dissapearing coolant

[manual_vr]

every couple of days i seem to be having to top up my coolant, loosing all of it out of the reserve and some in the radiator.
it definitly isnt the radiator and i cant see anywere were it could be coming from.

[roon_VR]

check all your hoses and see if there are any signs of deterioration.

[Colby844]

maybe have a look at the oil too is it a little milky? if theres no evidence on the road it may be turning it into steam try a tin of magic stop leak (chemi-weld) or better maybe get a radiator place to have a peek..

[88GreenVN]

Radiator cap?

[System]

thats what i was thinking- mine was loosing coolant every day i went driving, couldnt find a leak anywhere- then checked the cap, the seal was buggered and it was dripping down the side when the pressure built. new cap for bout 7-10 buks, all sweet now

[Scooter79]

every couple of days i seem to be having to top up my coolant, loosing all of it out of the reserve and some in the radiator.
it definitly isnt the radiator and i cant see anywere were it could be coming from.

Have you checked for leaks at the bottom of the water pump? I been having the same problem for a while and have to top up the coolant bottle every couple of days. Then it wasn't until last week I saw the white coolant sprayed around the engine. Coolant was seeping from the bottom of the water pump onto the drive belt and getting sprayed everywhere, but this took a while to show up.

[commomad]

I would drain the system and clean all raidiators hose ends, as they tend to build up dirt, fit everything up, retighten. Also check under the oil filler cap on the rocker cover or even take of a rocker cover off and check for a milky resadue. if u have this then my bet would be a blown valley gasket.

[VrWagz1]

Check for very minor leaks. If you have any it will let pressure out of the system and it will keep sucking the resovoir dry. But you should see somthing somwhere, if not check your exhuast for exxcessive steam as it might be a inlet manifold gasketor worse a head gasket.

[manual_vr]

yeah it isnt any hoses as i replaced the radiator thinking it may be that. definitly not the cap. replaced that a few times
highly doubt it is blown head gasket, no milky oil and no disturbences on the vacuum gauge.
i was thinking water pump because that is pretty much the only thing i havent replaced on this engine. so might try that next.

[Pimpn1]

yea, waterpump are reasonable cheap and easy to do. hope it fixes the problem for you

[ephect]

check your heater tap aswell.. ur system might still not be bled properly hence spitting it out.

check out Cassandra69's thread (in this section) for some other ideas to a possible problem/solution.

[vsl67]

did you bleed the system? if you dont it will cause the system to dump coolant

[manual_vr]

yeah have bled it numerous times, coolant just comes out straight away

[vsl67]

Have you ever noticed any coolant under ther car when its been hot? just below the front of the gear box ?

[Scooter79]

Have you ever noticed any coolant under ther car when its been hot? just below the front of the gear box ?

In your case it sound like you've got a leak at the thermostat housing or one of the hoses has a split in it. The L67 motor has the plumbing around the back of the motor.

[manual_vr]

havent really checked. but i will next time its warm

[shaunzo101]

try topping it up with coolant formula next time you need to as you may have diluted out the coolant part of the water/coolant mixture so it may be evaporating easy because there is too much water and not enough coolant.

[commomad]

If it is the heater tap, u might notice discoluoration of the pain ton the sub-rail on the drive side. Next time u drive it pull up and leave the car running and check under the hood for any visual signs of leakage.

[System]

or even just try that 'radiator stop leak' gear, put a bottle of that in mine after i replaced the cap - no leaks what so ever now its good to actually SEE coolant in the radiator when checking every couple of days

[Scooter79]

or even just try that 'radiator stop leak' gear, put a bottle of that in mine after i replaced the cap - no leaks what so ever now its good to actually SEE coolant in the radiator when checking every couple of days

Yeah but that is just a stop gap measure. Better to find the actual root of the problem. Coolant doesn't just disappear for no reason.

[alastair]

man pressure test it, if its leaking from water pump you will see it.

[BUSTER1]

Mate if the engine has no external leaks it may have a leaking head gasket,one wat to test this is to take the car for a run and make sure it at nomal operating temp , then with engine running hold a mirror or some sort of glass to the exhaust pipe and see if any moisture forms on the glass if it does then it's a big chance that the head gasket is blown
Hope this has been of some help
cheers Garry

[coolngroovy]

With the car running, and the radiator cap off, can you see any bubbles?

[manual_vr]

no
it is not a blown head gasket as i said before guys

[Scooter79]

The only other possibility is that there is a leak at the thermostat housing, the water pump has developed a leak (which was my problem), or a hose may have sprung a leak.

If you've got coolant in there and not just water, can you smell any coolant when it's hot? It will be much more noticeable when you turn the car off after going for a drive. That's when pressure really builds up in the system and most likely to leak out.