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Old 15th April 2020, 16:05   #11
Rsnail
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Well the car's been standing now for days after days after days because of the covid situation in Italy here. I only drive it every 3-4 other days just to get groceries. So it should already be visible on the spark plugs hopefully, I'll take out the front easy ones and post some pictures here.
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Old 15th April 2020, 18:55   #12
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If you don't see anything on the plugs, use the endoscope to examine the piston tops.


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Old 16th April 2020, 00:47   #13
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Well here are some pics of the spark plugs from the easy side, they seem like normal to me when comparing them to a spark plug reading chart, what do you guys think?

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3

In Pic 3 there are visible those brownish sort of deposits right on the tips of the upper electrodes, maybe those would be the signs of rust caused by the coolant? Although in the spark plugs reading charts I've seen those types of tips and they indicate it as normal which seems kind of strange to me, maybe I'm just wrong...

"NORMAL CONDITION
An engine’s condition can be judged by the appearance of the spark plug’s firing end. If the firing end of a spark plug is brown or light gray, the condition can be judged to be good and the spark plug is functioning optimally."

Maybe the problem is on the other bank ��

Last edited by Rsnail; 16th April 2020 at 00:49..
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Old 16th April 2020, 15:14   #14
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Well now it's really getting confusing, last times I checked for white smoke, I was starting the car and letting it run only in the night time when the weather was, of course, colder. But now, started it today with a quite warm weather outside, and guess what, from starting it to shutting it down 10 minutes later, NOT EVEN A BIT of white smoke, literally nothing... But now I'm asking myself, if there's no white smoke, there's no coolant getting burnt, but then where is it all going so fast, 1l every 1-2 weeks is A LOT, and absolutely no signs of it around the engine, not on the underbody protection, not under the radiator, not under the car, on the pipes, in the V of the engine, literally nowhere, and I looked closely everywhere, even along the heater matrix pipes that go to the engine block... This is really something I never experienced before and it's making me mad, and I can't pressure test the system now or so any other sorts od tests because all of the mechanic shops in Italy in my region are closed...
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Old 16th April 2020, 17:30   #15
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Have you checked the oil level? I know people think the absence of mayo/emulsion on the dipstick means no water in the oil, but it's not 100% definitive. IF the coolant was leaking into the sump, the oil level would rise accordingly, but it may have a 'normal' appearance. The oil cooler is a candidate in this.



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Old 16th April 2020, 18:06   #16
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TC, being completely aware that this could happen, I always check and checked the oil every few other days, but the level perfectly stayed still from the time that this situation started developing... I kind of ran out of ideas of what to check, I can't wait for the mechanics to be open again so I can have her checked
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Old 27th April 2020, 12:54   #17
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It gets even more odd haha, left the car now still, not starting it at all for a week, and checked the expansion tank everyday, didn't want to make this post until I was completely sure, but now, I know for a fact that the coolant is getting gradually lesser and lesser in the tank without even starting the car, in one week I noticed a 1/3rd of an inch less coolant in the tank, when I filled up the reservoir, I filled it up to the point where those fins inside the reservoir end, and one week later, as I said, the coolant went 1/3rd of an inch lower, and this isn't tge first time I noticed it, but I just left the car now still for a whole week to confirm it. But thing is, where is it all going? There is absolutely no trace of it nowhere, checked literally every joints and connections under and near the engine, thermostat, everything... Maybe the heater matrix? I flushed the matrix about a month ago but this problem was there before cleaning the matrix... And the matrix was cleaned from the joints in the engine bay, the joints from under the dash where the matrix sits weren't touched at all... And even if the system was leaking on the matrix side, I think I would've noticed it by now on the carpets or under the dash in one way or another...

And as explained above, the white smoke was happening just in the cooler evenings, in the daytime when it's warmer the exhaust wasn't blowing white smoke not even when started, so it's hard for me to believe now that the engine is burning such big amounts of coolant without showing symptoms...

Last edited by Rsnail; 27th April 2020 at 12:56..
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Old 27th April 2020, 13:08   #18
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Did you decide not to use the boroscope/endoscope to check the cylinder tops?
To me, the spark plug photos didn't say much other than they look a bit sooty.



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Old 27th April 2020, 13:57   #19
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Are the carpets wet? possibility a leak on the pipes to the heater or the matrix in the cab?
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Old 27th April 2020, 15:56   #20
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Try an ultra violet fluorescent additive in the coolant and use a UV light to detect any leaks. Turn the volume down and have a look at:-


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDuGeQnMOzk
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