Losing coolant from.... somewhere....

Hi all,

A few thoughts please - 98 P38 4.6 petrol...

Temp Gauge - good
Top Hose - warm and firm (ish - has fluid in it...)
Expansion tank - seems fine

Small watery patch of coolant slowly developing under vehicle over a few days... check.

Getting underneath with a torch, coolant visible around back end of engine on left hand side (along with the usual oil and such)

Nothing that I can tell on the top anywhere.

No emulsion in oil filler cap, no white smoke on start etc etc that would indicate a disasterous failure.


Any ideas?

you shure its coolant and not the aircon drain,if its coolant it maybe from a core plug there are two at the rear of the engine IN THE BELL HOUSING this is a gearbox out job to fix.also check heater pipes

wokkadriver said:

Hi all,

A few thoughts please - 98 P38 4.6 petrol...

Temp Gauge - good
Top Hose - warm and firm (ish - has fluid in it...)
Expansion tank - seems fine

Small watery patch of coolant slowly developing under vehicle over a few days... check.

Getting underneath with a torch, coolant visible around back end of engine on left hand side (along with the usual oil and such)

Nothing that I can tell on the top anywhere.

No emulsion in oil filler cap, no white smoke on start etc etc that would indicate a disasterous failure.


Any ideas?

Click to expand...

is the carpet wet or damp?on drivers side near front on the left?

look at the two small pipes on the back of the throttle body..

Worth checking bottom of the rad for signs of a leak as well.
how often are you having to top the coolant up?

Hi everyone,

Hope the weekend is going well!

In response - no, the carpets are dry, so I doubt it is heater matrix o rings.

I am content it is not the aircon drain either - the fluid is definitely coolant.

I have had the front bumper and grille off in the last couple of days, and am fairly happy the rad is in good order - the area behind the rad is all dry, it only starts to get wet towards the rear of the sump.

It has leaked whilst it has stood over the last couple of days, probably no more than around a pint over a week.

j the range - what am I looking for at the back of the throttle body?

Cheers guys!

I'm a diesel driver so perhaps not the best person to listen to, but

wasn't there something on here a while back about a leak on the front of the engine running along the valley and dripping off at the back?