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Rover 214Si - coolant loss

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.

Reply to
Nick
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You should be able to get the cooling system pressure tested to see if it's leaking when it gets hot and thus pressurises. Radiators tend to be replaced rather than repaired these days IME, but they're not horridly expensive. Your radiator will be made of aluminium, so it's not going to be rusting - are you sure what you can see isn't deposits from leaking coolant?

Reply to
Doki

If it's not rust then it's most likely to be coolant as there's deffo something coming out of it.

I'll speak to my local garage and ask them how much they're likely to charge me for testing the cooling system pressure and changing the radiator/hoses.

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry to hear about your car, Doki. I'm glad that you and your friend got out with only a few cuts and scrapes.

--Nick.

Reply to
Nick

Hi Nick,

I had a car that did something similar a few years back, but it wasn't a Rover. I found that every few weeks the coolant level needed a top-up but there were no signs of hoses leaking or water on the floor. After about 2 months of just topping it up, I heard a noise like driving over stones which went after a few minutes. A day or two later there was water under the car - the water pump had gone. Because of that I had to have the cambelt changed at the same time as a front oil seal. That car seemed to have everything happen at once - thanks Ford! The other annoying thing was that the radiator then developed a leak, isn't it funny how many faults develop after a car has been to a garage! That was replaced and all was fine until the engine just went.

On an old Escort I had it lost water because the core plugs popped out! There wasn't enough antifreeze. That needed topping up but was my own fault.

It seemed to have terrible problems with the cooling system - the heater matrix was completely clogged up with sludge. The previous owner had used tap water to fill the car up and probably never any antifreeze. So corrosion inside the engine had been pumped through the heater matrix. He had also used RADWELD and that stuck all the crap together.

I went for a new car this time and have not paid out for anything yet, cross my fingers.

Reply to
jason

No idea TBH. The radiator should be well under £100 if it's leaking, but the leak might just be a dodgy hose clamp (they tend to be crap, a bit of springy metal designed to be put on by a robot rather than a proper jubilee clip) or a bit of alloy that's corroded somewhere. The garage should swap all the s**te hose clamps for jubilee clips if they replace the hoses.

It was surprisingly uneventful TBH.

Reply to
Doki

BTW, the pressure test should be free or cheap. Only 2 minutes work.

Reply to
Doki

Your engine will be fitted with a plastic type inlet manifold. The original inlet manifold gaskets are prone to failing, infact Rover replaced them with an uprated design. If the gasket has gone then coolant may be leaking into the engine (usually no.4 pot is affected but could be any cylinder). It might be worth your while asking your garage if this could be your problem.

Reply to
Michael Cotton

Hi there "Doki"

Or £40 coz it still takes time and resources.

Reply to
Steve Sweet

If you like. Free tracking checks still take time and resources. And I have had free tracking checks where they've said "nowt wrong with that"...

Reply to
Doki

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