Water leak

[revlo321]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum. My Focus 2006 1.6 tdci has developed a water leak. I top the bottle up to the full mark, drive about sixty miles and the water level is near the bottom of the fill bottle.

Checked for visible leaks, can't see any. However after leaving the vehicle overnight and the car is stone cold,  when I remove the coolant filler cap the bottle is still pressurized and the water level comes back up the bottle an inch or two? I don't think it can be a leak in the water system or water pump etc as this would lose all pressure overnight I'm thinking. I'm suspecting the head gasket in some way but struggling to understand how it's retaining pressure for so many hours?  I recently had a couple of the copper washers on the injectors changed due to blow by and the mechanic told me he had a mother trying to remove number two injector. I'm wondering if he has in some way damaged or cracked the head? The water leak arrived immediately after the injector repair. Your help would be much appreciated by a retired old timer who will attempt his own repairs.

[Trewithy]

Try this:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/head-gasket-exhaust-repairs/holts-radweld-plus-250ml

[wilto]

+1 for the radweld plus, I've used on a previous Mondeo with a small leak and it done the trick for me.

[Luke4efc]

You bunch of cowboys lol.

Personally I'd never use any of these so called "quick fix" products, like the head gasket repair ones. It's just asking to clogg your engine/radiator up with crap. They just don't seem to work long term.

I assume your oil is still clean? No froth or white milky texture if you look in the filler cap. Really if you leave it overnight and you lose 2 inches (of coolant) then I'd have thought part of you engine would be wet or there would be a pubble on the floor. Or is it fine if you're not driving it?

[isetta]

i had 1.6tdci fiesta. it leaked coolant a small amount but i could not find where.  I put radweld in it (not being a cowboy but I just could not find where the leak was). after a few weeks it seemed to leak a bit more. The radweld had actually helped me though because I found a red streak (from the red radweld) coming down the engine from the plastic thermostat cover on the end of the engine above the clutch bellhousing when I was underneath the car.   The thermotstat cover is quite hard to get to on 1.6tdci fiesta mk6.5  and the leak would not have been visible when looking under the bonnet. 

[revlo321]

Thanks for all for the replies. I may not have been clear in my explanation. It only loses about a pint of water after a long drive (60 miles). The next day with the engine stone cold, when I remove the coolant filler cap the cooling system is still pressurized. As I remove the cap the pressure escapes and the water level which is now at or near the bottom of the bottle rises back up about 25mm (1") due to the pressure being released. SOoo, with the cooling system still being pressurized 10 hours later and the engine fully cold.  I don't see how there can be a leak in the cooling system, if there was a leak the pressure would escape overnight i'm thinking.  So how is the cooling system getting pressurized and still present next day? I'm suspecting a slight cylinder head leak across into the water jacket that maybe seals itself as the engine cools thereby retaining the pressure in the cooling system. I have looked into the water bottle with the cap off engine running  looking for escaping gas bubbles in the water but see nothing so I'm not sure about the head leak? What else could cause the cooling system to retain pressure overnight? thanks guys

[revlo321]

To luke4efc.

Thanks Luke. no It does not lose water overnight, it loses it during a 60 miles or so drive and does not lose any more after parking up overnight. The cooling system is still retaining pressure the next day?? I dont think the cooling system can have a leak or the pressure would not hold in the system. No there's no milky stuff on the oil filler cap and the oil looks fine.

Cheers.