what is leaking? boot locks and shakey steering wheels

[markthe45king]

Lily has done a few serious miles this weekend and over the last two nights has leaked about a 5 inch round leak that appears just below the right hand side of the front number plate when she is parked up.

Under the bonnet there is some damp on the ridge below the rad, but the connections in the radiator hose seem dry. I have had to top up about half a cupful of water a day which is unusual, but nothing else radiator wise seems untoward - are there any signs i should be looking for? oil wise she is holding at max, and to my untrained eye the leak appears to be in the wrong place for oil (unless it's found a tricky path to run down)

There are two other concerns this week;

the boot is jammed shut, and i think the lock is knackered - basically it is loose in the fitting - so how do i get it out?

more importantly, since the various wheel changes i have picked up a slight steering wheel vibration at 75 - clearly the whole car vibrates at this speed, but there is a noticeable need to grip the wheel to stop it vibrating! The steering is fine, there is no drift and the wheel is responsive when turned but the vibration is annoying. i know the easy solution is don't do 75, but what could the vibration mean?

strange how she starts playing up in the north.....

[chrisryder]

wheel vibration is most likely wheel balance. especially if it was ok before you started changing wheels around. the steering wheel shaking suggests it's one, or both, of the front wheels.

head down to a tyre fitters and they'll probably rebalance both for £10, maybe a fiver if it's quiet.

sounds like the leak is water, seeing as you're losing water and not oil. we had a small patch under my dads minor recently. and it turned out to be the bypass hose dribbling. it was running down the bypass hose, trickling round the water pump and running onto the timing chain cover, then running off the cover onto the ground. that was obvious as you could see a trail where it had been going. you could have a rad leak which is leaking onto the front crossmember and coming out of one of the drainage holes where the front panel connects to the crossmember.

best thing to do is chuck some 'rad weld' or 'barrs leaks' into the radiator, as per the instructions on the bottle. it's alright for sealing small leaks. and for a few quid for a bottle of that stuff, it's worth it to save £75 for a new rad.

even if it doesn't totally cure it, if you then take the rad out, you will see a whiteish residue where the radweld has tried to block it. and then you've found your leak.

[mike.perry]

To gain access to the boot I had better send you a PM

[bmcecosse]

Don't use Barrs etc - it will gum up the rad. Put carboard under the car to determine what the leak is - water or oil....... Just balance the wheels yourself -let them spin and mark where they stop turn the low point up to 3 o'clock, add weights at 9 o'clock until it doesn't want to roll down........

[Neil MG]

You water leak sounds like it might just be overfilled. Each time you top up the coolant expands when it gets hot and runs out of the overflow pipe. If you can still see coolant in the top of the radiator then don't add any more and just keep checking to make sure it hasn't gone down.

I agree entirely with Chris on the vibration.

[Dean]

Sounds like the old girl is just a tad incontinent....