Thread: Whats the general time you have to refill coolant?

Seems like my coolant is leaking/disappearing somehow. Keep finding myself having to fill it from min to max roughly once every 2 weeks or so. Replaced the reservoir and the tube from the reservoir to the radiator. Even went as far as just getting a new radiator cap and seems to still do this.

I fill it with the generic pre-mixed 50/50 you can get from walmart, brand is Penzoil IIRC.

System is pressurized, but it seems to be disappearing more quickly when engine is running, any clue?

have your cooling system pressure tested

Are you actually losing water? Any puddles or drips or ANYTHING forming? If you're positive you have no leaks, you may want to do a compression/leak down test.

Does the top of your oil cap have mayo on it? If so you might be mixing some where. Check to see what the oil look likes when you change it.

I'll go ahead and get that.



No puddles or anything, it just really seems like that I'm having to fill the reservoir from min to max almost every couple weeks, depending on how I'm driving. I have a funnel and coolant can in the trunk because it's non-stop.



Nothing around the oil cap, car runs absolutely fine, had the oil changed, nothing bad.

The reservoir has been sucked empty before and engine temp never went past normal middle area.

is ur passenger floor wet when it goes empty???

check ur heater hoses

^^^^pressure test it!
DO NOT rely on the in dash temp gauge. they are notoriously inaccurate/worthless. the coolant can only go a few places...onto the ground or floorboard, into the crankcase or out the exhaust.

The reservoir is emptying, but the radiator is full to the brim. Floorboards are dry.

It's real easy to have a leak and not be able to see where it's coming from. Pressure testing is best. You can also look around the hoses and water pump area to see if there are any white looking deposits forming near them. This would indicate a leak. For small pinholes, you can get leaking that only occurs only when the system is hot and pressurized. Those kind will only leak steam when hot, and then quite all together when the car is shut off. The coolant will evaporate so it's not wet, but it will leave residue showing that it has happened. This is really hard to track down. Especially if it's under the manifold where all those coolant lines run. Just get a flashlight and look really close. If you still don't see it, take it to be pressure tested.

GL

There is usually a weep hole at the front of the water pump where coolant will drip out when the pump seal fails. It will only leak when the pump is turning (engine running), at first. The leak could be small enough so that the coolant evaporates before it can drip to the ground.
Any leak can only get worse.