Hi Guys
Can anyone
help please
Read lots on this but never really found an outcome
In the last 3 weeks I've noticed my car has started using coolant.
On occasions it drops from max to min in 50 miles sometimes longer say 150 miles. Today i checked it after filling to the max mark 2 days ago and it was below the min mark.
There is evidence of coolant around the cap and sitting on the aluminium arm beside the expansion tank which i cleaned off previously and appears every time i loose coolant. Temp gauge never moves from 90.
Any thoughts, hoping not Head Gasket
Any new information regarding this issue please
Read that thread that bgb referred to. You'll see my most recent contribution. I also have a 184.
Not everyone has exactly the same issues but you can follow a process of elimination to try to suss it out.
If you have good coolant temp you can probably rule out water pump and t/stat for now. Having said that, the digital gauge will sit at 90 even if your coolant is anything between 75 and 98 because that's what mine did. An app that gives real time info is better. I use inCarDoc Pro.
A blocked heater matrix is probably the first place to start. Due to SEAT (VAG Group actually) designing a heater matrix with tiny channels in it, these get blocked over time. That is partly caused by casting sand being left in the engine block and/or silicant gel from a bag in your expansion tank that splits and gums up the coolant system. The way to test this is see how much heat comes out of your vents and whether you get a big difference from passenger to drivers side. A blocked matrix tends to cause reduced heat output and differing temps on each side. You can check the temps on the pipes in/out of the matrix as well.
If that is the
problem, the coolant loss usually comes during a DPF regen. The DPF heats up to 600 degrees and does the regen. When completed it uses the heater matrix to
help cool down. The car has 3 cooling systems (`circuits`) and with a blocked heater matrix it can't cool the coolant enough so it basically boils and it opens a release valve and shoots out of your expansion tank release port (just under the cap). With the car hot you don't tend to get a warning until the car has cooled overnight and the levels have dropped. Whether you do 50 or 150 miles might be less relevant as the DPF regen decides when you dump coolant.
A matrix is about £75. SEAT want about £1000 to do it (they quote 8 hours labour to remove the whole dash). Using a workaround
guide on this forum, I did it in 2 hours.
May car was also overheating due to a faulty pump, so I've just had done:
New w/pump (inc cam belt)
New thermostat + housing
New coolant temp sender
New heater matrix
New expansion tank (without silicant bag)
If you get a DPF monitoring app, you can see if the coolant loss is linked to DPF regens.
I'm hoping that yours in just the matrix. It's a known issue although SEAT won't admit to it and I had to order my matrix from Europe due to high demand in the UK!
Quite happy to
help with anything if needed but this forum has some good stuff on it.