Where can coolant be going to?????

[bloopbloob]

I have to add a bit of coolant (but i just use water, small water bottle) about once every week or two to the reservoir. i havent noticed any puddles, no steam, no white exhast smoke (and engine was torn down about 1 1/2 years ago) so i'm doubting its a head gasket. so i'm wondering where it could be going? it seems to dissapear faster when i've been driving harder. is it possible to have a pinhole rad leak or something that may only leak under certain circumstances? (ie high rpms?) i'm guesing my mix is about 80 water/20 antifreeze right now. is there any chance it could be evaporating somehow???

 

[GTOreturns]

It probably leaks out of the overflow tank,,like mine!

 

[superspec]

my lower rad hose leaks out past the clamp at the water pump. it doesnt do it all the time though. its kinda weird.

 

[bloopbloob]

GTOReturns
It probably leaks out of the overflow tank,,like mine!

as in a hole in the tank? or boils over? i have checked almost daily for leaks whenever i park and idle, but there is nothing..... i know its not boiling over though

superspec
my lower rad hose leaks out past the clamp at the water pump. it doesnt do it all the time though. its kinda weird.

i've checked all the hoses, no leaks. there is nowhere i can find a visible leak. i've checked everything i can think of!!!! only other thing i think it could be is the HG, but i dont think its that either!

could my 80%+ mix (mostly water) have something to do with this? if it were 20% antifreeze, should i still be able to see white smoke or notice exhaust smelling sweet if it were a HG? i havent found any signs of a head gasket leak though....... anything i could be overlooking besides the obvious? can the water evaporate though the overflow since its not airtight, when it gets hot?

 

[speedytang]

Probably intake or head gasket. You won't see white smoke or anything unless you using a lot of water. Pressurize the system with a tester you will find the leak.

 

[bloopbloob]

speedytang
Probably intake or head gasket. You won't see white smoke or anything unless you using a lot of water. Pressurize the system with a tester you will find the leak.

r u sure thats what u mean? i think more antifreeze would show it better than water? my system is 80% or more water i'm guessing by now, and i cant find any plausible source of a leak!
i dont have the tools to do that kind of test though...

 

[speedytang]

I have done many(15 years on Mustangs) of these and a small leak with antifreeze and water acts like a water injection kit. You won't get bubbles in the radiator because the leak is to small. Autozone has a free rental on the tester. If you get the tester try the test with the engine cold and if it passes warm the car up and test again. You will also need to look at the bottom drain coming out of the firewall because you could have a leaking heater core and it will not come into the passenger area but will leak out of the air condition drain. The most common small leak area is under the distributor look for a small puddle and on the lower intake between 1-2 and 4-5 front area down by the injector harness.

 

[oneofakindfxbdy]

easiest way to tell if it a head gasket leak is take it to a shop or buy the kit to do a hydrocarbon test... only works for blown hg, cracked head, and cranked blocks... but it still could be an intake leak

 

[ill advised]

I dealt with the "where the (beep) is my coolant going" thing before. It wound up being a hole about the size of a pin point in the egr hose leading to the rear of the manifold. The hole was right at the outlet where the hose meets the manifold so it was really hidden. Apparently the water had been running down the rear of the engine and over the tranny but the leak was so gradual that it never left a puddle. This drove me crazy for months then one day I heard the slightest bit of steam coming from behind the manifold. I had just finished driving the car and had shut it down and raised the hood to check on something else. Most of the time I went to check for leaks I did it while the car was running so there is no way I could "hear" it. Plus considering where the leak was located it was not easily visible. Just something to consider.

 

[timeless2]

Moved to Tech.

 

[2000xp8]

On my 5.0 explorer, i had a very slow drip from the metal tube on the intake, it would drip, and then burn off, so i could never find it.
A pressure tester exploited that leak in less than a minute.

Go on ebay, and get a pressure tester.
This may be the first time you use it, but it won't be the last.
So buying it, is an investment.

 

[90lxvert13]

I had an issue like that, checked over everything no leaks no bhg. Turned out to be a leaking lower rad hose that would only leak while the car was running. The leak was so small it didnt leave a puddle or anything, the only way I noticed it was when I crawled under there with a flash light to check something else.

 

[ill advised]

Just noticed the date of this thread. Doh!