Losing Coolant

[Rishi]

I checked my coolant tank today and it was empty! I topped it up and ran the car for a few minutes and it seemed to be ok, at least coolant wasn't gushing out of anywhere.

The other day when starting up from cold I heard a very loud sloshing noise, if I had to guess it was coming from the n/s/r of the engine bay.

I'm wondering if there's any key areas to pay attention to? I'm thinking it could be the water pump but obviously hoping it's just a hose. I haven't had time to investigate further as only spotted it at the end of the day. The engine bay on a 197 is so crowded it's hard to make out much without removing the airbox etc. Thanks for any pointers.

 

[Jimmy]

All I can suggest is based on when I had a loss of coolant - and that was when there was a leak from the thermostat housing. This may not be what you have, but worth a check to at least eliminate it.

 

[DS197]

Also check if the carpets are wet in case it's the heater matrix. Perhaps the sloshing noise might be air trapped in the system as my 206 would do the same at startup.

 

[Rishi]

Thanks guys, will do.

 

[Rishi]

Update - I checked the thermostat housing and there's gunk around it and a little puddle nearby so I think the seals must be knackered, I'm going to change the whole housing/seals and 'stat next weekend. The housing is metal so not sure it needs replacing but I got a decent trade price on it all.

 

[Jimmy]

Good to hear that you got to the bottom of it, and that the suggestion paid off

 

[Rishi]

Yep, thanks for the pointer, I'm actually looking forward to doing the job