coolant leaks?

[thechori]

well i filled my coolant to the very top about 2 weeks ago, then yesterday i saw that damn birdcage sensor come back up, so i had to go to autozone and get some more. i know it should last longer than 2 weeks, i don't drive that much, or that rough, how do i check for leaks?

oh and the bottle is pretty dirty, could that contribute to this problem? if so, how do i clean it out?

any responses appreciated :icon_bigg

 

[BorHor]

is the coolent filled in the radiator?

 

[91T breezen']

Uh oh...could be the first signs of...::bhg:: :icon_frow

Clean your overflow bottle completely out. Refill it to the proper cold level, top off your radiator and drive it around for a few days. Continue to check for coolant leaks, and check your rad level and your oil constantly. If:icon_razz you have a bhg, it's not the end of the world!

 

[mkIIIman089]

2 weeks ago, was that a drain and fill or just a top off?

 

[iwannadie]

Uh oh...could be the first signs of...::bhg:: :icon_frow

Clean your overflow bottle completely out. Refill it to the proper cold level, top off your radiator and drive it around for a few days. Continue to check for coolant leaks, and check your rad level and your oil constantly. If:icon_razz you have a bhg, it's not the end of the world!

why is it anytime Anything happens with coolant people jump all over BHG. i mean come on, a cracked old hose would be my first guess. dont jump on the worst case, start small first.

 

[thechori]

2 weeks ago, was that a drain and fill or just a top off?

2 weeks ago, i was completely out of coolant, i bought a bottle, dumped the whole thing in there (it was full), and yesterday i had to refill it.

is the coolent filled in the radiator?

well i looked for where to put the coolant into the radiator, i saw a little cap on top the radiator but i wasn't sure if that's where i was supposed to put it (has a little warning that says not to open when the engine is hot). sorry im newb, is that where i should put it?

 

[BorHor]

yup...

 

[ross1]

with that, you might want to learn to burp it too then, jack the front end up off the ground, take the cap off the radiator, fill with 50/50 water/coolant, top off the reservior, and run the car with the cap off once it temp gauge reaches normal temp, top off the radiator again then put the cap on and drop the front end and drive, monitor levels for a while and see, if they drop off again get a pressure test done fix whatever is leaking...

ross

 

[turbo4toy]

A friend of mine used the pink coolant and it leaves a more noticeable mark when it dries and he found a coolant leak that way. Just be careful while you are losing coolant to not overheat your car or you will be replacing the HG. Also check your radiator for cracks or leakage.

 

[bluedragon17]

using the toyota red coolant will help in trying to locate leaks because when it dries it cakes into a red powder basically..........its toyotas idea of finding leaks easier (actually works quite well too) try flushing the radiator and all that and refill the whole thing with toyota red coolant and run it for a few days then check for leaks just my .02

 

[mkIIIman089]

A friend of mine used the pink coolant and it leaves a more noticeable mark when it dries and he found a coolant leak that way. Just be careful while you are losing coolant to not overheat your car or you will be replacing the HG. Also check your radiator for cracks or leakage.

Because you can't see big red crust piles on the ends of your hoses easily? LOL

2 weeks ago, i was completely out of coolant, i bought a bottle, dumped the whole thing in there (it was full), and yesterday i had to refill it.

Well, it could be a leak that its just seeping a little bit(how much do you drive the car?). Or it could be normal as the system purges the air from itself. I have sucked in 1+ full overflows after draining and refilling, sometimes after 1 heat cycle it would take a whole one in.

I would just say for now, check for any seeping leaks and monitor the overflow level. DO NOT open the rad cap unless you seeing it pull the entire overflow in every time you run it (or something close to that, but then the leak should be apparent); all that will do is disturb it from doing its job of evacuating air.

 

[Maroon88]

When was the last time the radiator cap was replaced? It may not be holding the proper pressure for the cooling system.

 

[mkIIIman089]

^huh? He made no mention of it puking coolant out the overflow....

 

[thechori]

alright, so i shouldn't touch the radiator cap? because i still have coolant, it's not sucking it up that quickly, just over like a 2 week period since the last time, we'll see how long it takes for the 1/2 tank i filled up

 

[JENNY!]

BHG,BHG!! :]