losing coolant, but no leaks?

[Drackonn]

alright after I swapped the car I put coolant in the radiator and fileld the overflow halfway between the min/max lines ... took the cap off the radiator, started the car, let the fan cycle a couple times, topped off the fluids, reinstalled the cap - good to go.

the car has been swapped for about a month and a half now, and for some reason, it keeps sucking all of the coolant out of the overflow ... I cannot find any leaks, and every fewdays, there is no coolant left in the overflow, if I take the cap off and let the car run it starts pushing coolant out of the top of the radiator like there is too much in it, which is counter productive to what I think is happening, any ideas? also btw the car has never over heated or run hot - the temp gauges is just below halfway all the time.

 

[05]

if your losing coolant and your not leaking anything.... youd have to be burning it

 

[bizoneoeh]

Head gasket

 

[Drackonn]

I dont smell any coolant - I was wondering if it was gonna be a headgasket problem ... I dont wanna change a head gasket lol ... im lazy ... whats the easiest way to check?

 

[mattym1204]

check your oil... if there is coolant in there.. then its most likely your head gasket.

 

[Drackonn]

ill check the oil when I get to look at the car after work - but last time I checked there was no coolant in it - could it be something as simple as a bad radiator cap that isnt letting coolant flow back into the overflow?

 

[neoc03]

A really good way to test for a leak I've found. Leave pressure on the coolant system for about an hour (with the car off). Then start the car and look for the famous white smoke. I kept loosing coolant also and couldn't nail down the problem. Tried this method and I finally got the white smoke. I hope it's not the head gasket that would suck.

 

[Drackonn]

yeah i dont have any white smoke - or funny looking oil ... so I guess thats a good thing, but Im still going to run a compression test for shits and giggles

 

[SuperSize]

if you have coolant in your oil you dont want it there...it will eat away your rod bearings!

 

[Drackonn]

yes sir - but I said there is no coolant in the oil

 

[Drackonn]

anyways - Im gonna stick a big old peice of carboard under the car when I get home to let it sit and make sure there are no leaks ... the motor was shipped from jdm-online and although they are supposed to be low mileage, depending on how long it was sitting I can guess that the water pump gasket or something could have gone bad ...

 

[4drcivicmaster]

headgasket. my car would do the same thing except most of mine would just push coolant out the overflow tank. my head was lifting, but yea in your case you are deffinately burning it. a compression test wont really tell you much if thats the case. the numbers could still be within spec...

 

[Drackonn]

alright I let the car run with the cardboard under it - the fan kicked on 4 or 5 times - no leaks ... btw I did notice that after a the couple weeks of it sucking up coolant that today there was coolant left in the overflow - I have not filled it in a few days - I think there is just air in the system still ...

 

[Drackonn]

after letting the car run last night and parking it over the cardboard when I came out to drive it to work today there were no leaks ...

as for smoke from the exhaust there was some when I started the car today this morning, but I think thats because it was about 60 degree's outside ... seeing as it stopped when the weather warmed up ...

btw a local mechanic suggested that since there are no leaks I replace my radiator cap and thermostat before I take the time to change a head gasket, since they are simple fixes ... so I will be waiting for those parts to come in and we will see

 

[SuperSize]

have you checked to see how tight your hoses are ...i had the same thing going on before, and when the hoses got hot and pressurized they would drip at the radiator as i was driving. also you said you have got a motor swap.. what motor? and what hose are you using,

for example i got a b16a and got new hoses for an 2000 Si, but i kept my old radiator and the radiator end is smaller then the hoses so it leaks only when I'm driving.. and every week i had to put more coolant in the overflow because i would be gone.

 

[hondatuner18]

leave the radiator cap off and run it if it bubbles then you have a blown headgasket

 

[Drackonn]

the hoses are all tight - I will leave the radiator cap off and check tomorrow then

 

[Drackonn]

took the radiator cap off, topped everything off and let the car run - the coolant bubbles and over flows out of the top of the radiator - so Im going with a bad head gasket ... looks like that will be this weekends project

 

[SuperSize]

leave the radiator cap off and run it if it bubbles then you have a blown headgasket

What? like air bubbles?...because if he takes off the cap and runs the car for long enough the fluid will start to boil thus causing bubbles and it will over flow. what kinda bubbles are you talking about.?

 

[Genuine Rolla]

hmm..i'm interested to know as well...

When I had friends behind me and I romped on it...they said that white smoke came out...meaning that I could be burning coolant as well...i'll have to check my coolant level and my oil....I didn't know it could mean a blown headgasket.

How many miles does your swap have..? My original engine has 135,XXX so far...i'll look more into it.