Slow coolant loss

[Dennis S]

My 13 reg Astra 2.0 cdti auto tourer is losing coolant somewhere. I noticed the level in the expansion tank was low in September and topped it up. Then just last week I got in and had a low coolant warning on the dash. It took about 600ml to top it back up.
There are no obvious leaks to see without dismantling anything, and there's no mayonnaise inside the oil filler cap. The car's done about 59000 miles.
Does anyone have any ideas where to look, or any common faults that might cause this ?
Thanks.

[Iaintruten]

Hi there would check the hoses for coolant first if possible then you have gaskets on the inlet manifold the side closest to the fuel pump contains the coolant as the inlet manifold has the water jacket, then the other problem could be the water pump, what mileage is on the car?

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[Dennis S]

Hello, thanks for your reply. The mileage is 59000 with full Vauxhall history. I've owned it around 14 months, and it's only recently I've noticed the coolant loss. I'm hoping it's not the well known problem that has affected previous Vauxhalls with the auto gearbox - that is coolant leaking into the auto transmission radiator, but the transmission still works perfectly.

[Iaintruten]

Yeah I have saw that only way would be to drain the auto box to see if it is contaminated with coolant but I heard the boxes take quite a bit to fill again. Other than that check all the above I mentioned first then draining the AF40 gearbox as a last resort.

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[sparkyscfc74]

I had a similar problem with mine, I have a manual 2.0 CDTI and it was the plastic intake manifold. I was quoted £750 all in but my mechanic suggested using K-Seal which including diagnosis ended up costing me £43, that was 2 months ago and it's been fine ever since!! They did think mine was the water pump at first, but after a pressure test they found it wasn't. I'd get it pressure tested first and go from there. Hope this helps?

[Dennis S]

Thanks again for the replies. It's going into an independent garage tomorrow so I will hopefully soon find out.

[Dennis S]

Well, the guys at the garage couldn't find any external leaks after pressure testing it. Asked me to bring it back in a couple of weeks for them to check it again.
Didn't charge me, which was very good of them but it's a bit worrying as I was hoping it would be something that was easily identified.

[Iaintruten]

Sounds to me it maybe be in the gearbox as if it is leaking into the gearbox you would think it would still hold pressure until the drain or fill cap is opened, did they check the gearbox to see if it has the known issue? As other faults such as egr cooler, water pump etc would show a loss.

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[zdravo]

On my 1.4T I had a leak on return hose called "hose degassing".
I solved it with new O ring, didnt have to change whole hose.

I will post dimensions of O ring i installed.

I am not sure if you have parts like this on your type of engine.

My mechanic told me that the Astra J is prone to have this kind of leak or leak on the part below this hose.
I will post two pictures of parts.

When I fixed the leak on O ring it was fine.
Then in 10 days it started to leak on the lower part. So I ordered it and waiting to come


Check this video

https://youtu.be/7vxOMBcoA-U

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[sparkyscfc74]

On my 1.4T I had a leak on return hose called "hose degassing".
I solved it with new O ring, didnt have to change whole hose.

I will post dimensions of O ring i installed.

I am not sure if you have parts like this on your type of engine.

My mechanic told me that the Astra J is prone to have this kind of leak or leak on the part below this hose.
I will post two pictures of parts.

When I fixed the leak on O ring it was fine.
Then in 10 days it started to leak on the lower part. So I ordered it and waiting to come


Check this video

https://youtu.be/7vxOMBcoA-U

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Wouldn’t have something like that show under a pressure test though?


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[Iaintruten]

I would have also thought that would have shown under a pressure test.

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[Rusty2009]

The tanks have been known to split also.

[marcus01]

I had the same inlet manifold gasket problem. Mad quotes to get it fixed initially and then my local dealer managed to get GM to pay 70% of it out of warranty. 90 quid in the end to replace the Inlet manifold gaskets.

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[mart]

Did this o ring fix your issue. Also should there be one on there in first place.

I knocked the hose and the plastic clip holding the hose came off then coolant was skirting everywhere. I found the clip and put it all back together but it seems to be leaking a bit in that area.
This is why I am asking if there should be a o ring there anyway and maybe mine came off with the clip.


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[marcus01]

Yes a new set of o rings sorted it out. Before the fix I would get seepage from the bit that sticks up to align the o ring. They can do the job without removing the cam belt. Its fiddly but can be done. Ill see if I can find my photos of the leak.

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2nd picture is where the coolant used to sit. O ring on the far left was the culprit but they replaced the lot.            

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[Iaintruten]

For removing the inlet if you need to, all I done to keep the cam belt in place was use the throttle body bolts to bolt the fuel pump pulley in place using the holes in the pulley as the cam belt case bolts are not long enough as they just catch and no more, I'm sure I had a guide some where for it but no pictures unfortunately.

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Also if taking the inlet manifold off it is worth doing a swirl flap delete as I done on mine.

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[sparkyscfc74]

Hi excuse my ignorance, but what is a swirl flap delete and what does it do?


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[Iaintruten]

Swirl flaps work along side the egr valve to help circulate air around the engine, but they can end up seizing and snapping when the intake becomes full of carbon causing the engine to ingest them that's how I done an egr delete and swirl flaps delete as my car was struggling with it and also dpf due to it been choked up causing flap issues and turbo issues (joys of buying an ex mobility car with low mileage lol), so removed the lot but if you still have the dpf then you would need to keep it as the egr etc help with regens, I have my astra 2.0cdti running 216bhp with a full dbilas cold air feed etc. Intercooler will be getting done next.

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[sparkyscfc74]

Was that mapped to gain that bhp?


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[Iaintruten]

Yeah it was done by ecotune in Glasgow.

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[mart]

Sorry I think u misunderstood me I was on about o rings used to fix the leak zdravo had


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[Dennis S]

Mine's has been diagnosed as the inlet manifold gasket too. It's getting fixed at my local Vauxhall dealer. One of the guys there told me it's a fairly common problem on the 2.0 cdti engine.