Hello all.
I'm here again about dearest Rover 214Si (N-Reg, old shape) and the question I've had previously about my lack of coolant.
On 4th April I made a post about it having *no* coolant in it, this wasn't accurate, as it appears just the coolant reservoir was nearly empty, so I put in 200ml of tap water (pure and simple) and it got it to the "max" level. There is nothing that I could describe as "mayo" in the reservoir, it's pretty clean.
A month later on, after I bought some of Halfords new stuff I put in just 200ml of that (no water) to get it to the max level.
Another month has gone by and today I plonked in 75ml of Halfords coolant and 75ml of tap water.
While the temp gauge on the dash has never got up more than about 40% (100% = hot, 0% = cold) I know that the 214 has a reputation of head gasket failure.
It's often over-diagnosed, I understand. Infact, even if someone asks why their tyre keeps deflating on their 214 it seems people would post a message saying the only reason the tyre deflates is because of head gasket failure! (Joke, example)
It's been a good, useful and very reliable car, and I'll have had it for a year next month. While it's obviously got sentimental value (I learned to drive on a 15 year old Proton and when I passed my test I bought the 214 for £800 inc 11 month MoT & 60,000 miles on the clock) I know it's not going to last forever.
When the coolant needs topping up with about 150-200ml of juice every month is there anything that I could do to keep it happy? It's still the same temp that it's always at. I *assume* the coolant is leaking from a hose, etc, or perhaps the radiator (there are dried bits of white stuff on the back of the radiator, along with a quantity of rust).
If the coolant level is going down is it likely to be leaking into the engine itself, or would it be likely for it to be just leaking from hoses and radiator (Which have never been replaced since I bought the car).
And if that is likely, how much do you think it may cost to replace the hoses and repair/replace the radiator? It's not something that I would be confident in doing or be able to do myself.
In the end, it's only a car and is replaceable, but I'd much rather spend something on it now to extend the life of my investment rather than just forget about it and it die on me due to lack of TLC.
Thanks again for all the help and advice you've given me.