Radiator Top Tank slowing emptying?

[Timmah]

I've noticed that the top tank has been slowly becoming empty, in which I just top up (Hope that's a good thing to do) However after a quick check today it was practically empty.

Would I have a coolant/water leak somewhere?? Never notice any puddles of water under the car though ???

[Firenza]

Check you over flow. My car was pushing coolant out from there when I would drive. To check it I got an old coke can, cable tied it to the front bar and put the over flow in it. Then check it after a while.

[Timmah]

 Firenza said:

Check you over flow. My car was pushing coolant out from there when I would drive. To check it I got an old coke can, cable tied it to the front bar and put the over flow in it. Then check it after a while.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Will this show that coolant is being pushed back into the overfill? Sorry I'm not 100% sure on what to look out for.

[Firenza]

Well, it'll tell you where its going at least.

If theres no puddles, and the theres nothing coming out the overflow, then its going into the engine which is very bad....

Mine was apparently caused by a blocked cooling system, which led to one of my heads going soft

[Timmah]

 Firenza said:

Well, it'll tell you where its going at least.

If theres no puddles, and the theres nothing coming out the overflow, then its going into the engine which is very bad....

Mine was apparently caused by a blocked cooling system, which led to one of my heads going soft

I think I'll play it safe and send it straight to the mechanic. Hate it to get any more serious

[sultan]

i have been fighting a similar issue for months after replacing old radiator with new alloy one. at first i generated a million leaks, and after replacing every hose, every clamp and the pressure cap, i finally blew my heater core. but even by passing this, i'm still losing water. i've given up on it, decided it's a blown head gasket and will be replacing the engine

[Timmah]

 sultan said:

i have been fighting a similar issue for months after replacing old radiator with new alloy one. at first i generated a million leaks, and after replacing every hose, every clamp and the pressure cap, i finally blew my heater core. but even by passing this, i'm still losing water. i've given up on it, decided it's a blown head gasket and will be replacing the engine

Well I certainly have my fingers and toes crossed it's something very very simple or solvable without drastic measures. A stronger engine would be nice though..

[sultan]

i found some of the clamps and hoses would only leak when they got hot (and i don't just mean idling in the driveway). you might have a leak that only leaks when you're driving. a pressure test didn't even pick these ones up. a pressure test is the first place to start though

[Timmah]

 sultan said:

i found some of the clamps and hoses would only leak when they got hot (and i don't just mean idling in the driveway). you might have a leak that only leaks when you're driving. a pressure test didn't even pick these ones up. a pressure test is the first place to start though

I'll talk to the mechanic about it tomorrow, and bring up the points you guys have made here.

Many thanks for all the suggestions and help guys! Really appreciated.

[sultan]

let me know if he comes up with some miracle cure i haven't thought of. might save me $7grand

[DRFVDR]

I have an inkling,but u wont like what it is

[WRXONP]

I think its blowen head gasket . You can get a pk test done to confirm

[Guest]

 sultan said:

let me know if he comes up with some miracle cure i haven't thought of. might save me $7grand

isnt your motor fresh as already man?

[Timmah]

Back from the mechanic, he did a pressure test and then saw a crack in the radiator. Hopefully that's the cause of it now I get a NA Legacy to run around in.

[WRXONP]

Lol yeah a leak would make it loose water ha ha . . . . Seems you have good luck it wasn't serious

[Timmah]

 WRXONP said:

Lol yeah a leak would make it loose water ha ha . . . . Seems you have good luck it wasn't serious

Yeah am very glad it wasn't anything worse. *Touch wood*

[DRFVDR]

just one thing to watch,why did the tank split,in my experince they dont just split mostly caused by an over pressure from a leaking head gasket....

[Timmah]

 DRFVDR said:

just one thing to watch,why did the tank split,in my experince they dont just split mostly caused by an over pressure from a leaking head gasket....

I'm going to go with, radiator came with car, radiator was old and then pooed it's pants. Radiator gets replaced. Happy ending

But I'll talk to the mechanic about it and see what he thinks. But definitely keeping an eye out now for some of the signs.

[WRXONP]

Radiators can split / leak due to old age . Mainly when people dont run anti freeze . . . . . . But yeah . . Run it with the cap off . . Normally easiest way to see if compression is pushing coolant

[sultan]

 sti8u']

[quote name='sultan said:

let me know if he comes up with some miracle cure i haven't thought of. might save me $7grand

/quote]

isnt your motor fresh as already man?

no, it was rebuilt about 6-7 years ago to standard non-sti spec, and it's had 200-240kw belted through it ever since.

[sultan]

 WRXONP said:

I think its blowen head gasket . You can get a pk test done to confirm

the chewing gum test?

if you mean the teekay - hyrdocarbon test, this is generally a crap test for subarus. mine for example which i'm pretty sure is bhg, was fine on the tk

[WRXONP]

Oh true my bad ha ha . Never done / had one done just herd about it . Doesn't it test for compression gases in the coolant ? Theres more ways a head gasket can blow though not just pressurising the coolant