Coolant leak but where?

[clintondane]

I check the coolant level from time to time and a while back noticed it was dropping ever so slightly so geot it checked out and it turned out the radiator top tank was knackered so got a new one put in. All was well for ages yet the other day i went and checked it and the level has dropped, must be a really really slow leak? I\'ve jacked the car up and tried looking from underneath to see where it might be leaking but can\'t spot anything.

I had the gut wrenching thought that it might be the head gasket but I\'ve checked the oil and it\'s not at all milky, I\'ve checked the exhaust and there\'s no steam or even the slightest hint of burning coolant. I\'ve opened the bonnet and checked for coolant smells in there when hot but nothing. I\'ve checked the coolant colour and it\'s still green as the day it went in. I\'ve checked the oil filler cap and no sludge etc. I\'ve tried the heater on full bore and no coolant smell coming into the cabin?

To put it mildly I\'m stumped, just been made redundant so no cash to get it checked out, any ideas on what might be happening? The car still goes as well as it ever has if that\'s anything to go by? I\'m thinking possibly thermostat or radiator issue, the radiator cap is fairly new and all seals look good?

Help?

[Joker]

get it hot : park up and watch/listen

could be a split end tank radiator (drivers side is prone) or in my case a split heater hose

might be nothing at the same time

[nztintin]

leak could be a pin hole leak going onto the exhaust, I\'ve had that.

I\'ve also just found out that I\'ve had a head gasket leak for about a year and had no symptoms other than loosing coolant under boost, and thats in the track car that doesn\'t get driven nicely at all.

get someone to do a leak test where they pressurize the system with the engine cold, makes small leaks onto the exhaust easier to find

[ryn]

Oh Jesus Clint, that car of yours! Let me know if you need any tools and I can pop over in the weekend or something me we can take a look.

[titian]

did have a customer with a similar issue....Does the overflow tank "fill" when hot? If so it could be a small hole in the overflow pipe. This stops the coolant returning to the system when the engine cools down. Overflow tank remains topped up but when you check the engine circuit it is always low!

[clintondane]

 ryn said:

Oh Jesus Clint, that car of yours! Let me know if you need any tools and I can pop over in the weekend or something me we can take a look.

Yea mate if you feel like coming and having a look that\'d be cool mate, let me know when? I have no idea what tools I\'d need. God I need to just get rid of the thing and be done with it.

[SUBRMN]

how much water did you have to put in when you checked it, it may have just gone into overflow mate most times youll c pinhole as at hot it would be squirtn out majorly and your c steam just a suggestion cheers

[clintondane]

I don\'t know how much water I\'ve put in, let alone how much to put in. How full should the overflow bottle be etc? Like I\'ve said, technically retarded. Lol

[Marky]

It has markings on the side of the bottle

[SUBRMN]

well if you havent overheated mate u dont have a leak a bud hand down if you overheat then youll hav to look at a leak

[madmike]

 SUBRMN said:

well if you havent overheated mate u dont have a leak a bud hand down if you overheat then youll hav to look at a leak

What?????

Just because he hasn\'t cooked it does not mean it doesn\'t have a leak..

Do you wait till your oil light comes on before you look for the leak?

[SUBRMN]

 madmike']

[quote name='SUBRMN said:

well if you havent overheated mate u dont have a leak a bud hand down if you overheat then youll hav to look at a leak

/quote]

What?????

Just because he hasn\'t cooked it does not mean it doesn\'t have a leak..

Do you wait till your oil light comes on before you look for the leak?

lol no but if hes got a pin hole leak he would either see steam or smell coolant burnen smell come on b reasonable lol

[madmike]

You said if it overheats the. Look for a leak..

I ask again. Do you wait for the oil light to come on before you look for an oil leak?

"Be reasonable"

Was your wait for it to overheat then worry about it comment a good idea?

Me thinks not..

[Joker]

mine used to over heat once...

[madmike]

Once...

[Joker]

dont now!

[bad_gt]

Sounds silly but when the tank was replaced was it bleed properly? you still could have a pocket of air forcing the water out of the overflow which would cause your loss of water. Remember to go buy the marks of the overflow bottle and not just to fill it right to the top as the pressure would just force it out anyway.

[Stodart]

1 could be water pump? (bush/seal tend to fail together so leak happens while running)

2 head gaskets? consuming water internally into combstion chamber/s while running maybe? run engine / look at exhaust emissions when at normal operating temperature for white smoke more than usual as against blue for oil. hold hand near exaust look for water vapour.

Sorry, reread your post and missed that you had already checked exhaust for vapours if all else fails I\' d be tempted to throw in some chemi weld as a last resort

Saved an 86 leone ea82 @ 200,000km with iron tight chemi weld, with similar problems as didn\'t want to pull it apart , that was after having a clogged leaking heater coil and radiator 85% blocked (flow tested) had to be rodded out , it ran for another 9 - 10 and years another 160,000 km with no problems , only using a litre of oil every 3000km still. until a stupid teenager finished it off :\'( 3 years ago,

https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/6533_1030570381198_4050791_n.jpg

( one of the best cars I\'d ever owned for longevity/ mechanical issues apart from this LACK OF MAINTENANCE from previous owners ie not flushing cooling system every 2 years as stated in the owners manual)

posting this link as found it interesting explaination to water problems

http://allwheeldriveauto.com/subaru-head-gasket-problems-explained/

[Stodart]

Sorry reread your post and you\'ve already done what I suggested.

perhaps it could be a weeping/corroded expansion (welch) plug in block some where (maybe not obvious until motor stripped to a short block )

Actually having water issues in my 01 Outback as well (2nd gen ej251 notorious for external H/G leaks due to inferior gaskets fitted ) loosing 100 - 200ml /week from plastic expansion tank, no obvious leaks, suspect water pump / hopefully as 200km cambelt/pump time etc approaching, have parts ready to go. then again it could be H-Gs may have to fit modified ones but going to try the bodgy "mechanic in a bottle" as well 1st

[Stodart]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr just found my leak after having another really good look ,its at left bank at back, H/G, below heater pipes/hoses there was some tape over it to hide it. engine crossmember hides from seeing it from below see it from above with a light. one small drip per second, at worst when cold on start up. just thrown some wyns premium stop leak in, see what happens :-\

[clintondane]

Come to think of it, less than a day after the car was repaired and given back to me, the main radiator hose came loose and it dumped it\'s guts. Pulled over and got a tow truck to takie it back to midway motors. Turned out they hadn\'t clamped it right? Either way they redid the coolant and clamped the hose properly, all seemed sorted and it held it\'s coolant level for ages. I just wonder if they did anything else wrong?

As for bubbles, there aren\'t any in the overflow bottle or the filler.

There is no steam/vapour out of the exhaust once the car is up to proper operating temps, obviously on cold days that\'s not the case.

The oil is fine, good colour and no sludge under the filler cap etc.

To be safer rather than sorry, what products haev you guys tried/heard good things about? I keep coming across something calle "K Seal" and people seem to say good things about it. I gues forst and foremost the leak, if there is in fact one, should be found.

Grrrr, as soon as I\'m back working and have a steady income coming in I\'m getting rid of the thing and getting something else. Possible Sti Forester, want an 05/06 SG9 Sti but planning on leaving for Australia once I have my qualification and don\'t wanna move while owing money on a car. Possibly an \'01 Sti Type ii M?

[Stodart]

Yeah K Seal sounds like the go will be considering that also if the wyns doesn\'t work

[clintondane]

For all I know, and think, it\'s a small hole in a hose or something based on the fact it\'s not leaking to the point where I\'ve seen puddles under the car. After I got home the other day I turned the car off, popped the bonnet and had a look and listen and couldn\'t detect anything. Ah well, K Seal just in case.

[4Palta]

My brothers Legacy TX-S had the same problem, just on long trips lose water, with exactly same symptoms. The car had in that moment new water pump, so he started to use some products to "seal" the radiator... and yeah, worked good... but after a while he had to put it again before a long trip so he went to a mechanic and the problem was the radiator was blocked in near 80% (was not a good idea to use those products on it). Now, after the service to the radiator is working great, no leaks no water loss.

I also had the same problem with the GT-B I had before my Lancaster and was fixed in the same way... try to check it