sk8r fer life

so basically my coolant keeps disappearing and I can smell it a lot, could this be a blown water jacket and my coolant is just getting burned off?

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

You might want to check for a leaking heater core.

eseibel67

Antifreeze loss without a leak is common. A small leak on a hot engine will evaporate before it hits the ground. It will usually leave a stain to help you determine the origin of the leak. If you want to find the leak quickly, do a pressure test.

sk8r fer life

but thats the thing there aren't any leaks and my car sits in a garage so would see it, and how would I check the heater core? and I've done an pressure test on the radiator before a little while ago because I thought it was cracked but its fine....

xX89RSXx

iTrader: (1)

I had this issue, was a small hole in the radiator. Was in the plastic on the inner side, so there was no signs of leaking.

crazymonkey16

I had to replace my heater core not long ago, and the way I checked it was to drain the coolant out, unplug the hoses from the heater core in the engine compartment, have a friend plug one of the heater core tubes with his/her finger, and hook up an air compressor to the other HC tube. Then take out the passenger side under-dash panel and listen. If you hear a hiss, you need a new heater core. (Unless your friend is screwing with you and not plugging the HC tube all the way. ) It's a little tricky to fit your hands in there to test it this way, but it's a heck of a lot easier than removing the heater core to test it outside your car.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Most common cause of this is the water pump seal.

It leaks inside the pulley of course so you can't see it. When running, the leaked coolant gets slung by the pulley, and disappears in a fine, smelly, mist, and evaporates; might eventually leave a film of something unidentifiable all over the front of the motor. When sitting still, it MIGHT leak enough to leave a trace down the lower rad hose.

Look at the bottom side of that hose, from underneath. If it shows a trail of dried coolant you need a WP.

MotorMouth

I have been having a leak for a very long time. Last week I found the issue it was the control valve under the hood that stops water from going into the heater core when the A/C is on. It has a vaccum line and hoses going from the water pump to the heater core. It was so bad it started spraying out like a sprinkler.

krazefbird

I am having an antifreeze loss issue. I just replaced the intake seal this weekend but it was happening before that. No leaks on hoses or WP or anything, but the enigine is pumping out antifreeze into the overflow resivoir which has a crack and so I loose the fluid it pumps out. I just replaced the thermostat too thinking that would help. Would the heater core being bad cause all this?

Joiner

When my heater core went bad it would steam up the windshield from the rapid change in pressure on the coolant, but I would also get coolant on the passenger floor. Don't know if this was a really bad case or if that happens with all bad heater cores though.

krazefbird

Hmmm, I've heard of that but I don't have a puddle and I don't remember my windshield fogging up, not from defrost anyway. And since I put that anti-fog stuff on there.....yeeeeaahhhhh. What was that about fog again? And the heater also heats so if the core is bad I would think I would have no heat right? Would coolant still circulate? Could a clogged heater core be forcing my coolant out to the overflow bin?

ASE doc

krazefbird, replace your radiator cap. Its not maintaining pressure and allowing too much coolant to pass through to your reservoir.

ASE doc

sk8r fer life, If your losing coolant its leaking out somewhere. As mentioned above, a small leak will evaporate before it drips. A leaking heater core will still produce heat, it may also produce steam. This is the fog mentioned when in defrost mode. The best method I've found for pinpointing leaks is to attach a pressure tester, apply 20psi, and wait. Assuming the pressure tester itself doesn't leak, there should be no loss in pressure. You will eventually see coolant leaking. Be sure that the system is completely full in case the leak is at the top of the radiator. Check the cap seal to be sure its not leaking. Someone mentioned the water pump. If you are losing pressure and not seeing coolant, use soapy water in a spray bottle to look for air leaks at the top of the radiator.

Never apply more than 20psi to a 16psi system as this can cause severe damage. Never,ever,ever apply shop air to any part of the cooling system. If you dont have a leak to start with, you will defenitely make one. There is a leak tester available with an adjustable regulator that uses shop air to maintain pressure in a system with multiple or severe leaks, where maintaining pressure with a hand pump is difficult. This is okay to use since it wont go over 20psi.

krazefbird

ASE doc thanks! I did a search last night on here and saw the rad cap thing and said oh yeah! DUH! So I went and got one today. After that I started the enigine and watched but the coolant still came out....at least for a little bit but in talking to someone else I found out that this is normal for about 8-10 ounces...like I measured, but still, it did stop after like a minute or so. So, being that my coolant resivoir is significantly cracked and has been for quite some time, this might be the reason why I pour a gallon of antifreeze in there every month or so. Anyway, I took out the overflow bin/container/resivoir/whatever and cleaned it as much as possible and now it has a good amount of mil grade rtv drying on the crack. A new one of these will be put on the wish list for the car. Anyway, thanks for the help!

ASE doc

This cooling system is meant to run completely full of liquid. The coolant expands with temperature and the expanding liquid is transferred to the reservoir through the relay tube. If the reservoir cant hold liquid, this coolant will be lost. A leaking relay tube will cause this same type of coolant loss.

Older systems had overflow tubes and no reservoirs. These systems would have air in the top few inches of the radiator when checked cold. The air would be purged as the coolant expanded when the engine warmed up.

krazefbird

One more question, was looking at another thread on heater hose routing and am kinda confused. The hose on the intake, does it go to the left or right nipple on the heater core? Currently I have it going to the right and the left one going to the WP. Do I have them switched? I have an Edlebrock Performer intake and I don't have a vacuum switch or valve thing or anything, just straight hose. Intake-hose-right side core, left side core-hose-water pump. Thanks!

ASE doc

Which hose goes to which side of the core doesn't really matter. Whatever works best for fitment under the hood. Some vehicles' heater cores have a larger inlet than outlet to improve flow to the core. The 3rd gen f-body doesnt do this and both pipes connect at the top of the core. The core itself is split with coolant running in through one half and out through the other. The direction of flow makes no difference in its operation. So you know, the hose to the water pump is the outlet hose from the core.

krazefbird

Cool, well I will just leave the hoses alone then if the direction dosn't really matter. Like I said, they have been that way for as long as I know and I don't think I switched them and since it is working then don't fix it right? I rtv'd the coolant overflow and with the new cap on the rad and the rad topped off I have the most coolant in the system I think that it has had since it was new ha ha. Don't see any puddles and coolant level seems to be steady but that is on short drives so a little more time to make sure it's all good. Thanks for the help!

Kevman

When I smell coolant, and it's disappearing, I always check my water pump.. That front seal is usually the problem.