Rad Leak?

[ShOwOfF]

Hopefully someone has had a similar problem. I had my oil changed yesterday and the mechanics told me that I was low on coolant. I found this odd as only about 5 months back, I had my rad flushed by T&T honda. So anyways, i fill up the rad in the reserve tank, and today after about 20 minutes on the road, i come home to find that there was a small amount of steaming coolant on top of my rad fan just below the rad cap on top of the radiator. A second look at the reserve tank shows it still at the top level. Did I just overfill it or am i leaking somewhere?

[sputnik]

did you fill the reserve tank completely or to the fill line?

coolant expands quite a bit when it gets hot... so if you filled up the reserve tank completely there is a chance that it may have expanded and drained out the overflow hose.

then when the engine cooled down the antifreeze would be "smaller" and the tank would be less full.

generally the coolant level will be just below the rad cap

[cubed]

If you overflill it it will dump it into overflow. If over flow is plugges it will spill out the lid. But it shouldn't. Even if you overfill, no big deal cuz it'll dum the extra. But if it keeps coming out your lid it's overheating (check guages), or the overflow might be plugged

[ShOwOfF]

Sorry i mean on second look, the reserve tank was empty.

[ShOwOfF]

Well its not overheating according to my guages.

[sputnik]

is there a green puddle under your car?

[ShOwOfF]

^^^^ only from the coolant that has leaked from what appears to be from the rad cap. There is no coolant that can be spotted underneath otherwise.

[Primer_Drift]

Its not uncommon to lose some coolant during really cold weather like here in Calgary. My "Sadturn" does it to a small degree once winter hits.

[ShOwOfF]

^^ I figured that it would be okay to lose a minimal amount of coolant, however the guy who changed my oil showed me that their was no coolant in the reserve tank, and barely any in the rad. :dunno:

[Primer_Drift]

hmm k thats not good.. how often are you checking the level?

[ShOwOfF]

hmmm, not as often as i should. I haven't added any since my flush, about 5 months ago, so if it is a leak it isn't too bad. Im hoping its not an internal leak however I've yet to find any coolant on my garage floor. I only noticed today that for the first time I had a small amount of coolant on top of my fan, just below the rad cap, after filling the reserve tank yesterday. I dunno, ill prolly just take to honda i guess.

[Primer_Drift]

Thats a good idea, I'd make sure you describe the problem to them in great detail. Its pretty much like looking for a needle in a haystack on your own. I don't want to alarm you at all but do you think it burns coolant at all? Whats the mileage on your vehicle?

[ShOwOfF]

i have 140,000kms so its not overly high. Its not getting into the crankcase as my oil isnt turning milky. How would you know if it burns coolant? I believe you can tell if the smoke is white, but its too hard to tell as its so cold

[Primer_Drift]

Yeah white smoke is the biggest giveaway, as is milky oil. So is a sweet (poisonous lol) smell coming from the exhaust. An exhaust gas analyser test should show if its burning it at all. I doubt it though due to mileage, probably a slow leak from a sweating hose or bad rad cap seal, which is very common.

[ShOwOfF]

^^^Found the problem. Apparently I'm leaking at the top of the radiator, where the plastic top piece meets the coil things. So i just need a new rad....$400 down the drain. :banghead:

Thanks Primer for the help! :thumbsup:

[Primer_Drift]

:thumbsup: good to hear ya found it!