Coolant Leak?
 

When I went to start the car this morning, it wouldn't start. It needed a jump so the rac came to the rescue. When the rac was there, I noticed on the top left hand side of the radiator, coolant had sort of exploded all around that area (like the underside of the bonnet, and all the surrounding bits and pieces).
I checked the coolant level, and as expected it was low. So I topped it up with some DI water at the pressure cap, and some at the resevoir one.
I went for a drive, and at the end of it, there seems to be no new water/coolant sprayed everywhere, and the resevoir level hasn't dropped either. I havn;t checked under the pressure one yet because the car is still hot.
I've had a pretty good look around the area the coolant seemed to be coming from, and there is no sign of a hole, or a crack or anythinng. There has to be a hole somewhere. My untrained eye can't spot it. Are there any common places to check for a hole. It doesn't look like it is any of my hoses, they all seem in good condition.
It was driving fine late last night as well.
Any recommendations or advice or anything will be much appreciated.

What model WRX????

GC8 end tanks crack with age

GD radiators leak from the top tank seal if boiled

Sorry, it's a MY99.

On one of our cars the top radiator hose had a loose clamp where it attaches to the engine. I'm talking half a turn, not hanging off. That allowed a few drops out and onto the engine, but tightening it up solved the problem.

On my own MY99 the radiator end-tank went recently. The hole was too small for the naked eye but the coolant sprayed out on the left hand side (looking from the front). There was hardly any change in the coolant level and I only drove the 1 or 2km home at low speed after checking it very carefully. I could tell it was a very minor leak, not a gusher. When I got home I looked with a torch + the engine running and saw what looked like a needle going from the radiator to the engine, and I realised that was the coolant leaking out under pressure.

If the coolant hasn't been replaced recently is it possible a bit of gunk has temporarily blocked the hole from the inside?

I've only just fitted a new all-alloy Saber radiator (ebay spec, $200 delivered) and so far it's been great. I had a few dramas during the fitting process (fan holes not quite lined up, had to gently bend the small header-tank outlet upwards) but it's certainly working ok. I replaced the radiator hoses at the same time.

[QUOTE=Sayers;491742]

On my own MY99 the radiator end-tank went recently. The hole was too small for the naked eye but the coolant sprayed out on the left hand side (looking from the front). There was hardly any change in the coolant level and I only drove the 1 or 2km home at low speed after checking it very carefully. I could tell it was a very minor leak, not a gusher. When I got home I looked with a torch + the engine running and saw what looked like a needle going from the radiator to the engine, and I realised that was the coolant leaking out under pressure.

[/QUOTE]

That sounds like a similar sort of area to mine, except mine seems to be squirting out to the front bumper/upwards. Will have to have a reaaaally close look for any needle like leaks.
Did you replace your radiator because of the hole? Or was it repairable and you got a radiator for another reason?

+1 for cracked end tank, it'll be a fine hairline crack so it'll only expand and leak when hot & under pressure. Happens to every GC8 owner at some point!

[QUOTE=Wozzernux;491751]+1 for cracked end tank, it'll be a fine hairline crack so it'll only expand and leak when hot & under pressure. Happens to every GC8 owner at some point![/QUOTE]

My searching of cracked end tank came up with this thread [URL]http://www.perth-wrx.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23536&highlight=cracked+end+tank[/URL]

Your recommendation seems to be just replace the whole lot...but being a student and broke, i'd prefer to just be able to replace the broken part.

Is there anythng i could do to encourage the leak to make it easier to identify. Would suck replacing the wrong park. Is replacing an end tank a DIY?

[QUOTE=Dawn Patrol;491750]That sounds like a similar sort of area to mine, except mine seems to be squirting out to the front bumper/upwards. Will have to have a reaaaally close look for any needle like leaks.
Did you replace your radiator because of the hole? Or was it repairable and you got a radiator for another reason?[/QUOTE]

I replaced the whole radiator for peace of mind, plus I decided to install the new radiator myself so labour was zero cost.

You can get a new end tank fitted but I believe the repair cost would be more than a whole new ebay-spec alloy radiator.

The downside is that my car was off the road for a week or so while I waited for the radiator to arrive.

The upside is that the new all-alloy radiator looks damn blingy under the bonnet:

[IMG]http://simon.m6.net/images/Strut2.jpg[/IMG]

No it aint DIY, and cause there plastic, its probably more than likely cheaper to replace the whole radiator.

Best to replace the whole radiator for the reasons above and also in that other thread. If you just replace the end tank then the rest of the radiator is still old... and fuck knows what level of corrosion may be inside, could be a ticking time bomb as even the youngest GC8's with original equipment are ten years old now.

Haha shit mine was done two years ago, not one!