So I've been having overheating problems for a while. I fixed all the problems that I could find. What is going on now is that after about 2 days i have to add some coolant(about 1 pint). After I top off the coolant my temp stays normal. But if the coolant keeps getting low I figure its gotta be leaking. So I bought some uv dye, a BRIGHT uv light and those FANCY yellow glasses and started searching. I ran the car till it got hot and looked while it was running and when it cooled down. I cant find a leak anywhere.

Any ideas?

 

if it's not leaking than it's most likely being burnt up. signs point to blown head gasket

 

any noticeable smoke coming from the tailpipe?

how long have you been having this problem?

when did you last change the coolant and purge all the air from the system?

 

Has someone checked their oil for a non oil color?

 

My oil is fine. at least it was last time i checked it about 1500miles ago. No smoke that i see from my exhaust. It doesnt have a strange smell either. I just got done cleaning the colling system and bleeding the air out.

Whats another reason that my coolant would burn?

 

is ur radiator still good?? do u see any corrosion around the top of ur radiator? or on the bottom

 

Check the oil again, it's free and takes 30 seconds.

 

It can be tough to find the source of coolant leaks sometimes, but if it's
leaking a pint every 2 days you should be able to find it.

A leaky water pump is easy to miss. Run the engine up to temp and look
for coolant coming out of the weep hole at the bottom of the timing belt
cover. If there is coolant coming out, most likely the water pump is leaking.
Replace it as soon as possible.

If there is absolutely no sign of leaks anywhere, most likely the head gasket
has failed.


.

 

I checked the oil again and the level is still full and the coloration and smell are completely normal.

My radiator seems to be fine, I dont see any corrosion. How else would I check to see if its bad?

And I'll get under my car today if i get a chance and check for water pump leak.

Any other ideas?

 

what type of coolant are you using? is the coolant clear, or is there a brownish tint to it?

 

I'm using autozone coolant mixed 50% with distilled water.
I bought a coolant tester and my mix ratio is perfect.
The coolant stays around the original color.
When I first got the car the coolant was brown but after a system cleaning and a backflush it was all back to normal.

It boiled over today and coolant went everywhere. plus the dye was still in the system, so now my underhood glows with a blacklight! yay. .....not

I flushed the system again and filled up the fluid.

How can I tell if the radiator is bad? I know for a fact my entire system has good flow.

 

check all coolant lines for a greenish to yellowish smudge around lines. Check to make sure all are tight and the radiator hoses too. A messed up (clogged) radiator wouldnt leak. It would cause heating problems not coolant dissapearing. Now if the rad was leaking somewhere that would be a different story.

 

I've checked everywhere except the water pump area for leaks and cant find any.
Today I'm getting under the car to check that. If theres no leaks at ALL, why would my coolant be disappearing?

 

how does the heat in the car work? do you smell any coolant under the dash?

 

heater core leak, possibly?

def get under the car.

good luck.

 

Still cant find a leak anywhere. I don't smell coolant in the car, but my heat isn't working at all.

 

a few quick test have the coolant system pressure tested is cheep and easy can make the leak more noticable. Have the coolant tested for exhaust gasses again cheep and easy to do this test is a dead ringer for a bad headgsket. exhaust gas in coolant= blown headgasket

 

missing coolant without a leak and also no heat in the car. signs definitely point to blown hg

 

I'll get those tests done tomorrow. But im 98% sure my head gasket is fine. The car drives fine, no smoke, oil stays fresh, i dont leak any oil. The only time the car overheats is when my fluid gets low. But hopefully ill find out tomorrow.

 

well, HG failures can be so that coolant gets sucked into the combustion chamber but combustion pressure doesn't enter the cooling system and coolant doesn't find it's way into the oil passages/galleys. the problem is with the speed in which your coolant is leaving i'd think it would show in the exhaust, IE white smoke in certain conditions. how do the plugs look? do they look perfectly clean, IE steam cleaned?

 

try taking a look in the front of the radiator. it could be leaking from the seals, makins coolant drip onto the front or rear of the radiator but it evaporates while its hot, so when you stop you dont notice it. but honestly i hope its not ur head gasket.

 

Spark plugs look good. Never any smoke. Not sure what IE means but ive cleaned everything in my car, fuel system, intake, exhaust, transmission, crankshaft, etc. Gotta love seafoam. Thats a good idea about checking the front. How would I check though? If the coolant evaporates how would i see the leak? Would I just take off the front bumper?

 

IE means "as an example" bro.

 

"I.e." stands simply for "that is," which written out fully in Latin is 'id est'. "I.e." is used in place of "in other words," or "it/that is." It specifies or makes more clear.

 

^Damn, and you drive a Honda?