Disapearing coolent

[Dale]

Hello all.
Got a second hand navara about a month ago, its a 2003 3.0l turbo STR
Just this week it has started loosing coolent somewhere but i can't find where.
On a 2km drive it looses about 3-400ml
There is no coolent on the driveway, no sign of anything in the oil and no oil in the radiator either, even the exhaust is bone dry.
So i cant figure out where the water is going?

 

[tweak'e]

check the carpet. possibly heater leak.

otherwise get the cooling system pressure tested and/or gas analyzer. quite possible you have a cracked head.
you won't see it in the exhaust as water evaporates.

also are you sure your not just overfilling the bottle?

 

[Dale]

Nah not filling the bottle, i wait till it cools off and check the radiator itself.

Haven't noticed water in the carpet but ill have a good look tomorrow.
Hope its not a cracked head, the car has a warranty but it only covers the head up to $700

 

[Navvic]

Mine has slowly lost coolant over 4 mths but nowhere near like yours. I've noticed green coloring around some of the radiator hoses so I'm thinking they're on their way out. Have you noticed anything like that on yours?

It does sound a bit excessive. I'd get it checked if you can't find an obvious leak like tweak said.

 

[Gonzo]

I have a 2003 also and recently when I was towing my caravan on a long trip for extended periods , My top tank started to leak But when it cooled down it resealed , i stopped towing at 120kms prob fixed ! ( I was in the NT )

 

[tweak'e]

replace the cap and check the hose to the bottle. it may simply not be sucking the water back into the radiator.

 

[Dale]

Tweak'e its emptying the overflow bottle as well so its not that.

This morning on start up i noticed a rather large cloud of white smoke from the back.
It's also getting hard to start, its like the starter motor is almost having trouble turning the engine over.
So i think the water might be getting into the cylinders.
I should probably stop driving it till i can get it looked at, but i need it to get to work

 

[Old.Tony]

If the water is getting into the cylinders then the reverse will likely be happening as well, and a gas analysis of the radiator water will answer that. In the old days you could just open the radiator cap and start the engine and watch for bubbles, but I don't think that works any more.

A cracked head is likely to cost a bit more than $700 but it may only be a head gasket, so don't lose hope on that score.

It's also possible that it's in the coolant lines going to the turbocharger as well.

 

[tweak'e]

i think you need to organize some other wheels for a while. stop driving it now before you do some more damage.
certainly sounding like head or head gasket has gone.

turbo is not water cooled.
there is the egr valve which is water cooled, tho very rare for that to leak.

 

[Pix]

Get someone qualified to check it over may be the best bet. Always better to be safe the sorry.

 

[Dale]

It went to a mechanic today, he said there is water getting into the number 4 cylinder.
Will know more tomorrow but it doesnt look good.

 

[Dave]

Sounds like a blown headgasket.

Ouch on the bank account.

 

[Old.Tony]

Hopefully it's just a head gasket, it won't hurt as much as a cracked head (in any interpretation of that sentence).

 

[barna]

Hi dale I was going through the same thing with the water dissapearing and in the end it was a cracked head. I had nissan do a pressure test on it and they took the glow plugs out and pressurized the systom and water was comming out of number 4 cylinder. It cost $150.00 to do that.I am getting a AMC head for it and it will be here in a couple of days.Mine only cracked on number 4. I would say it is the head when you take it of I bet the crack will be between the glow plug hole and the exhuast valve.If it is talk to Mark at M.T Auto's in Brendale Brisbane He is supplying me with the amc head. He was the only bloke I found that offered me something other than chinese crap and the nissan head which I would not put back on after what happen to the original one.

 

[nathand22]

hi dale. i cracked the head on my 06 D22 by sucking up some water before i fitted a snorkel. it was bad enough to hydraulic on start up and as you have found when it did fire it blew white smoke.
as i was a bit strapped for cash i tried a bottle of "SEAL UP" from repco. this was meant to be only a temporary fix until i had the time and the cash to fix it properly. as it turned out the nav did 150'000km with no sign of it letting go again.
that stuff is unbelievable, you just drain all the coolant out of the system including the heater,(you will have to really make sure there is absolutely no coolant for it to work) and poor in the bottle of seal up. then go for a drive for about a half hr and it will work (or did work for me). the good thing about it is, unlike other crap it doesn't seem to affect anything else, as it is silica it is only active when it hits the spot of the crack, at that point there will be a hot spot or gas causing the silica to melt and weld up the crack. once you have stopped the loss of water you can then flush the radiator and re-fill with coolant. anyway its worth a shot. if it doesn't work you have only spent $10 and will be in the same position you are in now.
anyway i hope it all works out for you, good luck with it. nathan

 

[Dale]

Finally heard back from the mechanic today, head has multiple cracks all around the glow plugs.
Gave me a quote of $3200.
Not impressed!
Is this a common fault with them? I had previously heard the navaras were tough as nails..

I'm going to try and take it back to the dealer since it also failed a roadworthy on a few points.
wish me luck :/

 

[Dave]

Mainly common around 2000 in the GU ZD30's cracking heads.

Alot of alloy head motors do it, especially chipped with no upgrades to lower temps.

Turbo 1HZ's do it, 1KZTE's, 2LTE's etc.

Seen a few TD42's do it to.

 

[tweak'e]

Finally heard back from the mechanic today, head has multiple cracks all around the glow plugs.
Gave me a quote of $3200.
Not impressed!
Is this a common fault with them? I had previously heard the navaras were tough as nails..

check the pistons for cracks. the problem the pre 2003 ones (yours MIGHT be one of them) was that they tended to blow pistons. even if its not one of those, if it ran hot enough to crack heads they can also crack pistons. real pain to loose the whole motor 6 months later due to piston failing.

having said that ....ALL light diesels will crack heads, especially if abused.
blocked up air filter, poor oil, to much oil into the intake, poor fuel, blocked up intake, blocked up cat, worn injectors,....etc etc all that can result in cracked heads.

 

[Dale]

The lower motor is all fine apparently and the 3200 is for a NEW head.

Rang the dealer and he would not take the car back, he was adamant it was not his responsibility and he was not liable ect but i did manage to coax $500 out of him.

So i'll take that 500 and fix the car and hopefully i wont have any more problems.