Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 2000 2.0 HDi - Coolant loss

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Tue 12 Aug 2008 10:51
2000 2.0 HDi - Coolant loss - FP
SWMBO's X -reg estate (sixty-odd thousand miles) has recently started to need its coolant level topping up - about half a cupful every fortnight, low mileage covered in that time.

An inspection under the bonnet and under the car reveals nothing. (Mind you, the car stands on gravel.) All the hoses I can see and/or touch seem dry, with no trace of residue. No trace of oil contamination. The car runs fine.

Is this something I can pursue myself, or does it need some kind of pressure-testing, or other specialist equipment?

As the cambelt (to our knowledge) has never been changed, are we looking at a possible coolant pump failure?

Typically, of course, the car is booked on a ferry at the beginning of September!

Any help gratefully received.
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Tue 12 Aug 2008 13:34
2000 2.0 HDi - Coolant loss - RichardW
Bottom of the radiator can corrode and leak - look for tell tale stains (although the later coolants may not revelal themselves this way!). If the water pump is away then you should find water dripping out of the bottom of the timing cover behind the crank pulley. Head gasket failure is a lot rarer on these engines than the XUDs that came before - but not unknown. Check to see that the coolant is not pressurised when the engine is cold, there are no streams of bubbles coming up into the header tank with the engine running, and with the engine cold remove and refit the cap, start the engine and run it for about 1 minute, stop and remove the cap - has any pressure built up? Cambelt on this engine is 100k / 10 years so not yet due.
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Wed 13 Aug 2008 00:32
2000 2.0 HDi - Coolant loss - Andrew-T
The water-pump is a possibility. Mine was renewed, as advised, with the cambelt at 6 years/48K miles (99T 306). Some weeks later the low water-level light came on, which made me suspicious as the car had never had any leaks. Turned out that the replacement pump was faulty; coolant stains in the sump-tray confirmed the leak.
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