coolant issues

[Nrage33]

Hi guys,

I've got this problem where my refridgerant container keeps emptying out in about a week. I was just checking out the engine bay the other day and found the coolant container dry as a bone. Went out n bought some pre mixed stuff, and then filled it up. now it's almost gone again. There are no leaks or anything coming from the car, my driveway is spotless. Anybody know what could be happening?

[Guest RedLineGTR]

Is the radiator low on fluid??

Check your oil. See if their is a milky colour within the oil.

Is thier any smoke coming out the exhuast when the car is at normal operating temp.

[Craved]

any stains around the outlet on the top of the overflow bottle? Mine used to go through a fair bit too, just replaced the radiator cap!

[Nrage33]

nope, no stains, or fumes out the back. I'll check the oil, but last time i looked there wasn't any

[wrxhoon]

if u cant see where the coolant is going u may have a cracked head and it goes to the exhaust manifold .have u r radiator cap pressure tested it may come out of there to the overflow and u dont see it cause it only does it while very hot .

[hippy]

one of the hoses could be blocked ... check to see if it leaks just underneath the dash area near the dump pipe ... on hot days mine leaks there ...

[Nrage33]

cool...i'll give those places a check

[JimX]

I'm wondering - there is a hole in the top near the cap to let too much overflow out isn't there? Couldn't it just be evaporating out the hole over time? Mine seems to lose coolant over time too but whenever I check the radiator, it's always full to the brim.

[Ant97GTR]

jimx,

that hole is supposed to have a black plastic return hose to the overflow bottle!!! That way less evap. & you don't lose the coolant!!!

[JimX]

I've got a hose from radiator to overflow bottle, but I think there's another hole which is square that doesn't go anywhere. I can't remember anymore, I'm going to have another check when I get home. Maybe I'm just deluded (or maybe the overflow hose is split or something).

[Ant97GTR]

oh okay.....I got a black plastic (maybe 10mm) hose runnin from just below the rad cap (l/h/s) to the top of the o/flow bottle but I'm pretty sure there isn't another hole.......if there was how could the system keep pressure & once hot you'd see steam pissin out of the hole!

[pushead]

Originally posted by RedLineGTR

Is the radiator low on fluid??

Check your oil. See if their is a milky colour within the oil.  

Is thier any smoke coming out the exhuast when the car is at normal operating temp.

This happened exactly same as me! filled the coolant bottle and next thing i noticed all gone! no leaks whatsoever. I even checked the radiator its all full. My car do smoke though during warmup but not normal operating temp.. is this normal?

[JimX]

Steam (smoke) coming out while warming up is normal. It's just condensation in the exhaust evaporating. Even brand new cars do this.

[pushead]

but heaps of smokes not alittle heapss.

[JimX]

Yeah it's normal

I even think (not 100% sure) that when the engine is cold, the moisture in the air doesn't get hot enough to completely boil into invisible steam as it goes through the engine, as thus comes out as visible vapour.

[pushead]

cool. thanks for the help dude btw how long do you leave your car to warm up in the morning? im down in melb and its freezing cold ..normally will leave it for 8 - 10 mins.

[JimX]

I dunno, about half a minute? Then just keep the revs low (<3000rpm or so) until the engine is warm.

[siksII]

SO its not just me that has issues with leaking coolant...

Trust me, there is no way a whole overflow bottle of coolant can evaporate even over quite a long period. If there is even a few centimetres difference in the level of the overflow bottle after u drive a few times, u have problem.

I changed my water pump, which fixed mine a bit. But then i discovered that small amounts are also coming from the head gasket area, so check this.

my head will be removed 2morrow to check where the leak is coming from...

Look around cylinder 6 for signs of leakage, because the metal is hot in that area coolant can leak out and evaporate without u noticing, but it leaves a stain.

[wrxhoon]

guys , if u fill the bottle above the max mark u'll loose it very quick form the overflow on the bottle itself ( the bottle has an overlow ) .u should fill the radiator to the top and the bottle should be between the nin and max mark .

nrage33 if u loose coolant form the overflow u should be able to see it in the engine bay area .,

as for steam ( not smoke though ) coming out of the exhaust especialy when the outside temp is very cold thats normal in any car new or old until the cold exhaust pipes get to normal temp u 'll see plenty of steam clouds of it when very cold .once the ex pipe gets hot no more steam .

the hot exhaust air hits the cold pipe and u have steam , u'll notice when u start the engine the steam will start a few seconds after as soon as hot exhaust comes out the next couple of minutes more steam heaps more and then will start to lessen until it all goes .

[JimX]

Originally posted by siksII

Trust me, there is no way a whole overflow bottle of coolant can evaporate even over quite a long period. If there is even a few centimetres difference in the level of the overflow bottle after u drive a few times, u have problem.

I had another look and there is an extra square hole at the top like wrxhoon says. I reckon over a period of months (like mine has been) water could easily evaporate out that hole, because it gets pretty warm in there.

The thing is though, I don't know how easily coolant evaporates. So if you filled it up with coolant it's entirely possible that it would never evaporate no matter how hot your engine got. Unfortunately I don't have any spare coolant to put in the overflow bottle, I forgot to put some in there when I changed my coolant recently.

I agree though that losing a few cm after a couple of drives is definitely wrong.