My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.

Garage told her that their was no leaks, as they had pressure tested
it. Just keep topping the water up ??

I have to keep topping up half gallon of water every 25 miles.

No water in the oil, as no foam in oil.
No water leaks dripping on the floor.

How do I check if gasket blown ?? as the engine is lumpy at tickover,
until it gets hot.

TIA

"gray"  wrote in message
news:oieua1t59tobf4j2ho1cd78k45e6fn71hi@4ax.com...

> My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.


I had a P registered Honda Accord 2.2l which lost coolant with no visible
evidence. Eventually, after quite a bit of research, I added Bars Leaks to
the radiator, and the problem was cured.  (Do your own research before
adding anything as you may clobber the heater matrix.)

-- 
M Stewart
Milton Keynes, UK
http://www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm

"gray"  wrote in message 
news:oieua1t59tobf4j2ho1cd78k45e6fn71hi@4ax.com...

> My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.
>
> Garage told her that their was no leaks, as they had pressure tested
> it. Just keep topping the water up ??
>
> I have to keep topping up half gallon of water every 25 miles.
>
> No water in the oil, as no foam in oil.
> No water leaks dripping on the floor.
>
> How do I check if gasket blown ?? as the engine is lumpy at tickover,
> until it gets hot.
>
> TIA


use a block tester liquid (snap-on) to sample the gas above the water, this 
is the only reliable check for early signs of a blown gasket.

mrcheerful

"gray"  wrote in message 
news:oieua1t59tobf4j2ho1cd78k45e6fn71hi@4ax.com...

> My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.
>
> Garage told her that their was no leaks, as they had pressure tested
> it. Just keep topping the water up ??
>
> I have to keep topping up half gallon of water every 25 miles.
>
> No water in the oil, as no foam in oil.
> No water leaks dripping on the floor.
>
> How do I check if gasket blown ?? as the engine is lumpy at tickover,
> until it gets hot.
>
> TIA


That is a lot of water. Mebbe it's going straight out the exhaust. Check the 
colour of the spark plugs, if one is brand spanking new looking with no 
trace of carbon, thats where the water is going, via fractured head or blown 
gasket, but with that amount of refill, I'd expect to see a pool of water 
under the car !

gray wrote:

> My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.
> 
> Garage told her that their was no leaks, as they had pressure tested
> it. Just keep topping the water up ??
> 
> I have to keep topping up half gallon of water every 25 miles.
> 
> No water in the oil, as no foam in oil.
> No water leaks dripping on the floor.
> 
> How do I check if gasket blown ?? as the engine is lumpy at tickover,
> until it gets hot.


If it's running on 3 cylinders and is losing that much water then
it's highly unlikely to be anything other than the head/head gasket.

John

Thus spake Stuart Gray unto the assembled multitudes:


>> My wifes astra (M reg 8v petrol) is losing a lot of water.

> That is a lot of water. Mebbe it's going straight out the exhaust. Check the 
> colour of the spark plugs, if one is brand spanking new looking with no 
> trace of carbon, thats where the water is going, via fractured head or blown 
> gasket, but with that amount of refill, I'd expect to see a pool of water 
> under the car ! 


I had a G-reg Astra 1.4 which started losing coolant at an alarming rate,
and it turned out to be the water pump that was shagged and was leaking
coolant.   I changed the water pump and it cured the problem.




-- 
Andy Clews				University of Sussex IT Services
		(Remove DENTURES if replying by email)