magical disappearing coolant
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
magical disappearing coolant So I've got a mildly modified 98 Z28. Rarely used to drive it maybe 150 miles a year. Well last year I noticed that it was waaay low on coolant, no puddles or anything underneath it. Well my daily driver got totalled so I've been forced to drive the Camaro more while I get together a down payment.
Well I noticed a strong coolant smell the other day and my temp gauge went higher than normal, it never over heated or anything but it was running way to high and bouncing around. I've seen that happen on cars in the past that had low coolant so I checked and low and behold it was way low again. So I filled it and let the air bubbles work out, ran it at idle for about 20 minutes with the cap off and it seemed okay. I hit the throttle a couple of times and I saw the coolant level go down like normal but it didn't come back up.
So here is the fun....still no visible leaks or puddles, car runs good and strong, no milky oil on the dipstick, no white smoke, no wet floor in the passenger cabin, heater works fine, fans work fine.
So where is it going?
Well I noticed a strong coolant smell the other day and my temp gauge went higher than normal, it never over heated or anything but it was running way to high and bouncing around. I've seen that happen on cars in the past that had low coolant so I checked and low and behold it was way low again. So I filled it and let the air bubbles work out, ran it at idle for about 20 minutes with the cap off and it seemed okay. I hit the throttle a couple of times and I saw the coolant level go down like normal but it didn't come back up.
So here is the fun....still no visible leaks or puddles, car runs good and strong, no milky oil on the dipstick, no white smoke, no wet floor in the passenger cabin, heater works fine, fans work fine.
So where is it going?
TECH Regular
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 462
Likes: 0
From: houston, texas
might try getting a cooling system test kit. should be able to pressurize the cooling system and check for leaks with it cold. if you dont find anything let it warm to operating temp then check again. sometimes the coolant will evaporate on slow leaks before it makes a puddle. also check for sweet smell in exhaust. no a common problem but always a possibililty. oh yeah try not to huff the exhaust too long...lol
You have coolant going into (at least) one cylinder. I had the very same (lack of) symptoms, just "magical disappearing coolant" - just like you.
It was going into Cyl #8 (Pass side rear) - not a blown head gasket, I just stretched the head's torque-to-yield bolts. Replaced then with chrome ARP units (torqued to 80 ft-lbs) and Ta-Da! problem solved.
It was going into Cyl #8 (Pass side rear) - not a blown head gasket, I just stretched the head's torque-to-yield bolts. Replaced then with chrome ARP units (torqued to 80 ft-lbs) and Ta-Da! problem solved.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
So while I'm that far into it should I replace the head gaskets? Replacing the bolts is no big deal but replacing the head gaskets is just that much more of a pita. I'm running AFR 5.3 heads to my compression is up there so I can see how that would have happened.
Once coolant leaks by a gasket it has the potential to form a path, ruining the gasket due to minute material removal.
