My engine has been running hotter lately and the other day it started steaming when i got home i popped the hood and there was know coolant. I had just filled it the week before so I am not sure if it is a leak or if the thermostat is broken. Does anyone know why it would use that much coolant. Thanks.

 

Well, if there is no coolant in there, there can be only two possibilities...well three:

1. You have a leak somewhere.
2. You are burning it up in the engine through a blown headgasket or some other way.
3. Aliens came and drained your coolant.

First you have to make sure your thermostat is okay, or even there. I doubt the thermostat would make you overheat, but you should check it anyway. A bad thermostat is usually stuck in the open position so that coolant will always be flowing, causing a lower than normal temperature that fluctuates a lot, but never really overheats.

Follow your lower radiator hose to where it connects to the block. There is a round sort of cover there. Unbolt it and the thermostat will be there. If it's open (as in water can get past it), then the thermostat was bad. Replace it. If it's closed, remove it and put it in boiling water. Do you see it open? If not, replace it. If you do, it's good. Put it back in then.

Note when you remove the radiator hose/thermostat cover, coolant will pour out. Make sure the car is cooled off so you don't burn yourself. And make sure you have some way to capture the coolant so it doesn't pollute/harm animals/pets.

Checking for #1 should be pretty easy. Make sure you don't burn yourself in the process.
1. With the car off, fill up the radiator to the top.
2. Turn the car on and let it idle for a while until the thermostat opens up. (if it is not working then it won't do anything)
3. If and when the thermostat opens, the coolant level will drop slightly. Fill up the coolant in the radiator to the top again.
4. Cap off the radiator.
5. Turn off the car.
6. Fill up the reservoir tank to the max fill line.

Turn the car on and let it idle for a while longer. You should be able to see where the leak is. When the thermostat opens up, the system should be under lots of pressure already due to the temperature. If there are any leaks, you should see it.

As for #2, you have to do a compression test. Search for that and you'll find out how to do it. You can see if you are losing compression in your cylinders. If you are, then you are likely losing coolant to it and burning it up in the combustion process.

Good luck. You should get this remedied quickly and not drive it. Overheating the engine can cause a whole load of problems, most of which are very serious and can't be fixed with a thermostat or adding coolant. Heads could warm, cylinders can crack, etc.

 

what he said.

 

Also it's often hard to identify coolant leaks from the water pump as they're covered by the lower timing cover. If you can't find any other reason for it losing coolant, change the water pump.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by shamoo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, if there is no coolant in there, there can be only two possibilities...well three:

1. You have a leak somewhere.
2. You are burning it up in the engine through a blown headgasket or some other way.
3. Aliens came and drained your coolant.

First you have to make sure your thermostat is okay, or even there. I doubt the thermostat would make you overheat, but you should check it anyway. A bad thermostat is usually stuck in the open position so that coolant will always be flowing, causing a lower than normal temperature that fluctuates a lot, but never really overheats.

Follow your lower radiator hose to where it connects to the block. There is a round sort of cover there. Unbolt it and the thermostat will be there. If it's open (as in water can get past it), then the thermostat was bad. Replace it. If it's closed, remove it and put it in boiling water. Do you see it open? If not, replace it. If you do, it's good. Put it back in then.

Note when you remove the radiator hose/thermostat cover, coolant will pour out. Make sure the car is cooled off so you don't burn yourself. And make sure you have some way to capture the coolant so it doesn't pollute/harm animals/pets.

Checking for #1 should be pretty easy. Make sure you don't burn yourself in the process.
1. With the car off, fill up the radiator to the top.
2. Turn the car on and let it idle for a while until the thermostat opens up. (if it is not working then it won't do anything)
3. If and when the thermostat opens, the coolant level will drop slightly. Fill up the coolant in the radiator to the top again.
4. Cap off the radiator.
5. Turn off the car.
6. Fill up the reservoir tank to the max fill line.

Turn the car on and let it idle for a while longer. You should be able to see where the leak is. When the thermostat opens up, the system should be under lots of pressure already due to the temperature. If there are any leaks, you should see it.

As for #2, you have to do a compression test. Search for that and you'll find out how to do it. You can see if you are losing compression in your cylinders. If you are, then you are likely losing coolant to it and burning it up in the combustion process.

Good luck. You should get this remedied quickly and not drive it. Overheating the engine can cause a whole load of problems, most of which are very serious and can't be fixed with a thermostat or adding coolant. Heads could warm, cylinders can crack, etc. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good write up!!! I am very impressed

 

would vtec cause the engine to burn that much more coolant. Just wondring if that might be the cause.