Disappearing Coolant
Every couple of weeks I have to add a couple more litres of coolant to the radiator and I can't seem to find the cause. I put in a new water pump which seems to work great, a new thermostat (seems to work fine), new heater tap and a new radiator cap. For some reason, my coolant is disappearing at a rate of around a litre a week. I've checked the engine, the heater tap, the radiator, the ground and the pipes for obvious leaks but nothing. I've looked for milky oil in the rocker case but it's clean and my exhaust doesn't seem to smell of radiator coolant.
Another annoying issue is the overflow bottle is full but doesn't seem to top up the radiator even though I purchased a brand new 135kpa radiator cap from Holden. I've checked the overflow pipe and I can easily suck coolant through it, so I am beginning to suspect that Holden has given me the wrong cap.
Not sure if this is related, but when my car overheated and I was forced to replace the water pump, my aircon also dumped all its gas (filled only a week before) and blew the plastic connectors of the gas? thingy which I've since had replaced with brass ones (apparently it's common). Haven't had a chance to refill my aircon yet so I don't know if that is working. Also, my heat vent director always seems to default to the window when I accelerate. I've checked the little tube and vacuum thingy behind the engine block and it seems to hold a suction so I'm at a loss here too.
I'm wondering if this is all related or I have a series of problems.
BTW, its a 1998 3.8 VT Eco with factory gas.
Probably not much help, but when i had the same problem (low radiator level but overflow full) all i had to do was get a new cap.
Considering you have a new cap, it may be a big fix.
Did you bleed the air from the system when you replaced the coolant?
Not sure if this is your problem but my old mans Pajero had a problem like this a while back... Ended up being one of the hoses that uses the hot water from the coolant to heat the interior of the car when it's cold. Not sure if this is how the commodores do it but worth a thought... Can anyone confirm???
Yeah I did and I do every time I fill up the radiator. At first that's what I thought it was but 8 litres later (after the initial flush and refill), I can pretty much discount an air lock considering the damn thing is only 12 litres max.Originally Posted by avanti_rider
Most vehicles do it that way. I thought along similar line and went looking for wet carpets/leaks but couldn't find any.
If it was leaking through the heating system you'd probably be able to smell it as well... The closest thing I can liken it too is the smell of maple syrup hahaha well at least that's what it smelt like to me
By saying you suspect Holden have given you the wrong cap are you thinking that's where it's leaking from mate???
quick suggestions were coolant is going, sorry just about to finish work.
1) can be going into the transmission cooler that is inside the radiator, you can check this by disconnecting both transmission lines, and blocking them up, then with a air compressor blow into one of the lines on the radiator, block the other side, if you can then see bubbles in the water there's your loss.
2) if the overflow when you stop the engine is over -filling it will lose it out the breather pipe onto the road, then when the engine cools down it sucks it back into the radiator.
3) if by filling up the overflow the radiator is still remaining empty then it could just be sucking it into the radiator when it needs it, bleeding the system might be an idea.
otherwise search the forums, this topic has been discussed bye almost all members on here, so there are lots of possible solutions.
thanks
I smell it in the engine bay (not overly strong, but it's still there) and no, I checked around the cap - no leaks.If it was leaking through the heating system you'd probably be able to smell it as well... The closest thing I can liken it too is the smell of maple syrup hahaha well at least that's what it smelt like to me
By saying you suspect Holden have given you the wrong cap are you thinking that's where it's leaking from mate???
Cheers, I didn't think of doing that. I guess I could also take the radiator cap off and apply some air pressure to the whole system and check for leaks that way (I have a series of different sized rubber door stoppers with holes drilled in the middle for doing this).
Donating member
If you are going through that much coolant, with NO apparent sign of where it is going,(you say there is no coolant in the engine oil?) and since you say you over heated the engine, I recon you could possibly have a leaking head gasket.. Put in a bottle of cooling system sealer and see what happens. Do you have any traces of engine oil in the radiator or recovery tank?
Nah, it's as clean as a whistle - was the first thing I checked when I suspected a blown head gasket. Never seen the head gasket on a VT so I don't know if it's possible, but could it be leaking coolant externally onto the engine block? That said, you'd think I'd see it leaking or pooling on the ground but I don't, I only have a slight smell of coolant in the engine bay. Maybe I've discovered invisible coolant :-)
I had the same problem on my old vt...turned out there was a rust hole up the top of the radiator at the rear of the top cap...it was only under full pressure and hot that it would leak out the top when i was driving.
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR RAW HORSEPOWER !!
a leaking or cracked head gasket doesnt always mean you will get milky oil as the crack/blow out could be between a water gallery and the combustion chamber or even in a valve port which would cause the coolant to slow suck into the chamber when in vacume and cook the shit.
Do you hear like rushing water when you drive some times?
when you start it in the morning what color is the smoke
black?
white?
blue?
Im going to put some money on coolant leak into the chamber via head gasket or cracks water gallery.
Im not putting a lot on it though as there are other possibilities so ill put maybe $10 on it at 4:1
Yes I do hear rushing water especially when I accelerate and the coolant level hasn't been topped up.
Usually white.
Going to do some pressure testing this weekend so hopefully I'll find the reason.
Donating member
There is a carbon monoxide test that can be done on the radiator to tell if any gasses are leaking in to the cooling system from a leaking head gasket.
It could also be as simple as the welsh plugs
50LTRv8
I would be careful if its blowing white smoke on cold start after its been overheated, one of my mates V6 commys had that happen and he drove it for a month and the leak slowly got worse then one day he turned off the car and it stopped just in the right spot for coolant to slowly flood into a cylinder, then when he went to start it threw a rod out the block.
yep sounds like the problem dude, if you go to your local mech and ask for a coolant analysis they may have some equipment there they can test it with which will tell them the levels of carbon minoxide and hydra carbins in the coolant, this will indicate that both the cooling system and combustion chambers are connected some where.
Its generally caused after over heating a bit man, if you got the time and money i would rip the heads off and check the head gasket to make sure it was just a head gasket failure, if not take the heads to your local machine shop and get them to clean it up and crack test the chambers to see if they are reuseable or not.
If there fine then do a bit of work on them while there out like some new valve stem seals, valve grind and resurface a few thou to raise compression and clean up the surface for good sealing.
get a new set of head gaskets and clean up the block and glue it all back together.
badda bing budda boom, possibly problem solved plus a bit more reliable and powerful engine
Silly question but how hot does the motor need to be to be classed as overheated????????????????? My car has been upto 110 degress
Thankyou
Over 115° (I think) when the little red overheat indicator comes on.
not sure with this holden stuff but generally speaking op temp should be around 80-90deg and around 100-110 is over heating, but when someone says overheated its more like it go so hot you noticed and pulled over and rad was boiling and steam coming out everywhere and shit like that.
Check your radiator plastic side tanks, they start to get hairline cracks in them with age. when the system gets pressure in them they will leak at a minor rate which is noticeable after a while with a low water level, best bet is to replace the radiator if this is a problem.
Do you know where this hairline crack normal be?????
I know on my vr it cracked around the top....
So this wouldn't show up on pressure test?? Or will it would only leak when the radiator is hot???
Vt suddenly cuts off????
Hi there
I was driving today with a trailer on....I drove for around 40 minutes then my engine cut off going around a roundabout.......
No lights came on befor it cut out....
I have changed the cam and crank angle sensor
But sometimes when i'm driving the abs and trac light comes on...
This has happened in the past but not much i say about once every 3 months
So would this be the abs module????? o2 sensor????
I have taken it to auto elec but they can't find any error codes..
They say they need to see it happen befor they can fix it
Please if anyone can share some light on this????
I want this fixed asap as it could be dangerous if it cuts out at the wrong place
Thanks in advance
normally the cracks will appear on the flat sides of the plastic and not in the curved end. they may be hard to spot and a pressure test wont show that they are present. If you look closely at the sides with a torch or something bright like that you will be able to see them. they wont leak a significant amount of water that is visible, but you may see a trail running down the radiatorleft by water/coolant. I know when I had that problem I was putting a couple L's in every couple weeks and thought that there may have been another issue and only come accross the cracks by chance.
It will only leak once the car is hot and there is pressure in the system, but you may see drops of water slowly forming once it is up to pressure, though it will be hard to see if the cracks are on the front side of the radiator.
Posting Permissions
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote