Help a guy who doesn't know ****

[36 Crazyfarts]

Hey, I'm not going to pretend to know much about cars or really anything at all but I need a little help here...

Ok, I've noticed that water/coolant in my radiator doesn't seem to last very long. I mean everyday I have to make sure that I fill it up again when I never used to, on my other VS I only had to once a week usually but with this one I have to do it frequently.

I can't seem to find any leaks, or any liquid squirting out. I filled it up at night, check on it the next morning and it had only very slightly gone down. Not sure what the problem is but the TEMP gauge in the car seems to reach high points at times.

What do you think the problem is and how can I rectify it?

 

[shrapnel]

Lift your oil filler cap and check if it's got white-ish deposits on it. If it does, you're in trouble

It is very likely it's mixing oil & coolant, you shouldn't drive the car.

 

[Spyper]

Make sure you're putting it into the reservoir and not the actual radiator... mistake I learnt awhile ago

 

[jules]

oops.. blown head gasket that sounds like

 

[36 Crazyfarts]

Make sure you're putting it into the reservoir and not the actual radiator... mistake I learnt awhile ago

You saying I should be putting it here...

...instead of the actual radiator? I'm just very hesitant of what I do to the car, I want to make absolutely sure of what to do and where before I actually do it.



I actually stole that pic from the How-To's section, sorry.

 

[TigerVX]

Hey, I'm not going to pretend to know much about cars or really anything at all but I need a little help here...

Ok, I've noticed that water/coolant in my radiator doesn't seem to last very long. I mean everyday I have to make sure that I fill it up again when I never used to, on my other VS I only had to once a week usually but with this one I have to do it frequently.

I can't seem to find any leaks, or any liquid squirting out. I filled it up at night, check on it the next morning and it had only very slightly gone down. Not sure what the problem is but the TEMP gauge in the car seems to reach high points at times.

What do you think the problem is and how can I rectify it?

You need to check if the water is leaking onto the ground or into the engine.
Do you park on concrete? If you park on grass or something it could be hard to tell if it's leaking onto the ground. If you are sure that it's not leaking onto the ground then it sounds like a blown head gasket.
As for filling it up you should make sure the radiator itself is filled up first then fill the coolant reservoir to the full mark when the engine is cold.
As shrapnel said check inside the oil filler cap - if there is a white coloured deposit there it's not good.

 

[Just_Ice]

I would take it to a mechanic and get your cooling system pressure tested,,, That will show if you have any leaks or not from anywhere.....

As for not filling the radiator, I think that is good for VX but not a VS..

It won't cost much to get a pressure test done....

 

[36 Crazyfarts]

Unofrtunately, I do park on grass. I just went outside to see what we can rule out. There is nothing white at all underneath the oil cap, so we can rule that one out. On very rare occassions (twice ever) has there been water leaked underneath the car but its only been when I've used the A/C as I recall and I was told that it can happen when you use air conditioners in cars? I won't rule out a leak but I'm kind of thinking it's just that I'm retarded to know where to put the coolant.

 

[TigerVX]

I would take it to a mechanic and get your cooling system pressure tested,,, That will show if you have any leaks or not from anywhere.....

As for not filling the radiator, I think that is good for VX but not a VS..

It won't cost much to get a pressure test done....

Of course there's a leak somewhere, it's just a matter of finding out where it's coming from.
Has your car been blowing much smoke?

 

[Just_Ice]

of course there would be a leak if he's losing coolant...... A pressure test will show you where its coming from...................................................