if you need them. Where abouts are you?
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''NEVER undo the rad/header tank cap on a hot engine. You were lucky not to get a face full of scalding water''
Yeah I learnt my lesson now lol! As i loosened it it started gurgling and splurtering out obviously hot water, i tightened it again rather quickly. I knew there was certain bits you wernt meant to mess with when engine was hot but honestly didnt realise this was one of them, id left it about 5 mins while i popped into shop but this obviously wasnt long enough.
I wouldnt have a clue which parts i need or how to fit them so im gonna hope the garage will be nice to me tomorrow. They are usually pretty good as i go back every year for MOT etc. Last time i posted about rust on rear wheel arches and i popped in one day asking him to have a look, he got rid of rust and touched it up with paint for a tenner for me.
Im in North Herts
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The MOT guy sounds very good. Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome..........
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cheers stuartl, well got it back at cost of £47, he reckoned it was thermostat also says on invoice and water flank?? (either says water flank or i cant read his writting!) never heard of that, is that another term for antifreeze? I know they have put that in because yesterday i only topped it up with water and its a blue colour now.
Dont know if it will work, looked about a bit and people seem to think that a replaced thermostat cant fix a leak, i will have to keep an eye on it. Although saying that over last night it only dropped about a cm from minimum line so maybe problem wasnt as bad as i originally thought. To be honest it could of been loosing coolant over the last month since i purchased the car, i only usually check it monthly. Plus the wet patch on the floor isnt water, its been there since this morning and hasnt dried up, dont know if its something else leaking from my car (hope not) or one of the kids round here have dropped sweets or something there.
Anyway fingers crossed a?!
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nothing to do with the problem, but where did you purchase the car from? if from a dealer of any sort then they have you give you more than a month's warrenty by law, a month seems like an odd length of time for a warrenty
cheers
chris
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"nothing to do with the problem, but where did you purchase the car from? if from a dealer of any sort then they have you give you more than a month's warrenty by law, a month seems like an odd length of time for a warrenty"
Got it from a dealer, car is 10 years old, asked if hed give me a warranty and he said could only do a month on a car of that age.
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well he's a liar and as a result id be asking for the cost of repair to be refunded by the dealer as the rules are quite clear on used car warrenty's
chris
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well he's a liar and as a result id be asking for the cost of repair to be refunded by the dealer as the rules are quite clear on used car warrenty's
A warrantee and statutory rights are two different things.
The rules regarding statutory rights are indeed clear. The onus of poof is on the dealer to show that any fault arising within six months of the sale were not present at the time of sale.
The car ran for a month without overheating.
Then the car overheats. Therefore the fault was not present at the time of the sale. If it had been, then the op would have returned the car much sooner.
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I read often, only post occasionally
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well said spikeyhead {p}
no more to be said really is there
no wonder i sometimes go home from work with a headache when i read this site
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Wolfgirl,
I don't know what a water flank is, either. Maybe the mechanic sneezed as he wrote it. :)
If the thermostat was jammed shut then it is quite possible that water has been blowing out of the header tank, giving the impression of a leak.
I would just keep an eye on the level, very often a newly filled cooling system will drop a bit in level as all the odd air bubbles in it get displaced by the car being used.
I wouldn't just top up with water, though, use a mixture of anti-freeze and water.(Winter's just around the corner!)
Your wet patch may be coolant, antifreeze doesn't evaporate like water, it tends to hang around for a bit.
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