Hey all

I had a coolant leak. Essentially bought this car 3 weeks ago. 60k miles
2 owners. Immaculate service history.

Drove it 400kms home.

Notice the coolant light is on

Topped it up - the coolant I used was non dilute coolant.

I think I slightly over filled it.

2 days of driving. No coolant left. Light on again..

I top it up with Mazda coolant 60-50 ratio.

Lasts one good thrashing out of the city and back. Then empty again. No signs of leaks as in. No white smoke. However. Passenger side. By the front left tyre. The underguard there. Well coolant dripping off the guard there.

I book her in for a check up. (couldn't get an appointment for a week)

Topped it back up to the line. Drove 350km to my partners families farm and back. -- here's the catch.

No coolant loss. Level stayed at full.

Took it out again yesterday. Out of the city up the hilly roads. Absolutely caining her to 9k in 2nd and 3rd.

Get home. Wait an hour. Pop the hood. Coolant still full. Hasn't dropped a mm.

So now I'm completely confused. Mechanic can't find a leak.



Any ideas?.. Anything I should be looking out for?

All help appreciated

 

Coolant leaves green deposits when it dries. You should still be able to trace where it was once leaking (especially in those volumes).

 

Pressure test it.

 

Is the car overheating? Did the temp gauge move? Coolant on the under tray could mean a leak in the radiator OR... it's coming out from the coolant overflow hose. Random large coolant leaks like you mentioned makes me think it's coming from the coolant overflow hose. It will spit out coolant when the car is overheating. Check that area for coolant stains.

 

Car hasn't over heated at all. Temperature needle remains one notch below half way and hasn't gone higher at all.

Hard to diagnose as the first time I filled it I spilt a little (Maybe 30ml worth) and it ran down the side of the coolant tank and trickled down off the bottom guard. So there's all the little spotty dried bits all down around the guard.

Getting it pressure tested Monday.

Was driving for 3 hours today. Went through over tank of gas. Drove it hard too. No less coolant than when I left dismorning. So confused. Hoping the pressure test shows something. Mechanic wanted to pressure test the cooling a few days back but as this is my daily driver and I had work that arvo I couldnt wait.

So I guess we'll see what the pressure test shows?

 

Hey guys!

Cracked top tank in 4 places.
Core was fine. No other leaks.

The underguard had a large puddle of coolant.

All is fixed!

 

How did you fix it?

 

You replace the coolant bottle. They are known to get brittle over time and crack. The sensor can also fail, which requires replacement of the whole bottle.

 

Oh the coolant tank. When you said top tank, I thought it's the top radiator tank.

Glad you fixed it. Make sure to keep an eye on the coolant temps if you're living in a hot climate. Happy driving!

 

Hey mate. No not the coolant bottle. The top radiator tank. They replaced the top tank of the radiator. The bottle is fine.

 

Oh ok. That's what I thought at first.

How did you manage to replace the top radiator tank? Where did you buy it? How did you fix it?

 

Hi Azki23, how is it possible to change the top section of the radiator??? It comes as one unit, top plastic part, core and bottom plastic part.

I broke the nipple bit on my when i took out the Coolant bottle to give it a wash. I have now used a pipe joiner to connect the pipe and into the top part and glued around it with serious glue. I will check it out after work to see if leaks.