George G Hajj

No visible leaks anywhere, all new hoses, new thermostat, new temp sensor, new water pump new timing belt, new belts, newer radiator. Every couple or so days I have to fill the res up with coolant. Car has 147,000 on it. I do hear some weird water sounds behind the glovebox but nothing is leaking anywhere. I know some will tell me its the head gasket but before I go that route I want to be 100%.

Former User

Start by pressure testing the cooling system to scout a possible leak that may have been missed.

morneau_dc4

Just toss in a couple stop leak pellets, it will clog up any small pin holes in your rad and other places. Its really cheap and worth a shot

Former User

OP, please avoid magic (false) fixes in a bottle like this^

You only make a bad problem worse.

George G Hajj

Ill have to find a pressure test kit now....any ideas?

Former User

Free rental at AutoZone, and also possibly other chain auto parts stores. Call around and check websites.

See Tool Loan programs. Fantastic way to avoid buying specialized, expensive tools.

George G Hajj

Will do thanks! Ill post what I find, stay frosty

tony_2018

I'd never recommend **** like this.

TomCat39

Also before thinking head gasket, you just replaced the radiator. If you didn't do your heater core.... It's likely just as old if not older and could be leaking behind the scenes.

Do your windows fog up easily with recycled air and heat on when it's a rainy day?

George G Hajj

Now that you said this I do have to wipe the inside of the windshield up from time to time. It doesn't happen all the time but it does happen frequently enough where I leave a towel in the car to wipe it. Hmmmmm never done a heater core before, any tips to diagnose or to get to one to look at? Where is all the coolant going if the heater core is the culprit like I said I don't see any leaks....any info would be great! Thanks guys gotta love forums

TomCat39

The heater core is behind the center area of the dash and requires removing the dash to replace.

I've been putting it off for a very long time.

If the leak is real bad you may get wet carpeting down under there. If it's a small enough leak you won't see evidence of it other than defrost can fog the windows, particularly when you have the air set on recycle instead of fresh air.

I really do not know how you "test" to see if the heater core is the leak spot. I'm not sure how the pressure test will indicate the heater core.

Maybe someone else has a method or knows a way or knows what to look for in the pressure test.

George G Hajj

Would that be the reason why my coolant is disappearing from the res tank? That's a lot of coolant......

TomCat39

It's one possibility.

I'm not sure how much coolant loss you have.

I just saw you mention that before people just jump to head gasket.... So I thought I'd let you know once area that can leak and be difficult to detect or see unlike all the engine hoses and the radiator.

It's not definitive in any way. The pressure test is still a very helpful tool, as is a block tester.