Hi there,

I've got a Ford KA. I'm loosing a vast amount of cooling water. For the last couple of days about half a litre per 20 urban miles.
Apart from a small drip in the overflow pipe back to the resovour I can't see any pipe leaks, nothing dripping on the ground.

Does this mean it's leaking into the engine?

When idling the exhaust is clear. On reving a small amount of whitish smoke appears and a very small spluttering of liquid.

If it is leaking into the engine why isn't the engine performance effected?
What do you think the problem is and what's it going to cost for a Garage to fix?

milage is 80k.

replace the leaking pipe, if I understand you correctly.

If it gets worse could be the head gasket on its way out. DONT let the car over heat.

I agree, get it looked at quickly.

Out of interest what is your temperature gauge showing?

b308, there isn't a guage just a warning light.

Funny enough when the engine started to overheat on a run a few days ago
(which first alerted me to the problem) the warning light didn't come on.
I assumed this was because it was faulty or the coolant was so low it wasn't reachig the sensor???

Sounds like the head gasket.

Open the oil filler cap and see if gunge is in there. If so, may well indicate water in the oil.

If it's a very early Ka, be careful how much you spend. They are worth very little.