Hello everyone!
I purchased a gsr swapped em1 about 2 months ago. I have since fallen in love! The motor and tranny only have 40k on them. I noticed when changing the oil that the coolent was REALLY low. You couldnt see it in the resoivor. So I topped off the radiotor and resoiver. It was fine for a couple weeks. Then it suddenly dropped about half a quart in the resoiver. I dont drive the car hard at all. Its seen 8k once. Thats it. Any help would be greatly aprreciated.

 

Also ive checked for leaks. The only leak is the ac compressor...i think. The car also doesnt smoke or exhibit any other headgasket problems

 

thermostat maybe? or the sensors on the thermostat and the block?

 

do the pressure test. you can rent it at autozone. my car was losing coolant QUICK, i mean in one trip it would all be gone, but i didnt see any spills or it dripping anywhere, and thanks to the test, i figured it was just the radiator cap i needed to replace.

 

so how do I do a pressure test? should I just buy a radiotor cap? Also could a thermostat cause this? Thanks

 

I bought a new radator cap. Drove it about 8 miles, got into vtec. Hasnt dropped!.

 

sorry i've been busy lately, but it's like testing for blood pressure. you just pump this air into the system until you reach a certain PSI and just check for leaks. and for the radiator cap, if its holding the air at the right PSI then its good, if its not holding, its bad.
good stuff. just remember to keep an eye on it

 

Well I spoke to soon. Overnight it dropped in between the add/full line. no noticible leaks

 

well its still dropping coolant. I pressure tested it. it holds pressure, no leaks. I also had a shop test for exhaust in the coolant. there was none. I am stumped. Also when I let the car sit overnight and open the radiator cap it still has a bit of pressure in there. I appreciate your guy's help. thanks

 

There's a leak somewhere. The head gasket doesn't have to be blown for it to get into the engine. If a port on your throttle body or intake mainfold is cracked, for example, it will get into the motor that way. I doubt that that's the case, though.

There's probably a small leak from one of the hoses or something stupid. You might not be able to see it with just a pressure tester. I would put some dye in the coolant and black light the engine bay after a few days to see where it's going.

Check the heater core also. Look at your carpet. Is it wet with coolant?

 

thanks B serious. Ill also add its a blox intake manifold, and stock tb. I have new hoses and the Only leak i can find is from the oil pan. also it only drops if i drive the car then park it. it drops about 1/4' every time. so the head gasket is out of the equation!? Thanks for your help

 

I would say its *probably* not the head gasket since you said the car runs fine. Dropping levels as it turns on could mean that the leak occurs when heat and pressure are applied.

How new is the water pump?

Again, put in some dye and blacklight it to find the leak.

 

the water pump is supposed to be new, but I dont know for sure. The carpet isnt wet that i know of. ill go check that out. And the blacklight idea is a great idea! ill keep you updated. Thanks again B-serious, and honda tech

 

I pulled the spark plugs, they were clean. I also looked at all the carpet it wasn't wet. beneath the passenger side undercarriage there were some "wet spots". but nothing dripped on the concrete. could this be the heater core? thanks