It appears it's losing coolant now

[Celes]

It appears my Signum is now losing coolant at the rate of ~0.3L/1000mi. This started off as a barely noticabe loss (0.1L between services) when a new rattle on the belt side appeared. As the rattle became louder the coolant loss increased. I'm suspecting a faulty/failing water pump. There seem to be no evident leaks on the underside of the engine or any weird sprays of water around the turbo coolant lines. The header tank behaves accordingly (very little to no pressure when not driven for a day and barely any after a 50 mile drive).

The car sometimes smokes grey/black as it's always done, no sight of white smoke yet *knock on wood*

Any idea before I take it in for a service next month?
I also have problems with oil see: http://www.vectra-c.com/forum/showth...6k-miles/page6

[DNS]

With that little coolant being lost, I'd be inclined to think it was a tiny leak in the expansion tank or something...

The other thing which is always worth checking is the radiator. The rads fitted to the Vec and Siggy have a horrible tendency to rust down the side (check the bit where the metal meets the plastic).

[Z80]

It will do so if you're putting water instead of coolant fluid, as methyl-glycol is also an excellent anti-rust. I don't think you'd just add water in a country where it's frosty on winter, do you ?

More probably, your belt rattle is related to the water pump pulley and bearing. It's a well-known weakness on the Vectra, and you should check at the very bottom right hand side of the engine : you water pump is probably leaking.

[Critch]

Get it pressure tested mate. Mine had a leak from egr cooler area an was a minute leak

[Celes]

With that little coolant being lost, I'd be inclined to think it was a tiny leak in the expansion tank or something...

The other thing which is always worth checking is the radiator. The rads fitted to the Vec and Siggy have a horrible tendency to rust down the side (check the bit where the metal meets the plastic).

The expansion tank was replaced last september when I had a major leak.

It will do so if you're putting water instead of coolant fluid, as methyl-glycol is also an excellent anti-rust. I don't think you'd just add water in a country where it's frosty on winter, do you ?

More probably, your belt rattle is related to the water pump pulley and bearing. It's a well-known weakness on the Vectra, and you should check at the very bottom right hand side of the engine : you water pump is probably leaking.

I'm putting in coolant fluid and distilled water
I would check the area around the water pump myself but on the Y30DT it's so complicated that it's virtually impossible without having the car on a ramp.

Get it pressure tested mate. Mine had a leak from egr cooler area an was a minute leak

I had a huge leak from one of the hoses below the EGR cooler last september, surely not another one has split now...

In any case I'll get it pressure tested. That will for sure show any leak on the radiator or expansion bottle.

[merikiito]

right so you have a rattle which is getting worse where the timing belt is which I assume on your engine runs the water pump and you wonder why you have water loss??

Whats the mileage on the car?
When was the cambelt and water pump changed last?

Now considering the rattle and the water loss you are going to leave it until the next service? If the water pump goes, your cambelt goes and you end up with a huge bill for the repair. I would suggest stop driving it and get the repairs carried out as soon as.

Could someone tell me if I am missing something here?

[Celes]

The water pump is driven by gears internally, not by the timing belt. The mileage on the clock is 170k, the cambelt was last changed by the previous owner at 90k. I checked the mileage with "the forbidden tool" and it says 185k.

I'm not driving it much lately and I still noticed an increased coolant loss, no wet patches on the drive...

[merikiito]

At least the water pump will not take out the cambelt then.
I have found there can be a leak from a hole on the side of the VX pumps and will only show under pressure. Can you use a mirror or maybe a mobile with the video on strapped to a stick to see if the pump is leaking.

Whats the recommend change for the cambelt as I would say you are due a change?
On the 1.9 CDTi is 160000 km (100K in miles). I change mine at 80000-90000 km due to tensioner failures

[looloo2]

Get it pressure tested mate. Mine had a leak from egr cooler area an was a minute leak

Oh Dear its definitely not the time for Y30's at the minute, how long has it been since we spoke about the issue i have critch (which by the way sounds extremely similar)?

and celes you really dont like buying Y30's that enjoy holding coolant

top tip though, give it a tampon and tell it to deal with it they really are moody T**ts.

(or listen to critch and get a pressure test whatever suits )

[Celes]

I didn't go to Uni today because I was sick so didn't get to use the car today. I'll check the belt side of the engine tomorrow and see if I can spot anything unusual.

The recommended cambelt interval is 150000km (100000miles - 160000km for UK registered vehicles) or 10 years. It's due a change in 25000km @ 300000km.