Coolant Level dropped a little below Minimum

[Rundle123]

Hi there I just recently noticed today my engine coolant level has dropped below the minimum line, is there any reason for this? I’m going to top it up as it’s not really a lot the coolant colour is pink, would it be okay to just top it up? 

[Comares2001]

You don't say if this has happened suddenly or over  time. There are lots of reasons for loss of coolant from leaking hoses or faulty pressure cap to failing head gasket so best thing first of all is  to top it up to max when cold and monitor to see what happens.

[Rundle123]

9 minutes ago, Comares2001 said:

You don't say if this has happened suddenly or over  time. There are lots of reasons for loss of coolant from leaking hoses or faulty pressure cap to failing head gasket so best thing first of all is  to top it up to max when cold and monitor to see what happens.

I couldn’t say when if I’m honest, I had my service in December but I can’t remember or say if the coolant was actually flushed and refilled

[Luke4efc]

Top it up and keep checking the level every so often to see if it drops. If there's no noticable drop after a month I wouldn't worry about it. It might've never been topped up or changed in the 7 years it's been on the road lol.

[Rundle123]

23 minutes ago, Luke4efc said:

Top it up and keep checking the level every so often to see if it drops. If there's no noticable drop after a month I wouldn't worry about it. It might've never been topped up or changed in the 7 years it's been on the road lol.

Yeah that’s a good point lol, I’ve only had the car for a year July, the only reason I believe it may not have been changed in the service in December is because the garage seemed to want to get my car out in a hurry as when I went to use the windscreen reservoir  A couple weeks later it was still empty so something tells me they didn’t bother doing much under the bonnet lol

[Comares2001]

That coolant doesn't have to be changed its there for life as long as the 50/50 concentration is maintained.

[Rundle123]

9 minutes ago, Comares2001 said:

That coolant doesn't have to be changed its there for life as long as the 50/50 concentration is maintained.

So nothing at all should be lost?

[isetta]

in theory nothing should be lost. I had a Focus for 8 years and I never added any coolant in all that time (but some cars do seem to need a top up now and then - but talking about months at least). But I had Fiesta 1.6tdci on which the coolant never seemed to like being up at the max. if I topped up to max, over next few weeks it would go to just below min, but then it would stay there, but if I topped up to max again it would go down to just below min again after a while and then stay there. Never really worked out why but had car for years and it did not seem to do any harm. 

check it on level ground when cold

[Rundle123]

That’s strange isn’t it? Must be a reason behind but at least you had no clear issues with it, I tend to overthink the worst of things so I will just have to top it up and monitor like everyone has said 

18 minutes ago, isetta said:

in theory nothing should be lost. I had a Focus for 8 years and I never added any coolant in all that time (but some cars do seem to need a top up now and then - but talking about months at least). But I had Fiesta 1.6tdci on which the coolant never seemed to like being up at the max. if I topped up to max, over next few weeks it would go to just below min, but then it would stay there, but if I topped up to max again it would go down to just below min again after a while and then stay there. Never really worked out why but had car for years and it did not seem to do any harm. 

check it on level ground when cold

 

[wordchild]

Hello folks,

Think it would be worth monitoring the coolant level - you could make a pencil mark on the expansion tank to do this - though it may not be anything major to worry about. 

That said, Connor I'm a bit curious as to what engine you have? I ask because the 1.6tdci has a (I think...) fairly common fault where the thermostat housing leaks and the coolant level obviously drops. My previous (2006) mk6 and current (2011) 1.6 diesels have both had this fault. If yours isn't the 1.6 diesel you may have less of a concern...! 

[Rundle123]

21 minutes ago, wordchild said:

Hello folks,

Think it would be worth monitoring the coolant level - you could make a pencil mark on the expansion tank to do this - though it may not be anything major to worry about. 

That said, Connor I'm a bit curious as to what engine you have? I ask because the 1.6tdci has a (I think...) fairly common fault where the thermostat housing leaks and the coolant level obviously drops. My previous (2006) mk6 and current (2011) 1.6 diesels have both had this fault. If yours isn't the 1.6 diesel you may have less of a concern...! 

That’s a good shout didn’t think of the pencil trick thanks!

I have a 1.25 Zetec, ah right I see that’s odd and not ideal! Is it something that can be fixed easily enough ?

[wordchild]

8 minutes ago, Rundle123 said:

That’s a good shout didn’t think of the pencil trick thanks!

I have a 1.25 Zetec, ah right I see that’s odd and not ideal! Is it something that can be fixed easily enough ?

Hi again,

No problem 🙂

& you'd need someone more mechanical than me to answer that properly but I imagine it depends if there's a coolant leak & if so, where from - eg changing a split hose or tightening a connection wouldn't be too tricky i guess.

[Rundle123]

29 minutes ago, wordchild said:

Hi again,

No problem 🙂

& you'd need someone more mechanical than me to answer that properly but I imagine it depends if there's a coolant leak & if so, where from - eg changing a split hose or tightening a connection wouldn't be too tricky i guess.

 

That’s fair enough, hopefully it is something like a split hose or a loose connection somewhere! Thank you 

[wordchild]

11 minutes ago, Rundle123 said:

 

That’s fair enough, hopefully it is something like a split hose or a loose connection somewhere! Thank you 

Hope so 🙂

The Haynes manual points out that leaked coolant often leaves a stain (can be like a whitish crystalline deposit) which might help find the leak (if that's the problem). But as I say I'm hoping someone more mechanical pops up to help too!

[Rundle123]

2 hours ago, wordchild said:

Hope so 🙂

The Haynes manual points out that leaked coolant often leaves a stain (can be like a whitish crystalline deposit) which might help find the leak (if that's the problem). But as I say I'm hoping someone more mechanical pops up to help too!

Just got home from work and had a quick scan under the bonnet and whilst the engine was running I couldn’t see any obvious leaks from pipes in my view

[Rundle123]

2 hours ago, wordchild said:

Hope so 🙂

The Haynes manual points out that leaked coolant often leaves a stain (can be like a whitish crystalline deposit) which might help find the leak (if that's the problem). But as I say I'm hoping someone more mechanical pops up to help too!

Also I’ve been looking online to see if Nyone else has had similar issues and I saw something about someone’s water pump being the problem, I’ve only recently had my Cambelt and water pump done could they have possibly fitted it incorrectly or a faulty one?

[fleamoo]

In addition, thread  'Coolant level' started by Piston Head on this forum might be worth checking out before you top up.

[Rundle123]

2 hours ago, fleamoo said:

In addition, thread  'Coolant level' started by Piston Head on this forum might be worth checking out before you top up.

Thanks mate just had a look very interesting read, I’ve already filled it up for now but I haven’t checked it enough regularly to see if it has changed over time, hopefully that is the case, I’ve booked it in with a local garage to have a look if they can give me an answer

[Jeipii]

Check the two plastic connectors connecting to coolant reservoir. It could be slowly dripping from there. Also check that the coolant reservoir is not leaking when it's warmed up. Also a lot of other places where it could leak though.

[Eng_Ahmad1986]

I owned my mk8 fiesta since march 2019, up till now the coolant level is stuck at the max mark, it never dropped even a little bit, knowing that summer temperature here in Egypt reaches 42 Celsius , so I think you have a problem and its better to resolve it before it gets bigger, ecoboost engines doesn't tolerate even a minor leak in the cooling system, I suggest you check the system for internal or external leaks, the dealer has the tools to pressurize the system to check for leaks, please don't neglect the issue for the sake of your engine.

[Rundle123]

9 hours ago, Eng_Ahmad1986 said:

I owned my mk8 fiesta since march 2019, up till now the coolant level is stuck at the max mark, it never dropped even a little bit, knowing that summer temperature here in Egypt reaches 42 Celsius , so I think you have a problem and its better to resolve it before it gets bigger, ecoboost engines doesn't tolerate even a minor leak in the cooling system, I suggest you check the system for internal or external leaks, the dealer has the tools to pressurize the system to check for leaks, please don't neglect the issue for the sake of your engine.

Yeah I think it’s an issue, I’ll be taking it to a local garage tomorrow to have a look and they’re going to pressure test to see if there’s any leaks

[Rundle123]

Update- Hi guys went to the garage today they pressure tested the system there was no leaks they checked it and nothing was obviously leaking, I did get my cambelt and water pump changed from there back in March or February and they said once it was fitted there may have been an airlock or something and they forgot to tell me to check the coolant a day or so after as it may go down and I would have needed to put more in, thankfully I noticed it before any serious damage was done!