Page 2 of 2

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 18 Jul 2018 19:58
by jacquesW
Ok so I am confused...

I dropped the water level in the overflow reservoir. I took car for a drive and got it up to temperature stopped in garage and after some additional idling the drops started showing again where the overflow pipe connects to the radiator. I did notice however that the overflow pipe was not warm which to me meant the Radiator cap has not opened up. I pulled the pipe with the motor running and as suspected the radiator cap was not opening\purging. I left it for a while and the cap remained closed. So where did the drops come from???? There was no water drops other than where the hose was and seeing as the radiator cap was not opening I figure it is safe to assume the overflow extension from the filler neck is not leaking. I re-seated the hose again and from there on it would not start dripping again even after taking it for a drive. I had the car idling and driving for quite a bit and the radiator cap did not purge once.

I still however cannot explain the drops of water that was expelled between the hose and the nipple if from what I could see no water was traversing the line from the radiator.

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 18 Jul 2018 22:57
by nisjeep
Does the little hose going down into the bottle not fold over perhaps? Mine did that (it wasn't tucked in the deeper part of bottle) and caused something similar.

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 19 Jul 2018 07:52
by jacquesW
I did reroute the hose as well to go up as straight as possible from the tank and then looping from the front of the radiator into the connector. I however did not notice any obvious kinks or pinches in previous route. I drove the car again this morning to work and touch wood everything stayed dry again.Maybe I should've give the system some more time to settle in after the new radiator cap??

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 19 Jul 2018 09:53
by Mamba
Did you bleed your cooling system properly, maybe you still have some air in the system?

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 19 Jul 2018 11:59
by mvcoller
What pressure is the cap set for? Normally Nissan's is 0.9 bar, but my Nissan Trained Mechanic says the Patrol requires a 1.1 bar cap.

Just also check on that the cap has two rubber seals. The lower one (as the cap sits on the radiator) is smaller and seals the radiator until it reaches the point where it needs to feed water to the overflow bottle. It is spring loaded and that is where the pressure setting of the spring in the cap comes in. At 1.1 bar, the spring should be overcome by the water pressure and feed hot water into the overflow bottle.

To ensure that the water does not exit (and leak like yours seem to be doing) through the top of the filler neck, the second or top (big diameter hole) seal must seal against the top of the filler neck. this seal does not allow water to bypass it, it is with its back to the wall, so to speak!! These seals can go faulty with age, so the cap is an item that should be looked at at every service and replaced every 3 to 5 years, in case the seals have become hard or brittle with heat and age.

Not all vehicles work that way, so just ensure that you have the correct cap for the Nissan Patrol. Even the agents can sometimes get it wrong. The sales clerk is not always a technically trained person and he/she could be non the wiser.

The Nissan's thermostat also works with two valves (seats) like that, it has two spring seals. It is of vital importance that these two items are the correct types.

Hope you get your problem solved sooner rather than later.

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 19 Jul 2018 12:59
by Mamba
pm sent

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 19 Jul 2018 19:36
by Pieter B
I also replaced the radiator a few months ago and had a similar leak. My leak was solved though by replacing that little wire clip with a normal screw type clamp. I note that you tried it but with no success. My theory is that the plastic pipe on the radiator neck is a little bit thinner than on the original and it allows water/air to get past the rubber pipe. As I said mine stopped and I have done a few trips including one with a caravan in tow and everything seams fine

Re: Water Leak

Posted: 20 Jul 2018 10:44
by jacquesW
Hi All

Touch wood but so far the system has stayed dry. It is a 1.2 Bar cap provided by Nissan.

Mamba very generously offered assistance via Whatsapp yesterday and I did in the process learn about another bleeding point in the system I was not aware of through any of the material I read. Engine was still warm at that moment but will check it this weekend just to be sure all the air is out of the system.

It always amazes me how eagerly people assists on this forum with valuable information.

Thanks for being AWESOME