Coolant leak?
 

Hey all, got a little issue going on...figured I get ya'lls perspective.

A little history, '04 MT with 68k, 32k on this motor, maintained to perfection, never flooded, on problem I've had is an ongoing ignition problem. Anyways, a few months ago I noticed a coolant puddle under the car and did a little investigating and noticed some coolant on the rear housing and all over the oil pan. I took it into the dealership and there we found a failed hose clamp on the water pump. Replaced clamp and all was well, sorta.

I have now swapped out my coolant since the temps have gotten colder. I run 25% coolant, distilled water and water wetter during the summer and have now replaced it all with Prestone 50/50. Problem is the past few times I have checked my coolant level it has been well below the cold line. I have refilled the coolant tank everytime (6 times now) and it still falls below the full line. I can't find any external leaks and I haven't noticed any white smoke from my exhaust either.

I'm at a loss, atleast in our race cars when the motor starts buring coolant we can usually attribute it to a coolant seal gone bad. I had a feeling this motor was failing due to my last compression check compared to the one I had done back in Feb. In Feb, on the Mazda tester I was running 9.8's and higher on all rotor faces and on the last test my numbers were all in the low 8's. The dealership said the numbers were still within the norm but for compression to drop that much and now that I seem to be losing coolant, I don't know.

How much coolant have you all been adding? I've gone through almost 2 gallons in the last 6 months. I'm sure that's not normal...

-Nic

Hmm thats not normal... Ive run the original coolant for almost 40K miles and never had to fill it up..

that is not normal.

u sure nowhere is leaking ?

I just had it on jack stands this past weekend and didn't notice anything. I even took it out and drove it pretty hard to build up some pressure in the system still didn't notice any leaks. Now I haven't noticed any smoke coming out of the exhaust but when our race cars were burning coolant you would only notice it on the track during the up and down shifts...I haven't had anyone tail me to see if that holds true in this case.

Maybe there is air in the colling system, like the heater, throttle body warmer and etc. Or, try to change the 0.9bar cap.

The whole system takes about 2 & 1/2 gallon of coolant so I dont think thats the case (consider that he said he has gone thru like 2 gallon in couple K miles.

Try this from: http://www.aa1car.com/library/coolant_leaks.htm

PRESSURE TESTING THE COOLING SYSTEM

There are several ways to find out whether or not your cooling system is holding pressure. One is to top off your cooling system, tighten the radiator cap and start the engine. When the engine reaches normal operating temperature, turn on the air conditioner (to increase the cooling load on the system) and/or take it for a short drive. Then check the radiator, hoses and water pump for seepage or leaks.

WARNING: DO NOT open the radiator cap while the engine is hot! Even if the cooling system is leaking, the coolant will be under considerable pressure -- especially if it is low and coolant is boiling inside the engine. Shut the engine off and let it sit about an hour so it can cool down. Then place a rag over the radiator cap and slowly turn the cap until it starts to release pressure. Wait until all the pressure has vented before turning the cap the rest of the way off.

A special tool called a pressure tester can also be used to check your cooling system. The tool is nothing more than a little hand pump with a combination vacuum-pressure gauge and a fitting that is attached to the radiator filler neck. To check for leaks, attach the tool to the radiator and pressurize the radiator to the pressure rating on the radiator cap. For example, if you have a radiator cap that says 12 pounds, you pressurize the radiator to 12 lbs. and wait to see what happens. If there are no leaks, the system should hold pressure for 10 to 15 minutes. If it does not hold pressure, the system is leaking. If you cannot see any visible leaks on the outside, it means the leak is inside (bad head gasket or cracked head or block).

Leak detection dye can also be added to the coolant to make a slow leak easier to find. Some of these dyes glow bright green or yellow when exposed to ultraviolet light.

I was thinking of doing a cooling system pressure test. Really seems the only way I'm gonna find out what wrong at this point.

Thanks for the info Go48.

You're certainly welcome.

Hope you guys do well at the Rolex 24. Unfortunately, I won't be there this year due to other committments.:(

if it is a stock 04 motor. it is the h2o pump.. when they took out my motor at 55k miles it was a med weep...

and now with my second motor.. funny i am smelling that smell.. at ~ 50 k miles..

go figure.. :)

beers :beer:

Got the motor replaced in Sept '06. I had a coolant hose leaking from the water pump but we replaced a hose clamp and it stopped. I'm thinking about pulling the water pump and rebuilding it to ROAR specs. I've lost a little coolant since Sat when I filled it last...I may try a dye test this weekend.

yeah def not right a pressure test is prob the only way to go ....also let's hope ur not gonna have to go onto ur 3rd engine.

dye test will be good------oil is ok ---Right? Sure it is as you probably already checked that out.
have you rerouted your overflow hose? put a catch can on it just to be sure it aint getting blown out.
all in all sounds like new engine time with that much compression change.
:(
OD

Denny, no catch can for me...I have been monitoring the oil but since my dealership neglected the TSB for the "milky" dipstick I really can't be sure if it is coolant mixing in or just the condensation that was originally attributed to the milky dipstick.

When I was originally noticed the loss of coolant I thought most of it came from the bad hose clamp on the water pump the dealership replaced...but I have still lost coolant since then. I mean I checked it just over a month ago and it was fine then I checked it last last Sat and it was definitely below the cold mark.


*edit*
Well, I called the dealership to schedule an appt. They were really rude to me today, I have been a loyal customer of theirs for well over 3 yrs...they told they were gonna charge me a diagnosis fee and that I would no longer be able to receive "goodwill" service anymore. I asked what "goodwill" service I had received, and they responded by telling me it was all the plugs, coils, and wires I had received over the last 30k miles. I was like well, F you for giving me bad plugs and coils and not diagnosing the problem properly in the first place!

I told them to cancel my appt and I will be in once my motor final just blows up! I still have 32k left on the engine warranty so, I will just deal with it. I'm still gonna do a dye test and see if there is an external leak, maybe I'll find something I can fix myself. But still the compression is what has me worried, it really is a big difference from February's test to the one I had done in August...

I am lucky I have a good dealer----although i dont use them any much--i always bring donuts.
The dye will tell the story--but like you say ---the compression---?
Sorry you will not be at RA--maybe next time.
OD

I always thought I had a good dealer too, they have done well over $15k in warranty on my car...that's easy money for them. I need to find some dye, think AutoZone or Advanced might carry it?

Yeah Denny, I'm sorry I won't be attending the RA event myself. I was gonna be driving a ROAR car too, may be next time.

I had a similar problem fixed last month, but not quite as bad. My coolant light kept coming on and the level was getting low faster than it should have. I had it checked and the coolant sensor had gone bad in it. They replaced the bottle, which is what contains the sensor. When I drove it after that the light came back on after about 20 miles of driving. Seems there also had been little chew holes in the hose near the overflow. When the coolant got hot it would start leaking out, which would happen only after about 40 miles or more of continuous driving. Well, this time when it became obvious that there was a definite leak I took it back in, which is when they found the chew holes, and the hose and almost completely broken at that point. I got a new hose and don't have that problem anymore.

I hate to steal this post but i have a problem with my coolent too my light keeps coming on when ever im at 3 k rPM and above and when ever the level gets even lower its on regardles of the rpm and i have steam/smoke coming through the air vents on the inside of the car and i cant find a leak under the car. HELP please :banghead: oh my passenger side is drenched with condensation.

fritschep,

Sounds like your coolant level sensor which is built into the coolant reservoir may be going bad.

My level sensor went bad to the point where the low coolant light stayed on all the time, then about a month after that, my water pump or water pump gasket failed. I found out the hard way when I saw steam coming from under my car.

The water pump is located just below the alternator. Look carefully around the water pump and see if you can spot coolant seeping around the water pump.

The water pump has two weep holes, one on top and one on the bottom. Take a folded up clean white paper towel, and push it up against the bottom weep hole and see if it's leaking.

What year is you car and how may miles do you have? My 2004 coolant issues started around 57k miles.

its an 04 65k on her i am almost threw the first gallon of coolent. what would be the wetness on the inside on the floormat of the passenger side of the car from?

Heater core if its smells like coolant. If it's just water, and you've been running your AC, it could be a blocked drain hose.

yeah my heater doesnt work nore does the AC how do i check the darin. i already did the test for the ac controls ( posted in another thread) and the controlls work great. so the heater core could cause all of those problems/symptoms?

Soak up some of the wetness with a white paper towel. What does it look and smell like? Put some coolant on another paper towel and compare the two.

When you turn on your AC, do you hear the compressor click on?

all i hear are fans when i turn the AC as for the dampness its hard to tell i sorta smells like coolent but then again the whole inside of the car smells like that now this is gonna sound weird but when ever i rev the engine a little it sounds like there is watter under the DASH

Water under the dash sound seems to indicate air in the coolant system.

1) What's the coolant level in the reservoir? You may need to bleed the coolant system. But if the heater core is leaking, you need to get that fixed first. Do the paper towel test I suggested to see if the dampness is coolant or not.

2) With the car on, fan speed set to 1, heat control knob in the middle, mode set for air thru upper vents only, when you push the AC button from off to on, do you hear the compressor click? If not, sounds like the AC has a problem. Check the A/C fuse, it's #18 - see owner's manual.

iv been adding coolent all day to the car to get home the dampness i think is just alot of condensation it doesn't smell to much like coolent i dont hear a thing for the A/C maybe my hearing is bad. i found the coolent leak its under the transmission right behind the dirver and passanger seat in the middle under the car.

Interesting ...... I don't think any part of the cooling system goes that far back (behind the driver/passanger seat). Do you have the car on a lift, jack stands, or ramps?

I could not tell it was my water pump that was leaking until I took out the air intake box, battery, and battery case.

I'd like to know what your car's problem eventually turns out to be.

yeah thanks for your help thus far yea when i noticed it leaking from there i was alittle dumbfounded if you have any other ideas tell me, thanks again

Last night i couldn't tell if the floor mat was wet with coolent or something else but this morning i soaked some of it up and sure enough green as grass and the underside of the mat is soaked in coolent so its the heater core then?

I will be posting some pictures of where the leak is under the car, it's not behind the driver/passenger seats it's more like directly under them and in the middle.

it could be your ac h2o drain is clogged.. it has happened..

beers :beer:

how would i check that (AC drain)?

Most likely the heater core. No other way I can think of for coolant to get in the car ......... unless you had some in the car and spilled it.

Look for leaks in the passenger side firewall where the heater hoses/lines go thru. Check your water pump too.

If you're under the car, you could poke a firm wire or coat hanger into the AC drain hose gently to check for and free any obstruction.

Have you been running your AC / defogger recently?

Since you said the floor is soaked with coolant, your AC's not the cause of that.

you are going to have to search for that.

hint use advanced search and use the date as from the beginning or what ever allows you to get back to the begining..

if you cant find it. send me a pm. i will give it a try.

beers :beer:

I found the leak here are pictures tell me what you think.

That's going to be a tough one to fix . Looks like you may have to replace the whole heater assembly ?

okay when you say that you mean heater core?.. what else do you think would need to be replaced?

fritschep - nice pictures. Glad you found it. Replacing the heater core and putting in new coolant/distilled water mix should do it from what I can tell.

Picture does not show visible leakage. Where is it leaking?

You mentioned coolant under the car - was it leaking from inside the cabin from heater core thru the floor panel to the outside?

Please let us know how you resolve this problem.

Where my finger was in the picture that connection was leaking under it, as for the leak under the car. once i had bypassed the heater core, it stoped. i think it was from the gallon and a half of radiator fluid that had made its way throught the center counsel and somehow under the car i already cleaned it up. i forgot to take pictures i think along with the puddel on the passenger side thats what did it. so now i gotta figure out how to get to the heater core to replace it. i already have a new one on the way.I searched the site from top to bottom i could not find a thread on how to remove the heater core. could someone point me in the right direction. thanks for everones help it is very much apriciated thanks again.

Factory Manual. Look at 10 HVAC.

This looks like a lot more work that I would have initially guessed. Looks like the dashboard and entire A/C unit has to be pulled out if I'm not mistaken, as the heater core is part of the A/C unit. See pages 1-8.

fritschep - what's the latest on your car?

okay here goes I started taking the dash off I got it loose, it’s so much hard than I thought anyway the new heater core I received had a problem with it well it wasn’t new it was used so I had to put everything back at that point because I didn’t have another car to drive so I haven’t really gotten anywhere on it :banghead: I was thinking, you know how you can add that stuff that seals radiator leaks to your coolant do you think that would work with the heater core, because the coolant is running through it, maybe that would save me a lot of trouble.

:sad: to hear about your experience. How'd you find the problem with the new heater core? Can it be fixed by a radiator shop - hopefully for cheap since it's off the car?

:dunno: about adding that radiator leak stuff - never used it. Good luck and let us know what you do.