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Loosing coolant somewhere


tsi_tom
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Every time I drive my car and then let it sit overnight the the coolant in the overflow bottle goes down a little bit. There are no obvious leaks that I can see. Thinking about the sources of the leak:

 

1. Coolant is leaking into the pistons. Not likely because the block was decked and the car has a new head from EMS. The oil is not milky and is not rising. I torqued the head bolts to 72 pounds. Searching I see Indiana say to torque to 120. I never retorqued them after a heat cycle.

 

2. Turbo. Somehow the coolant is leaking into the exhaust.

 

3. Inside cab from heater core. I don't smell antifreeze nor do I see steam.

 

4. Intake. I don't see any leaks there either. I took off the OVCP and looked down into the mixer. There was no antifreeze at the bottom. I rebuilt the mixer with a new gasket from Mitsubishi and used a very light coat of gasket sealer.

 

5. Timing cover. No sign of leak there. Oil is not gaining and not milky. Oil doesn't smell like antifreeze either

 

Where else should I look?

 

I will start the car and smell the exhaust for a sweet smell tonight.

 

One weird thing I noticed is that I can hear the water boil when the engine is hot and I shut the car off after sitting. Don't know if this is normal. Coolant mixture is 33% antifreeze and the rest distilled water.

Edited by tsi_tom
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Weak radiator cap, happens quite a bit, that last sentence was the clue. Get a new one and stop sniffing your exhaust!

 

Ok I will get a new one. The one I have on there is new though. I believe 13 pound Stant. So the coolant is evaporating?

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Caps fail. I had one that would allow coolant to enter the bottle, but leaked at the seal and coolant would not go back into radiator. Bad cap. Also do not torque stock bolts to 120.. probably snap. You can try a retorque... loosen one then tourqe.. one at a time.
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Caps fail. I had one that would allow coolant to enter the bottle, but leaked at the seal and coolant would not go back into radiator. Bad cap. Also do not torque stock bolts to 120.. probably snap. You can try a retorque... loosen one then tourqe.. one at a time.

 

I have wondered about retorque as oil will fill the cavity of the threaded hole and create a hydraulic pressure when tightening again. I have seen this with the cam shaft bolts when I changed a hydraulic lifter.

 

Is there a brand of cap that we like? Should I get the Mitsubishi cap?

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On the ford 6.0 diesels the radiator cap is a common failure causing the coolant to boil and the EGR to implode leading to the headgasket problem... little unrelated fun fact
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I had a cap fail before ... spilled half my coolant at a car show once (non-SQC car). Spend the whole car show trying to figure out what was wrong and why I overheated. Finally took of the cap to look at it, it was all dry rotted. Drove down the street to Autozone bought a new one for 7 bucks, filled the rad back up and drove home. No problems.

 

I really like the Mishimoto Mitsu cap ..... http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=21618&cat=649&page=1 It's a higher pressure cap and it doesn't a ton more money. Check the top lip of your radiator too ... make sure it's not bent out of shape. You might have a new cap that's not sealing properly.

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I got a new cap. This cap SANKEI is supposed to be the original manufacturer for our cars. It is made in Japan.

 

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u467/tsi_tom/The%20Missouri%20Project/Radiator/SANKEIradiatorcap_zpsd762ff3a.jpg

 

 

Newish Stant cap. Made in Mexico.

 

 

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u467/tsi_tom/The%20Missouri%20Project/Radiator/Stant13lbscap_zps37af8f85.jpg

 

 

 

I noticed that there was some paint in the throat of the radiator. This paint is from the when the radiator was rebuilt. I sanded down the paint with 1500 grit sand paper.

 

 

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u467/tsi_tom/The%20Missouri%20Project/Radiator/radiatorthroat_zps42052d3e.jpg

 

 

Installed. We'll see how this cap goes. If not then I will get the MIshimoto one Techboy suggested.

 

 

http://i1069.photobucket.com/albums/u467/tsi_tom/The%20Missouri%20Project/Radiator/SANKEIinstalled_zps0f94aebd.jpg

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With the new cap the overflow bottle is still filling up and then going back down. Is it normal for the overflow bottle everytime I drive the car to catch the coolant and then let it come back into the radiator? I am not driving the car hard at all.

 

Some things I thought about today. Perhaps the car is running too hot because I don't have the oil cooler connected yet. Water temp is still under the half way point. There was a little boiling today that I could hear.

 

The other thing is I am using a Nissan coolant. It states to mix it 50/50. I have it mixed 33/66 with 66 being distilled water.

 

What do you guys think?

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Antifreeze also raises the boiling point of the water mixture...your 33/66 mixture may not be sufficient to prevent boiling.

 

Jerry L.

 

I will try 50/50 mix.

 

 

Normal, that is why they supply an overflow bottle.

 

All the time this should happen? What mixture are you running?

Edited by tsi_tom
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Is it normal for the overflow bottle everytime I drive the car to catch the coolant and then let it come back into the radiator?

 

 

This is normal. Usually for me it sits at min line when cold and goes to max line after a drive.

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