recently swapped a b18b into my hatch - got it from jdm-online.com.

filled the radiator and the overflow container - started the car with the cap off to let it burp and such for all the air to come out - let it cycle a couple times/fan comes on etc ... top it off,reinstall radiator cap

I have been driving the car around and noticed that all the coolant from the overflow container is gone ... wtf? fill it back up - couple days later, its empty again etc ....

I have no white smoke, the oil seems to be clear of any coolant ... the fan kicks on seem to take a little longer than expected though, and the car DOES NOT over heat ... so where is the coolant going? I cant find any leaks what so ever ...

any ideas? I am going to do a compression test probably tonight - but with no smoke etc I doubt its the head gasket ...

edit: forgot to mention - the radiator does not appear to lose coolant, when the car is cold (let it sit overnight) and I take the cap off, coolant still poors out of the top, like there is too much coolant in the radiator wtf?

 

ordered a new radiator cap and thermostat - see if that fixes it, also ran the car for about 40 minutes and the parked it over a big piece of cardboard over night ... when I checked this morning there were no leaks so now Im positive it is not leaking

if the thermostat and cap dont fix it - then I guess check the head gasket ? but there is no smoke from the exhaust and the oil seems clear.

anyone got any advice?

 

That is the same thing that happened with my car. In mine, it turned out to be a very small pinhole in the upper radiator hose where it clamps to the engine. The coolant would only come out when the hose was hot and all of the coolant that came out was quickly burned away so it didn't seem have any leaks when i parked it. I did a compression test up to just above the radiator cap pressure specs and thats how i found it.
Installed new hoses and now its perfect.

 

did you bleed the system when the swap was done some times they will have a small air pocket and will draw the coolant from the resivor to replenish the level. a bad rad cap will cause a over flow issue in the resivor .

 

it has a new cap and new hoses - I started the car last night with the cap off and realized that the top radiator hose is not getting firm at all ... no matter how long it runs ... and also that the coolant is constantly bubbling, and with the cap off radiator fluid gets pushed out of the top of the radiator all over the place ... so Im guessing its the head gasket even though I am not smoking or overheating?

but to answer your questions, yes I bled the system

 

ok the cooling system is trying to build pressure and with the rad cap off it will push coolant out and the upper hose will not get hard.
what year is the motor ?

 

sorry I should rephrase my post - with the cap off the car pushes radiator fluid out of the radiator constantly and its bubbling.


with the cap on and the system pressurized it doesnt seem like the upper rad hose has any pressure in it, I can squeeze it pretty easily ... but the first symptom tells me head gasket - exhaust gas leaking into the coolant causing the problem, correct?

and its a 1997

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dackonn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... but the first symptom tells me head gasket - exhaust gas leaking into the coolant causing the problem, correct?

and its a 1997</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sounds like it. To be sure a leakdown test or co2 sniffer test would be a good idea.

 

If you are losing that much coolant and its not leaking then you would either see white smoke from it burning or you will see coolant in the oil....It doesnt just disappear.

 

Cheack all hoses and thermostat

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chiovnidca &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Sounds like it. To be sure a leakdown test or co2 sniffer test would be a good idea.</TD></TR></TABLE>
next step for sure.

 

I think im just gonna pick up that tester from napa that changes the fluid color if there is exhaust gas present in the coolant ... or should I take it somehwere?
also I have a new thermostat and will be replacing that as well before I undertake the headgasket project.

also all hoses have been check by me multiple times ... and I had 2 friends check them out as well ... no one can find any leaks, also parked the car over cardboard over night - there are no coolant leaks coming from the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dackonn &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think im just gonna pick up that tester from napa that changes the fluid color if there is exhaust gas present in the coolant ... </TD></TR></TABLE>
That would be a co2 sniffer, good choice.

 

the head gasket tester you are talking about work great i have used them in the past when no gas analyzer was available.

 

what kind of coolant are you using? i had this problem a couple yrs ago, i was using water wetter, apparently my car didnt like it. i bled the system, still didnt work. i ended up draining it all and putting some nice new green prestone in and bled it and everything was fine. been good ever since!

 

thanks again guys - and as for the coolant I use prestone right now.

 

A friend of mine had this same problem no white smoke and no water in the oil. His car did not overheat at all, but he kept having to put water every now and then. He didnt want to replace the head gasket because it was not overheating. Well then his car started to overheat and blow water out to exuast he had no choice, but to replace it. After he replaced it no more water loss.

 

so probably originally had a small leak and it got worse? we shall see