recently about 3 weeks ago there was no coolant in the coolant reserve box. i had replaced it to about halfway point between min. and max. level. i checked again today and all the coolant was gone! i replaced it again today...my car temp is normal but and there are no leaks. what is happening? is this normal?

 

check your oil...

If possible drain it into a bucket so you can look at it when it's out...

if there's coolant in it (or if you notice oil in your coolant) you probobly have a bad headgasket...

Is there white smoke coming out of the tailpipe?

If so again... headgasket...

otherwise there should be a leak.. UNLESS the coolant is burning off on the hot engine before it ever drips...

If it does that though there will be BRIGHT green dry spots somewhere...

 

Check your water pump i had the same problem in my civic.......i would fill it then i would come back like a week later and it would be gone......then the car would heat up....so then i look down near the bottom and there was fluid leaking all over the place....i just got a new pump from olympic...thats it

 

Hmm, if you are not leaking at all and coolant is disspearing, it's probably burning which would result as a bad headgasket.

 

hate when that **** happens

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by poison &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hmm, if you are not leaking at all and coolant is disspearing, it's probably burning which would result as a bad headgasket.</TD></TR></TABLE> so how much would it cost in replacing this headgasket? approx.

 

Doing it yourself or professionally? Headgaskets run about $60 bucks ish.

Headgasket replacement professionally would probably run you a pretty penny.

 

ususally a shop will charger 450 -600 for a head gasket job (including parts)

 

wow!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stripped Honda &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ususally a shop will charger 450 -600 for a head gasket job (including parts)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep. That's the going prices.

 

well after refilling the coolant yesterday. i checked it agian today..lo and behold...its all gone again...wtf. car is not overheating either and no leaks.

 

No white smoke... or oil mixed in with the coolant or vice versus?

 

Have you had your system pressure tested? That's an easy way to spot a leak. You need to put the system under pressure and see if the gauge goes down. If it goes down, then you know that you have a leak somewhere. If it stayes up then i would try warming the car up to operating temp and then doing the test again. You should be able to pick up a pressure tester w/ adapt at your local Napa or whatever.

 

Sounds like it's probably that you just didn't (and still don't) have the system filled to capacity. I'd hate to think that it's the worst case scenario. Just keep adding and see if it's "thirst" for antifreeze slows down.

 

why hasn't anybody mentioned getting a new radiator cap? If the seal is bad on the cap, bye bye reservoir coolant. try that.

 

cool thanx for all the suggestions.

 

I agree, check your radiator cap, my civic did the same, oil was clean no leaks, but was running hot when driving full throttle. Change the cap and everything is oky now, no coolant loss any more

 

From your original question, it sounds like you simply refilled your overflow reservoir? Did you also take off the radiator cap & fill it, too? It might be that each time you start & stop the cap is sucking the coolant into the radiator (like it's supposed to do). That would keep happening if you still have air in your system.

Check the rubber gaskets inside your radiator cap. Even if you get a NEW radiator cap, check the surfaces that the cap seats against (in the neck of the radiator). Make sure they're clean & smooth, no scratches, etc...

Does your engine have a bleed valve to let the air bubbles out? (Probably on the head near the upper radiator hose.)

 

hey i just filled it again last nite..on my way to school today during my stops in traffic i saw white smoke coming from the sides of the hood. i went to go check under the hood and there seems to be remnants of coolant along the length of top of the radiator here and there. i checked under the cap and the radiator is FULL. this is very strange. i still don't kno how this could be. maybe im losing it from somewhere? there seem to be no leaks near the cap either.

 

Hairline cracks in the plastic upper header-tank of the radiator? That would mean it's time for a new radiator...

I vote for getting it pressure-checked. You'll pressurize the system when it's cold. That way you see where it's leaking because it doesn't evaporate immediately.

 

exact same thing happened to my radiator. The smoke was from the antifreeze splashing onto the header. Get a new radiator and new cap. You should be fine. If you don't, you risk the chance of cracking your header with that antifreeze splashing onto it like it is, so I would do it soon if I were you(which I once was).

 

i have a heat shield over my headers...stock heatshield and stock headers. there is however on the top of my radiator a green line that looks like dried coolant thats been sitting along the top edge for a while.

 

yep, stock radiators crack after a while(or at least mine did) and they can leak from places that you would never see, leaking when under pressure. Get a metal one. I got mine from autozone or some other auto parts, cant remember; but its all metal and has a lifetime warranty.Had it for like 3 years and no problems

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hybrid Invasion &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... Get a new radiator and new cap...</TD></TR></TABLE>Find out where the leak is, first. That way you don't buy a new radiator if you only need a new cap...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mmuller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yep, stock radiators crack after a while(or at least mine did) and they can leak from places that you would never see, leaking when under pressure. Get a metal one. I got mine from autozone or some other auto parts, cant remember; but its all metal and has a lifetime warranty.Had it for like 3 years and no problems</TD></TR></TABLE> how much did u get ur radiator for? and how much for installation?