Coolant leak?

Good morning,

You need to take it to a shop and have them check the leak and see if it is coolant or some other fluid.

if it is coolant, then it needs to be pressure tested to determine the source of the leak.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/radiator-pressure-test

and

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-is-leaking-coolant

Roy

Just replaced this engine with a used dohc engine
The car barley drives down the street but after 15 to 20 minutes of idling compliant start to rise in reserviour and then start coming out from under cap coolant is not boiling the gauge temp stay in middle
If I put heater on high it take longer for coolant to build up in reserviour
Is the headgasket blown

Check for a blocked radiator and also a faulty thermostat,get a head check done this is a quick and simple chemical test to check for a head gasket problem, start here.

I did chemical test and it was ok no change in color
I took the thermostat out it opened up when I put it in boiling qater

I took one of the plugs in the back on this duratech engine and under pressure anti freez came out from the plug hole
This confirm its a headgasket or something worse

LEAking coolant front passanger side when engine is off

By engine off, do you mean it leaks after it has been running and is hot? Assuming that is the case, and that you have already checked the hoses, and the cap (If the cap is bad, it will leak out there), try taking the overflow tank out and turning it over. These tanks have a tendency to develope cracks that usually only leak when under pressure.

If the tank looks good, and you have ruled out the cap, I would get the system pressure tested. You may also want to get a compression check. If the head gasket is leaking, coolant may push out the tank after the engine is shut off. If this is the case you would see it coming out the cap, or at least boiling in the tank.

Also suspect water pump

car smells like antifreeze, i dont see a leak but smell antifreeze, coolant resovoir gets low enogh to add more..help
head gasket is ok

see any wet spots on the floorboards ? especially passenger side. also do you notice any filmy substance building on the windshield when heater is turned on ? could be faulty heater core if so.

Water starts leaking from the coolant system seemingly when the car heats up. When I drive it around town it seems to not lose much water, but when going on the freeway things start to happen. The system has been pressure tested and held pressure. Another problem, which I’m guessing has something to do with the faulty coolant system, is the A/C not providing any heat. When I had my car serviced a while ago I could get heat from the A/C system for a while, but it stopped working again and now I only get heat on rare occasions (almost never works, but not entirely out of order since I still get heat sometimes??). Right now I keep filling up the coolant system water a couple of times a week, as needed. There is no water leaking inside the car, which I’ve heard is a common problem. Could it be a blown head gasket? What more possibilities are there?

A head gasket could be a problem, but that is a lot of coolant you are going through. Have you noticed any white smoke from the exhaust? Have you noticed if it appears anything is mixing with the motor oil?

Next, have you tried placing cardboard under the vehicle overnight to see if you can find a leak?

Finally, and I hate to say it, but the heater issue usually goes with the headgasket. However, if it is low on coolant, that can cause it too.

Check what I said and let me know what you find. Also, let me know if the waterpump weep hole was checked for evidence of a leak.

Joe

No white smoke from the exhaust, and motor oil looks fine. No leak noticed when placing cardboard under the car.

I brought it to another mechanic to have a second opinion, and he as well concluded that there was no leak to be find after performing a pressure test.

Then he showed me that there was a lot of rust on the inside of the coolant container, and told me to keep an eye on the container cap and see if water was leaking form there. So I did, and he was right about that; water had been leaking out around the cap when I checked.

For the heater issue his suggestion was that the rust in the system caused some for of clog. He said that he could flush the system, but that with so much rust some parts (heater core, and a couple more?) could crack during the flush.

Does this sound like I can exclude a head gasket issue, and is it a logic explanation of the heater issue?

Oh, and I forgot to ask the mechanic about the waterpump weep hole. I guess it has not been checked, if it's not included in the standard procedures.

It sounds like the head gaskets are good. As far as the heater core, he should be able to flush it for you. Finally, when he pressurized the system, he would have seen a leak from the weep hole. You can confirm that he checked it, but chances are that was one of the first things he did.

Let me know if you have other questions and thanks for using 2carpros.com.

Joe

I had my mechanic flush the coolant system, and it seemed to be effective at first (held pressure), although it did NOT fix the heater issue. At first it seemed okay, not loosing any water/anti-freeze for a day, but two days later it was low on coolant again, and I also noticed a leak of anti-freeze from underneath the front of the vehicle that wasn't there before. Oil is now milky and light brown (in the picture it looks white but the flash made it look brighter than it actually is. The oil looked perfectly fine before the flush, and my mechanic had the oil changed while the flush was performed), which I understand is a possible indication that there is a problem with a head gasket afterall. As can be seen on the stick in the picture the oil/water level is VERY high. Do I even dare to drive the car to my auto repair shop when the oil looks like that? I drove the car a very short distance, but it still seems to run smooth without any problems. How noticable would it be on the car's performance if a head gasket needs to be replaced?

You have a bad head gasket. You may not notice any change in performance, but the coolant getting into the oil like that will damage bearings (must be repaired). As far as the driving it, I wouldn't recommend it.

Let me know if you have questions.

Joe

Coolant leaking from front of engine under manifold.is it a freeze out plug?

Hello,

Usually the freeze plugs will be on the outside of the engine block. If coolant is leaking from under the intake manifold, it could be coming from a coolant crossover on the manifold itself. The way to double check exactly where the coolant is leaking from is to do a pressure test on the cooling system. Here is a link below explaining how to do it:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/radiator-pressure-test

Please go through this guide and get back to us with what you find out. We can go from there.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros

My vehicle started smoking then after leaving for 3 days, I saw where the coolant had gone down and vehicle is leaking coolant under neath of vehicle.

Pressure check coolant system
and check heater hoses and lines very common for it to corrode

my car is leaking anti freeze smokes a little but coolant level in vech doesnt show im over heating,i just repaired an over heating problem but mechanic with out even looking at it says its a total different repair. i dont no anything about cars so im not sure if he just said that to get more money or what the problem is

have the system pressure tested. this will expose any external leaks. if the vehicle is blowing out white smoke from the tail pipe then you have a combustion leak. just throwing that out there cause you said it smokes.

So yesterday I drove to Target. Once I parked I noticed my car was leaking a reddish orange liquid from the front of my car. Coming out of these little circle holes right under the front of the hood. I left inside the store to come out and notice a puddle that formed and spilled onto the sidewalk. I called my dad and he suggested it was the coolant. I left home keeping an eye on my temperature gauge but it was normal. No overheating or nothing. Car seems to run fine but the leak is very concerning.

Reddish orange sounds like coolant. It could be from pretty much anything, hose that is failing, radiator that has a crack, overflow return line and others. The only way to find it would be a visual inspection, looking for the wet areas where it is leaking. The thing with coolant leaks is that depending on what it is you could easily have a catastrophic failure once the engine and coolant are hot. Also the leak will usually leak more when the engine warms up and the coolant expands. The first thing I would do is check the actual coolant level, then use a pressure tester to find the leak. That allows you to apply pressure to a cold cooling system and look for the leak without burning yourself or risking engine damage.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/radiator-pressure-test

The repairs would depend on what you find as a leak.

the leak is slow, how to find the leak place

The best way is with a pressure tester.
or
You can bring the engine to temperature so the system is pressurized. Then with good lighting and dental nmirrors of needbe, start your search.

Are there any signs of leakage?

Yes I Have a Ford Taurus 2000 DOHC and I was wondering if you still use 50/50 ratio or does it need to be refilled with straight coolant. Cause my Cap says Atifreeze only. But the book i got Says add 50/50 ratio to my expansion tank after draining. My car is overcooling itself, So i am checking for proper coolant ratio to get my heat back. Heres whats happening. The car heater inside is all the way and the fan is blowing on full too..When it idle it will warm up but not to a point where you have to turn the heat down and when i am driving the air get s cooler then warmer. I figured maybe the thermostat..I dont see ant coolant leaks but can smell it after diving home when i park it back in the garage

Mixture is 50\50,, what does overcooling mean?? Getting the heat back, does that mean you have lousy interior heating??? Or the engine is running cool??? Is the fan running all the time without the compressor on?? As long as the thermostat is doing it's job, car should be near normal temps, that's it's purpose.

To TaurusWheel

An engine that runs too cold and fails to reach it normal operating temperature.
a lack of heat in the passenger area is often the first sign that indicates an overcooling problems, but not always.
When the thermostat sticks in its open position.It allow coolan to flow trough the radiator at all the time,causing only cool air in the passenger area.(overcooling)

Yeah I know, I was trying to get some info as to whether" trying to get the heat back" meant no interior heating, or getting the car running at normal op temps,, sometimes I don't read well, or the questions are not framed too well..

to vikadelic

A 50-50 mixture of antifreeze and wayer that 's presurized to about 14 psi won't boil until it reaches a temperature of about 260 degrees.
50-50 % is correct.
your cap saying "antifreeze only" mean that do not put oil, brake fluid,power steering fluid..BUT antifreeze only and that is 50-50 or according to your book.( 50% antifreeze - 50% plain water)

For the overcooling problem check if the fan is working all the time ( and let me know)
otherwise ,remove your thermostat and check it. :)

My car has a crack in the coolent an its smoking an leaking..how much do I need to pay for a new one?

Have to have a coolant system pressure test to locate the leak , once leak located let me know where is the leak for an estimate to have it fixed