Corsa C coolant leak ?

[TonyB]

My son's corsa C 1.2L 16V SXi has been suffering from a loss of coolant plus
you see a "mayonnaise" like substance when you remove the oil cap, which
looks like emulsified oil. The oil level is ok, but the oil pressure light
does flash on/off occasionally while driving along. He mainly does lots of
very short journeys.
I suspected a head gasket problem so we took it to the our local garage who
did a coolant pressure test but couldn't find any problems.
Does anyone have any ideas what is causing this problem ? What other tests
we can try to identify the problem ?

[The Revd]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 16:25:32 -0000, "TonyB" <to...@benhamhouse.co.uk>
wrote:

Compression test? Oil pressure test?

[reg]

"TonyB" <to...@benhamhouse.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6m_Nq.406508$6I.2...@en-nntp-07.am2.easynews.com...

vauxhall's do suffer from the "mayonnaise" problem in the oil filler cap.
you say they did a coolant pressure test or did you mean a cylinder head
combustion leak test ? you can buy the kit on ebay
http://preview.tinyurl.com/7ddodc6 ,bit of an over kill though if your only
going to use it the once. but the garage should have the kit to do this.
try putting a piece of cardboard underneath the car after it has been run &
re-check it in the morning, that way if you get any water patches you will
have an idea where its come from, it may well be the water pump leaking
after the engine has cooled down.

[rp]

On Sat, 7 Jan 2012 16:25:32 -0000, TonyB wrote:

>My son's corsa C 1.2L 16V SXi has been suffering from a loss of coolant plus
>you see a "mayonnaise" like substance when you remove the oil cap, which
>looks like emulsified oil.

You often get mayonnaise at the oil filler especially with short
drives. It doesn't get hot enough to boil off the moisture. Providing
the oil is fine on the dipstick it's ok.

What's the oil level like? It's the first thing to check if the oil
pressure light is flashing, especially on cornering.

Look for water leaks while the engine is running. Sometimes they can
leak at a join when cold or when hot. Also the pressure cap on the
filler bottle can fail and allow water vapour to escape. You are using
the correct mix of anti-freeze and water to top it up I hope. If the
anti-freeze concentration gets low it can cause all sorts of problems
since it contains anti-corrosion additives as well.

How much coolant is it loosing by the way?

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail rpont (at) gmail (dot) com

[Lee]

On 07/01/2012 16:25, TonyB wrote:
> My son's corsa C 1.2L 16V SXi has been suffering from a loss of coolant

Ignoring the other symptoms for now, have you checked the heater matrix
for leaks? Just changed one for a relative and was told by the parts
place they are a commonly sold item for the Corsa C...

[Jeff]

"TonyB" <to...@benhamhouse.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6m_Nq.406508$6I.2...@en-nntp-07.am2.easynews.com...

I wonder where the coolant is leaking from. Could be worth checking the
likely suspects, I'm no expert I might add. I'd start looking at the
radiator, hoses, thermostat housing, coolant temp sensor, also if the seals
on the coolant cap are in tact as when pressure builds up it can leak out of
that if the seals or lid are past it. (not vehicle specific) just what I
usually look at.

[Tom Burton]

Radiator on mine had a small weep that took me ages to find.

IIRC it was on the bracket at the top FNS it only weeped when hot (and
probably only then when vibrated.

Changing Rad was a peice of cake, just check the cast brackets before
you start. They are cheap as chips anyway.