My car keeps randomly using all of my coolant. I have a new radiator, water pump, and hoses but somehow my radiator keeps drying up amd and making my car get red hot. It usually takes about a week for this to happen. And my overflow tank is also empty which is leading me to think it is leaking. Bit there are never any puddles anywhere. Also as far as I know my thermostat has never been replaced. Is this my problem?

 

Sorry for the misspellings lol, stupid autocorrect!

 

Check your spark plugs & oil for signs of coolant.
Its going somewhere, & since you have no external leaks, its going inside.
If oil & plugs are good, you ** may ** have an internal problem // gasket problem.

 

I checked my oil and it was fine. And if my gaskets were bad wouldn't that cause it to run hot all of the time? It runs nice and cool up till it runs out of fluid.

 

A thermostat won't cause coolant consumption. You are either burning it or leaking it externally. My bet is a bad head gasket and no, it won't always run hot if the head gasket is blown. It all depends on where the gasket is blown on how the engine runs.

Pull each plug and inspect them visually. The cylinder/s with the bad gasket will have a clean plug.

 

Try a new radiator cap. Also check the coolant recovery bottle for cracks, and the little hose that goes to it.

Don't automatically jump to the worst possible conclusion without any evidence.

 

A head gasket issue is pretty low down on the list of likely probs. Let's check the simple stuff first...

You have a leak. It's leaking when the engine is hot and pressure in the cooling system increases. The hot coolant that leaks is evaporating before you see it.

Inspect all of your hoses and hose connections. Look for evidence of a leak, rust and/or coolant stains. Get it hot and inspect again with the engine running. The leak should show itself.

 

Hey guys, I just started my car and let I let it run for about 30 minutes. And I put a piece of cardboard underneath the car and nothing dripped at all. And I carefully looked over the motor to see if I could see something steaming and nothing was.

 

I installed a new thermostat and nothing! My car got red hot again and I had to fill up it up with coolant. Then it ran perfect again. PLEASE HELP BEFORE I SELL THIS CAR!

 

get a cooling system pressure tester, rent one from a local parts store, we ARE helping you, you just gota listen, you DO HAVE a leak SOMEWHERE, whether internally or externally, we can TELL you HOW to find it, which we have, but its up to YOU to go find it.


DID you check the reservior bottle for a pinhole crack, or the little hose, the over flow tube, did you check your carpet in the passenger side of the car (pull it up look for moisture that smells of coolant) did you REMOVE THE SPARK PLUGS?

edit: they told you the thermostat would NOT cause coolant consumption, it will let it run hot but you wont be low on coolant unless u get it hot enough to over pressurize it and the cap blows it all out the over flow tube.

 

As sofa said, try a new rad cap.
Also make for sure you get all the air out of the system.
To do that, jack the car up from the crossmember til the front tires are off the ground & keep an eye on fluid flow thru the rad & the level.
If you are sure the air is out, & you have good flow ( circulation ) then IDK what it could be.

 

it could be a ton of things, he has to go down the system checking things one by one, simly glancing over the engine "carefully" and looking on cardboard for drips doesnt always cut it, iv missed a SEVER intake gasket leak externally on a 3400 v6 because it wasnt leaking at that very second, i did find the stains on my second thourough look around

 

I know man its just this is my daily so if something happens I'm out of a job. But as long as there is fluid in it it won't overheat. While it was parked and running (220) I had the hood open and looked around for awhile I didn't smell anything and I didn't see any steam. And the interior is dry. The dipstick isn't green at all and smells fine. And it's impossible for me to check the plugs without getting it off of the ground the ground. Earlier when it was hot the radiator cap wasn't hot but the upper hose was the car was red hot and I took off the cap and nothing spewed out and there was coolant in the radiator.

 

hmmmm, this is a good one.... was the bottom hose hot to? or was it a little cooler then the top?

and you can get the plugs out from up top its just a major pain in the ***

and as far as the dailly thing, yea, i know the feeling drove mine as a daily for a year in college.... been there done that


i HIGHLY suggest renting a pressure tester, fill it full of coolant pump it up to 22-24 psi, way over what it normally runs at... if theres an external leak.... you WILL find it.... if you dont, leave it SIT under pressure for a while but KEEP an eye on it, look for droping pressure, a few PSI is fine, but if u drop 10 psi in 10 mins, u definatly have a leak and u should see ATLEAST a drip, do this with the car off please idk how many times iv seen a tech in the shop do this with it running......


ALSO, the DIPSTICK wont be "green" it will have either, a foamy, milky, or chocolate pudding looking oil on it and so will inside your filler cap, its not gona look like coolant.

 

Can I get a tester from auto zone? And how do I use it?

 

sounds a bit like the water pump is not pumping ... do you have heat inside the cat when it is up to temp, with coolant in it?

 

My heat works fine.

 

well, it should not the pump then

 

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ier=84330_0_0_ ... they do have one (here anyway) and it is simple to use ... just get the adapter that fits your rad, then pump the hand pump and watch the gauge

 

have you ever looked at the tail pipes when it is hot, and looked for steam or the smell of anti-freeze?

 

Just a little black stuff on startup. Probably just carbon. Car has 80k on it and sat for 8 years before I bought it.

 

thats normal, just get the tester and throw it on how i said and if theres an external leak, ull find it.... if u dont find a leak and u do lose pressure, well then its either leaking inside the cab, or u have an internal leak inside the engine, so then youd pull the spark plugs.

 

Now it's impossible to start unless I keep my foot oj the gas. It leaked about a gallon of coolant last night. But it still runs fine. I'm thinking head gasket?

 

wont start/stay running...COOLANT TEMP SENSOR...in front near water pump..has electrical connector running to it...if bad,will tell car its cold when really warm,or vice versa.....

 

Well that's been replaced. Bit it's most likely a blown headgasket. Anyone want to buy a Camaro? Lol