How Much Coolant Loss To Start Worrying If Headgasket Problem?

[jizzer]

A bit of background ,Here goes Rav 4 XTR 2.2 D4D first registered March 2007 Full dealer service history from New approaching 50,000 miles wifes car not abused ,I look after my vehicles,my family would say obsessively.

Had last service November last year as last service as part of dealer service plan.

As a result they tried to have it up me..... last bite of cherry in my opinion as it was in for mot at same time as service failed it on perishing tyre valve stem (thats a new one on me) new Wiper Blades ...and i know for a fact they were a1 condition but as i said they were refusing mot till items done so no choice .

Now i fell out with this dealer because the recalls they supposedly done , power window switch and rear arm clips although they checked tightness they never fitted advisory clips and believe me i check EVERYTHING they say they had done and they had not fitted clips which resulted in a stern exchange of words with service manager.

Anyway thats the background of the dealer I wont even mention the oil leaks they caused and undertray screws lost and damage to front wing they tried to cover up with a sprint finish repair but i have eyes as we say up north "like a Sh**T house rat" where paint is concerned .which resulted in a body shop respray.

Anyway as advisory's to the service which totalled £700 ,pads,discs (nothing wrong with them by the way) They also stated water pump leaking and £385 to replace .

Now i am in engine bay at least every 2 weeks not noticed a thing and didnt notice coolant loss previously.

So speaking to the service receptionist that rung me up at the time I asked at severity of leak and she said I have technician(sorry biting my lip typing Technician) standing next to me and he is telling me its a really bad leak......any way told them to leave it .

On receiving car back .....ramps out undertray off expecting to see a wet block .....Bone dry no water tracking or anything....The tiniest amount of fur near weep hole on water pump but googling and looking on this forum appears to be normal as the pump has a dynamic seal that seals once spinning.

Left undertray off for a week checking regularly .....bone dry no drips on driveway nothing.

Anyway being a bit paranoid checked the level every week for a few months no movement of level all this was to december last year.

Checked fluid level today must admit not checked for a while and since last 30th November when it was topped up i have not added any coolant, now the coolant level has dropped to half way between the full and low line.

Area around water pump bone dry.

Will a healthy engine use/loose a portion of coolant

What about the head gasket issue ........ No back pressure in header does'nt smell of engine gases car runs A1

Will it still be under extended engine warranty reg March 2007

I have read on forum about getting engine diagnostic for £75 at dealers what does this entail what will it show

Should I be worried ?.......Will not be using original dealers as above

Thanks

[Big Kev]

Jizzer min.......if not leaking oot, that is too much watter IMHO lost for no real reason. Is there any sign of expulsion from wee spout on top of expansion bottle (which coulda been your excellent dealer spilling top ups.....not......)?

[CharlieFarlie]

Your car if the head gasket is either going or gone will show this by coolant coming out of the expansion tank through the wee pipe that looks like is should have a rubber tube on it.. This will spatter and usually turn white ( Bet you already know this but just covering the obvious!

On a healthy car the coolant level does not alter except for when the engine heats up and cols down. It should always return to the same level..

Your car being registered in 2007 is still under the extended "good will warranty" until it is seven years old from the date of registration OR 111.000 miles. Car must have good service history though it does not need to Toyota Dealer history.. Though yours is full dealer history.

During the time when my car was getting its engine replaced I was Never asked to pay this ridiculous diagnostic charges that seem sadly to be mentioned very often these days..

[jizzer]

There does not appear to be any splatter from the expansion over flow I just have the moulded spiggot there is no rubber tube attached ?

I did recently clean the egr valve which was heavily carbon/sooted up

in nine months it has lost half the water from the max to the min mark whether that is gradual over the nine months or alot gone recently i dont know

if the water pump at fault would i have any external signs?

how at the dealers would they ascertain if the head gasket was going....compression check?

[CharlieFarlie]

Usually the indication is coolant from that outlet.. It does not and never has had a tube attached by the way ..

There are gas sniffing devices and other tools but its nearly always spattered out of that outlet ..!

[Big Kev]

......or the water is being burnt as steam......any signs....?

[saggyknackersack]

Hi jizzer, although mine did spatter out of that tube it also came out of the exhaust and left a white residue over the back bumper which was more visible with the car being black. Don't know if this helps any, by the way we didn't have to pay a penny towards anything.

[jizzer]

No splatter at all from expansion tank will watch out for steam from exhaust when engine hot..... I thought if I took it to dealers they might just assume,diagnose or guess its water pump and that's an expensive "guess" if they are wrong .

I had a rover 416 when head gasket went mayonnaise in header tank etc

Has anyone had engine changed as a result of head gasket and NOT had discharge from header tank as a symptom

[jizzer]

Jesus reading the other thread "another engine story" makes me want to get shut while I can !! My 7 year goodwill ( or substandard manufacturing) warranty will expire next march 2014 ........ Like Russian roulette but worst of all loss of faith in the brand which up until reading this forum re the engine issue has been one of the best cars we've owned.......to put in perspective how many engines I wonder does this affect .....and

how many cars that fall within the manufacturing period are ok

[anchorman]

Jiz. If your engine is using oil get it changed. If not, don't worry. There is a lot of talk on this forum about injectors but not enough emphasis on fuel filters. Recently, a garage not too far from me had a newish VW Passat in that was running rough. It would spit, cough, splutter and !Removed! and redifined the words mis-fire. It had a new HP pump and new injectors but it only needed a £6 filter to cure it.

If your engine runs rough, start with a fuel filter. If it uses oil now is your chance. BTW it would help if your location was in your profile.

[jizzer]

Updated profile re location........Leeds/Bradford West Yorkshire ...Tripping over Whippets and cloth caps eeee bye gum!!!!!

Car runs fine starts first time good acceleration no smoke or hesitation on accelerating ..... cleaned EGR valve a month ago was well clogged up though....is this a sign or just normal on this type of engine

have marked oil dipstick and water level will check again after 1000 miles How much oil loss is classed as abnormal

[anchorman]

Half a litre per 621 miles (1000kms).