Water system help! :(

[swanny]

Chaps,

Just lost my water system fluid on the way home. Quick couple of questions if I may:

I had loads of steam, lost hot air from heater and cannot feel fluid in the pipes going to / from the rad. However my water resevoir is still full of coolant :? Does this sound normal ?

It appears to be coming from the bulk head area of the engine bay (I cannot see for certain as it is pitch black outside right now and i'll need to check it out in the morning). Who is a good supplier to use for water piping ? I am guessing Nissan, but do people use any other suppliers for water piping ?

Does anyone have a coolant hose diagram from a Haynes manual that might help me in diagnosing the faulty pipe (suspect the piping going to / from the matrix).

Lastly, am I looking at much of a job to replace the piping ? I've heard some nasty tales of Jap cars requiring "engine out" jobs to replace heater matrixes / pipes (300zx)

Any help / comments would be wicked.

Thanks chaps,
Swanny

 

[Mr GTiR]

I had loads of steam, lost hot air from heater and cannot feel fluid in the pipes going to / from the rad. However my water resevoir is still full of coolant :? Does this sound normal ?

Sounds like a head gasket has gone.

Best thing is to confirm that a pipe has not split. You will need to fill up the coolant system till its full and run the engine so that it's up to running temp. Keep an eye on your engine temp to make sure it does not overheat. Do a visual check for any signs of leaks. If no leaks then i would be looking at the head gasket.

Don't forget to have your heaters on full (hot) to encourage the water to circulate round the system

 

[Fast Guy]

Which side on the bulk head? I've had one of the heater hoses and one of the oil cooler hoses go on me this year (as well as the rad bottom hose:doh

Best thing is to fill it up and run it to see where it's leakin from. I think it will probably be a hose not a head gasket (well, fingers crossed anyway)

Do a search for the correct bleeding method to make sure you get no air locks.

 

[swanny]

I'm seeing loads of steam coming from around the sump area (it's hard to see as I have no ramps or even jack at the mo).

Are there any pipes around the sump or the lower part of the block or am I to fear the worst ?

 

[Fast Guy]

Which part of the sump, it goes all round the engine:?

Fill it up, run it and look for the leak, there should be water as well as steam;-)

Most of the hoses are on the rear of the engine, heater hoses to the bulk head on the right, turbo and rad hoses on the front.

 

[swanny]

Got the little bro going round today (unfortunatly i'm stuck at work) to have a look. Will update with his findings