strange coolant leak-not had one here before

I was lucky,as having had Rovers for a long time,you do things subconsciously,and as a you will know with this engine,looking at the floor under the car,as you walk up to it,is one.Doing this,after shopping in Asda with the wife,and in the shop car park had me finding this.



First thing is 'pump has gone',and looking into the bay found the whole area wet with coolant,but the level still just above 'full'.I always over-fill slighty,to just above the seam on the coolant bottle,to make it easier to keep a check on the level.I topped up by around 1/4 mug full,and drove it home,with no outward signs of over heating,or gauge rising.Back at base,having a look,i had a persistent 'drip',from the coolant bottle seam,and using a anti-freeze tester,as a suction tube,i sucked coolant out until,i could nearly empty the bottle itself.Taking it out,still connected,and enough coolant in it,not to let air into the system I found this.





The split,i could not see,and it must have been pin head sized for the size of drips,but it seems heat had caused the whole area to distort,and split.Needing the car,to pick up my sister from Birmingham Airport,and a 200 mile round trip,i reasoned that the bottle would only leak,when the coolant expanded up to this level,and any level below this,would be ok.I did a bit of bodging,and sealed the area with chemical metal



This was done to allow the system to pressurise,more than to stop the leak,and putting everything back,a few local trips proved ok,with no over heating,and with the coolant level just below the seam,no leaks.

I drove to Birmingham and back,with no problems.I have not seen this happen before,and the only reason I can see it being caused by,is its proximity to the engine,and heat.Anyone had this problem before?

I intend to get a new/secondhand bottle,and fit a low coolant float to it,and hopefully use the existing wiring to tap it into the lamp on the dashboard.Again,could any after market coolant alarm,be wired into the plug,and wiring already fitted for low coolant lamp,as mine is a 54 year?

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