93z28ltone

I went out started my car today when I started it I noticed my low coolant light was on so with it running took the cap off the radiator and filled it back it took a 1/2 gug of coolant to do it I have not noticed any leaks I've changed the plugs no coolant on plugs changed the oil this last weekend no milkness in it any other ideas would be helpful

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

Is this the first time you've noticed it low?
And is there coolant in your overflow tank?

rich5368

iTrader: (2)

Could be burning it. Sounds like it could be the beginning of head gasket trouble.

shbox

Could be a slow leak at a hose, radiator tank, pipe from radiator to coolant reservoir, etc. Sometimes they never reach the ground.

myltwon

iTrader: (1)

reservoir can be hard one to spot, also small leak in a hose.

best thing to do is to rent/buy a cooling system pressure tester or atleast get under the car and clean off everything then check again after you've ran it for a bit.

93z28ltone

none in the res ether which caused the coolant light and yeah when i bought it top hose clamps were bad and leaking coolant i change the clamps and that fixed that leak and havent noticed any coolant lose until now i check my coolant every week also ive notice under load it starts to get hot and i have a 160 therm in it when i say hot i mean right between a half and 3/4 on the temp gage also my heater hasnt worked since ive owned the car it dont blow hot when its freezing out side but when its warm it works just fine

myltwon

iTrader: (1)

heater core could be leaking, check the passanger floor area for wetness

93z28ltone

done that and no coolant leak

myltwon

iTrader: (1)

alright well next step would be a pressure test, anything else is guessing and feeling for wet spots.

93z28ltone

how do you do the pressure check

shbox

You rent or buy a pressure tester, pump the system up to operating pressure and look for leaks. This way you can do it safely with the engine cold.

lt170chevelle

iTrader: (2)

I had a very similar problem last year and ended up being the begining of a head gasket. Took a while before it got worst.

X2 on the pressure test..rent one from a parts store.

~BuMps AloT~

iTrader: (5)

Do a pressure test

James Montigny

iTrader: (13)

I ran into that a few years back, the stupid cap wasn't holding pressure.
I didn't realize where my coolant was going until we pumped it up to 18psi

Cheap fix; new radiator cap.

idformula

I had a similar problem, I used a jug of pre mix over the course of a coupple of months so it was a slow leak, and it turned out being on the pass side of the radiator where it mounts developed a crack. X2 on doing a pressure test.

93z28ltone

doing a pressure test today im waiting for the car to cool down so i can do it i noticed alot of coolant around the overflow tank down underneath the battery and around the lid to it ive been putting the coolant in the radiator it self so i am going to check around there to see if theres a leak

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Check around the seams of the radiator as well.

93z28ltone

i check the pressure and the return coolant line to the radiator from the back of the heads was leaking i turned out to be a bad clamp now i checked it agian after that and it holds presure for about 5 mins then starts to go down really slowly were before i did that it was loosing presure fast any other ideas ive checked the radiator and all the hoses

joelster

Reach behind each cylinder head and run your fingers along the banjo bolts on the back of each cylinder head. A small leak there would run down the bellhousing and be pretty hard to trace.

Cheap Guy

iTrader: (3)

As mentioned above, vanishing coolant was the sign my head gasket was going. It was just small enough that my oil was not milky and it actually took a while for it to overhead. When the head was off, we could see where the gasket failed. The only way I found out (other than it overheating) was a pressure test.