Water in Topup tank dissapears.????

Post by **funbus1** » 15 Feb 2007, 19:43

Anyone hve any ideas why my 1915wbx spits all the water out of the topup tank,and runs perfect for hundreds of miles with water sitting at perfect level in expansion tank??? Temp guage and fan operate exactly as they should...Never had to top up the exp tank yet. Never seen water in topup tank, hot or cold??

Post by **kevtherev** » 15 Feb 2007, 20:29

expansion tank is the tank inside the engine bay....top up tank is the one you can see from the flap

if it's spitting out of the expansion tank then the valve in the cap is faulty as the coolant should expand into the top up tank

Post by **funbus1** » 15 Feb 2007, 20:57

Hi KEV. I take it ill just have to fill the topup tank to level.run the engine to temp n check for leaks? Didnt know there was a valve in there. ill do that this wkend. Cheers again.

Post by **kevtherev** » 15 Feb 2007, 21:07

yep but take the cap off the expansion(header) tank and fill it to the brim.
replace the cap and fill the top up tank to the MAX level

(dont forget to replace any hoses that you pull off the cap...that's where the water sensor lives too)

Post by **funbus1** » 15 Feb 2007, 21:20

Will do. After the STARTER BUSH replacement

will let u know.COLD WET WINDY AAAGH .....

Post by **SteveW** » 16 Feb 2007, 13:02

Mine does that too. I think it is the top up tank cap that has lost it's rubber gasket and is leaking. I have no sign of water loss and the expansion tank is allways full when I check it. But the top up tank is allways empty or very low. I have not bothered topping it up lately but will as soon as I can get a new gasket from VAG.

The starter bush is not as bad as people make out. The old one can be drawn out with a 12mm tap and the new one inserted with a suitable allen head bolt with a penny washer held in place by a nut. I then use a suitable socket and an OLD short extension to push in, may need a bit of a tap with a hammer.

Good luck and I hope the weather brightens up for you.

Post by **funbus1** » 16 Feb 2007, 19:13

Cheers for that Steve, Ill get stuck in tmorrow.Forcast looks ok.

Post by **funbus1** » 19 Feb 2007, 19:35

Right enough, Bush wasen't much problem . just eyes full of dirt n rust.definetly recomend goggles of some kind. i just used safety glasses. Didnt get much of a chance to check the water prob . but noticed a small hole has been drilled in the cap of the top up tank??

Post by **Dan Wood** » 19 Feb 2007, 19:47

I think that hole is standard. I've got one anyway!

Post by **funbus1** » 20 Feb 2007, 19:12

Thanks Dan, Its my first watercooled. Ill go through the procedure at weekend to see where water goes.

Post by **clartsonly** » 22 Feb 2007, 11:52

mine does the same, even after changing the cap, it happened after I fixed a gasket on the metal pipe, whilst doing the clutch. it actually did it at the MOT station the bloke need got soaked in hot water. I have bled the system too. I think it might now be coming out of the sensor next to the pipe. it is fine on a long run but when it get a bit warm in traffic it starts to come out again. I assumed it was some air still stuck in the water circuit somewhere.