Not fully sure where to post this, apologies if its in the wrong section.

 

Car:

Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel

I thought I'd give this Forum a shot before I take it to a garage. Few months ago the engine went into limp mode because it didn't have enough coolant. Since then it seems to be draining at a rapid pace, its now got to the point where I'm having to fill it each morning. I can't see any obvious signs of leaking anywhere.

Things to note:

Engine is getting coolant to it

Radiator seems to take ages sometimes to heat up

When the coolant cap is fastened it makes a high pitch noise

I have had it where the temp gauge randomly drops and then goes back up

I've attached a photo of where I spotted some water before, any help at all would be massively appreciated.

Is this an Eco-boost engine by any chance?

 

42 minutes ago, guy woodbridge said:

Is this an Eco-boost engine by any chance?

 

It's not no

3 hours ago, LiamF said:

Not fully sure where to post this, apologies if its in the wrong section.

 

Car:

Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel

I thought I'd give this Forum a shot before I take it to a garage. Few months ago the engine went into limp mode because it didn't have enough coolant. Since then it seems to be draining at a rapid pace, its now got to the point where I'm having to fill it each morning. I can't see any obvious signs of leaking anywhere.

Things to note:

Engine is getting coolant to it

Radiator seems to take ages sometimes to heat up

When the coolant cap is fastened it makes a high pitch noise

I have had it where the temp gauge randomly drops and then goes back up

I've attached a photo of where I spotted some water before, any help at all would be massively appreciated.

is the expansion tank empty every day when you look. you`ll have air in the system, you`ll need to warm the car up a bit (will take a while) leave the cap off so the air bubbles can escape, them top it up slowly to the max mark on the expansion tank

Since you are refilling the system so much are you still maintaining a 50% Ford coolant mix ?

The use of just water will cause a loss due to the boiling point being only 100C. Also it may well be worth spending £5 and getting a replacement filler cap for the expansion bottle. After they have operated to relive pressure a couple of times they often no longer seal properly.

9 hours ago, unofix said:

The use of just water will cause a loss due to the boiling point being only 100C.  

That is not entirely true. 

The cooling system is a closed system. While the coolant (or water) warms up it also expands. This results in a build-up of pressure within the system. During normal operation a pressure of 10 PSI (0,7 Bar) to 15 PSI (1.0 Bar) above the atmospheric pressure is completely normal (the pressure release valve of the coolant reservoir cap opens at 21 PSI (1.45 Bar).

A characteristic of water is that the boiling point of 100 °C is only applicable at sea level (atmospheric pressure of 1.0 Bar). In a pressurized environment the boiling increases to a higher temperature. In a vacuumized environment the boiling decreases to a lower temperature.

At a pressure of 10 PSI (0.7 bar) above atmospheric pressure the boiling point of water is 116 °C 
At a pressure of 12 PSI (0.8 bar) above atmospheric pressure the boiling point of water is 117 °C 
At a pressure of 13 PSI (0.9 bar) above atmospheric pressure the boiling point of water is 119 °C 
At a pressure of 15 PSI (1.0 bar) above atmospheric pressure the boiling point of water is 121 °C 

The coolant temperature of an internal combustion engine is usually between 75 °C and 90 °C for a diesel engine and between 90 °C and 105 °C for a petrol engine. This is well below the boiling point of pressurized water.

 

In this case it is highly recommended to replace the coolant reservoir cap (failure of the pressure relief valve inside the cap is a well known problem), perform both a pressure and vacuum test and check the coolant for exhaust gases. Headgasket failure of the 8-Valve 1.6 TDCI is not uncommon at all.

 

 

On my previous 1.6tdci (which was 16 valve not 8 valve) it developed a coolant leak from the plastic thermostat cover. (On the end of the engine above the bell housing). I don’t know if the parts are same on 8 valve and 16 valve but probably are.  One reason to use antifreeze is it’s also a corrosion inhibitor. Which is even more important if your car has a water cooled oil cooler. I can’t remember if that engine does or not.

Before I replace the cap I wanted to check if theres damage to the pipe connecting the tank and radiator and noticed theres a lot of oil, I'm getting a contanst high pitch noise coming from that area. Anyone know if this looks like it should?

2 hours ago, LiamF said:

I'm getting a contanst high pitch noise coming from that area.

What engine have you got ?

9 hours ago, unofix said:

What engine have you got ?

I'd take a wild guess it's this one 😉

Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel

20 minutes ago, Wino said:

Ford Focus Titanium X, 1.6 Diesel

Doh !! missed that ...... should have read back to the start of the post.