Pressurizing Coolant system

I am trying to see where my coolant leak comes from.

I have pressurized the system through the cooling tank at 0.5 bar.

Is that enough or should I go 1 bar or even higher?

Would pressurizing the coolant system show the leaky tubing in all cases?

I am guessing eveything after the thermostat will not get pressurized if the engine is cold or am I not fully understanding coolant system?

 

Check the radiator cap for registered pressure rating. Then use that as a reference.

 

Thermostat will block flow but not pressure. Pressurize to the cap rating pressure and have a look.

 

1,00
Guessing that is 1 bar.
Non Aprire a caldo

 

I remember this as correct.

MOST thermostats have a LITTLE hole,
which evens out the rise in pressure
as the system heats up.

This hole passes a bit of coolant to
move SOME coolant in the system.

The same hole also allows "air" to
pass and to help "purge the system.

"FULL" pressure should show any normal leak.
(AND, you might want to also try it "hot.")

REMEMBER, that pressure is transmitted into
the cabin heater, so "check your carpets !"

 

For pressure, it doesn't matter if the thermostat has a hole in it or not. A cooling system is a closed loop. The water pump circulates the liquid. The thermostat regulates when and how much circulates.
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Thanks.

2 hours of 1 bar and not a drop in sight.
But I am sure that if I run the engine long enough and then shut it off a small puddle will be on the floor the next morning....

 

Vereeken, what color is the fluid and under which part of the engine that may help for tracking. The tool held the pressure or not.
Sark

 

it is holding pressure.
It is a greenish liquid. No oil involved it evaporates much like water.
I can not tell where it came from. The cover plate was attached so it was channeld to the back of the plate. I got the undertray off in the hope I could see something but no leak is showing up. I am preparing to replace the waterpump hose with an uprated one but I would like to know what caused the spill...

 

Coolant does not evaporates and vanishes like water, it has some oily touch and leaves some tracing on the floor. If you have Plenum off look for any leakage trace at hose junctions and connections, do not replace anything until you find the source for leak.

 

Hmm more difficult then I expected. Nothing to see after 24 hours. Pressure of 1 bar applied and after 24 hours still 0.95 bar...

I have two slightly related questions.

I read somewhere that the coolant reservoir needs to be topped up 6 cm under the cap. Is this measured from the top of the cap or from the bottom of the thread where the cap is screwed on?

WHere does the AC drop its condensation water? I noticed the undertray was very greasy and slimy maybe the condens water ran over the undertray and took soem of the slime with it leading me to think it was coolant water.

 

perhaps too much coolant in the system ?


Daniel

 

You sure this is not coming from the air conditioning evaporator drain tube? 50% anti-freeze does not normally evaporate that rapidly, but water with just a little junk in it does.

 

Vereeken, A/C drain is behind the passenger tyre comes out of frame, you should jack up the car to see the hole. As Taz commented that is only water. The coolant level inside the reservoir should be 6 cm from the to of the cap to keep the standing tubes inside the reservoir submerged. If the tester holding the pressure is good. Find out exactly what kind of fluid leak you have first. I understand it is not fun.

 

OK this is going to sound ghetto. Take a straw put it in overflow tank bottom on cold motor. Put finger over straw and capture the water. Pull out straw measure height of water in straw. Go drive car around a good loop say 20 miles. Park in same place and in morning again with cold motor measure to see if coolant tank level has dropped. Report findings here.

 

Ok so AC drain is behind passenger side. I am hoping your talking left hand drive cars right?

I can not drive the car for the moment as I had the plan of replacing the coolant tube underneath the intake collector. It is old style and looks about to burst (I would say its about 50% inflated...). Ofcourse then I decided that it would be good to replace the temp sensors and the gasket, but no Ricambi where I live....

I am beginning to suspect an overfill of the coolant. I had 3 occassions with the car dumping a small puddle after sitting cooling down. (There is no drip under the car as long as it was running). When I went to measure the coolant last night I had exactly 6 cm ....how convenient...

Maybe I should run the car and sleep under it during the night...is that procedure documented in the Ferrari workshop manual.

 

Ghetto? Compton style? Not that bad of an idea it should bring out even a minimum fluctuation...

 

I recently have had to replace the waterpump as it was the culprit causing my leak.

 

Look for signs of dry coolant on the exhausts, behind the engine, that would indicate a problem in one of the hoses under the plenum!

Stefano

 

Note also that some systems do not leak under pressure, but when the pressure is removed, they do after sitting for a while.

 

Yup tried that as well. Pressurized waited and then let off the pressure...nothing....

So the only thing that remains is heat and the effect on the tubing....

 

Refinement, and probably more "ghetto" LOL: We keep a Starbuck's stirring stick under Guido's hood (the 550) and use it to occasionally check the coolant level in the tank. The porous wood temporarily changes color when it gets wet. To mark the level I just use a fingernail to put a small dent in the stick. The trick is to use FBB's wise suggestion of parking in the same place and letting the car completely cool before checking. This method provides a very accurate picture of any delta in the reservoir level. Just another use for Starbuck's sticks (I could write a book).