Smoke / Steam From Front Of Engine, Inlet Or Rad?

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

now then people i went to drive my gti 6 this morning after some subzero tempretures so i allowed the engine to warm up and went to drive off and noticed alot of smoke or steam coming from the rad/ inlet area i think the rad may have burst radweld has not worked the smoke / steam has an odd smell the engine is not overheating and is running as normal there is a little coolent loss after driving and standing so im thinking its the rad am i right or does this sound like something diffrent?? many thanks

[ross009 0]

mine does this from time to time only ever does it once per journey never uses any coolant etc so its never bothered me

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Quite normal, the rads steaming like anything damp getting hot

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

i am loosing a bit of coolent tho and it is rather alot of steam or smoke so much so that it starts coming in the car on standstill

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

Not being funny mate but rather than asking us to try and diagnose it via the internet, I'd suggest you get your head under the bonnet for a look at where its coming from. If there is as much as you say, it shoudn't be too hard to locate the problem.

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

not been funny tom but i have thats how come i know its coming from the rad or inlet

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

So you have been to have a look, and cannot decide, and you want the internet to tell you the answer? OK, good luck with that.

[Anthony 1,003]

If you've narrowed it down to being one of those two, then it almost certainly must be the radiator or one of the connections on it.

 

The inlet manifold / throttle body on a GTi-6 does not have coolant running through it unlike 8v and Mi16's

 

If it's a poor conversion, the radiator could be damaged from the inlet manifold hitting it where the engine rocks around, but either way a small pin hole will cause issues like you're seeing with losing coolant and visible steam when stationary, but difficult to identify the source of the leak

[Henry Yorke 269 3 Cars]

If you are losing fluid and there are no drips on the floor then there is a good chance it is the rad. I'm guessing it only does it over 82 degrees, once the thermostat is open. If you have fitted a new header tank cap recently then that often highlights the fact that your rad is bust as the system runs at a higher pressure

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

So you have been to have a look, and cannot decide, and you want the internet to tell you the answer? OK, good luck with that.

if you havnt got anything constructive to say then dont say anything at all ive got a few replys which will help me so

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

If you've narrowed it down to being one of those two, then it almost certainly must be the radiator or one of the connections on it.

 

The inlet manifold / throttle body on a GTi-6 does not have coolant running through it unlike 8v and Mi16's

 

If it's a poor conversion, the radiator could be damaged from the inlet manifold hitting it where the engine rocks around, but either way a small pin hole will cause issues like you're seeing with losing coolant and visible steam when stationary, but difficult to identify the source of the leak

i believe this is the problem (rad) so will buy a new one any ideas on what would be ideal to prevent this happening again

[Anthony 1,003]

if you havnt got anything constructive to say then dont say anything at all ive got a few replys which will help me so

You might not appreciate his bluntness, but Tom *is* spot on with his reply I'm afraid - can you not see the flaw when you're saying that you're stood in front of the car and can't work out where the leak is (or even what the leak is) and then asking people who know almost nothing about your particular car and certainly haven't seen it in person to diagnose?

 

i believe this is the problem (rad) so will buy a new one any ideas on what would be ideal to prevent this happening again

How can we suggest how to prevent the problem happening again when we don't know where the leak is coming from, let alone what caused it?

 

I mean, clearly the fix if the radiator has been damaged by the engine rocking back and forth (reduce rocking and/or increase clearance) is different to the fix if the radiator has just failed through age and deterioriation (replace sooner, run more anti-freeze), and different again to if it's failed because you live in the ghetto and it was damaged in a drive-by shooting (have a stern word with the shooter).

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

found the cause there is a hole in the rad i think it just because of the cold weather and old age of the rad a replacement will be my best option any suggestions to which rad would be best or would any do the jobe just as good

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

Nissen rad or find a good second hand.

[Karl 15 1 Cars]

thanks all for your help much appreciated