Losing Coolant
 

So I got my new truck and noticed that the coolant was really dirtly looking kinda rusty, so I flushed it over and over then ran some prestone radiator flush aditive for acouple hours, then flushed flushed and flushed with water then filled with the prestone yellow jug antifreeze and mixed it to 50/50 and filled it ran it toped it off and it was full, so ever since Ive had to keep adding and adding antifreeze I did this coolant change about a week ago and I keep checking it every other day and the radiator is low again but the reserve tank for it is always full. its only low maybe a quart or two at a time.

No leaks anywhere oil still looks good and coolant is still looks clean.

the system is most likely purging itself with air over time......keep addin to it and I bet it will eventually stop

Ok, I was glad to see someone didnt mention headgasket. Im only doing 38psi of boost max so I think Im pretty safe on the HG. Shouldnt it normaly suck out of the reserve tank though? maybe the radiator isnt getting hot enough becuase its been below 30* here lately?

Fine, I'll be the one to say it.

It could be the head gasket. MAybe just purging itself, but sounds a lot like HG.

It could be blown and putting it into the cylinders a little bit at a time and then burning away.

~Wes~

I was doing wishful thinkin .....lets see what happens here b4 we mention HG..........thats a swear word

What does the coolant look like when it has oil in it? how can I truly diagnose if its the HG or not?

If the coolant and oil were mixing then your coolant level would typically rise.

If there is oil in the coolant then it would typically float to the top of the radiator and it would start as drops of oil forming on the top of the coolant and can progress to looking almost like snot.

Gets nasty at that point.

As far as ddiagnosing HG. Either more symptoms have to pop up, or you start eliminating posibilities. If you cant find the source of the loss then your looking at HG.

HG isn't a swear word. HGs are easy. One day job if you have a machine shop to do the surface work.

I can have a 12V head tore off a truck and on the work bench in 2 hr flat, and already be sitting down drinking a coke.

Let me know if you need any tips or more help diagnosing it.

~Wes~

coolanT will have black "streaks" in it, oil will be whitish colored and VERY frothy.....if your tank is filling up and not running back into the radiator, CHANGE THE RADIATOR CAP!!!!!!!!!, if that aint it, check for blockage when the cap is on..........

It does have a different radiator cap on it, there definetly isnt oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil for sure then. What other symptoms can I look or listen for?

boil the cap to make sure it is correct, ive bought new ones that didnt work......if the tank is filling but not draining back that is where your loosing your coolant.....it gets hot and evaporates out.....

nothing to listen for. I've seen trucks with completely blown HGs that guys have driven for WEEKS before they took the time to fix them.

However look for coolant burning in the exhaust. White haze, steam, even a coolant smell from the exhaust.

Look over the truck as close as possible and make sure you don't have a leak somewhere. Go to the carwash and wash the engine compartment very well, spray it down with degreaser and wash it again. Then watch for coolant "trails" over the next few days or week. Also there is a dye made to help find leaks, you should be able to get it at any auto parts store.



~Wes~

completely forgot about the dye, thanks for the reminder.....

The exhuast is nice and black and dry, lots of black and a little bit of blue and a puff of white in the morning is all I get smoke wise. There is a coolant smell some times when I pull in and am about to shut off the truck I smell it a little bit but maybe onece or twice Ive smelt it. Ill go over it truck again tommorow looking for leaks.

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how do I boil the cap?

If you have a coolant smell then it is eaither leaking into a cylinder, out the side of the head onto the exhaust(which is tough because the manifold is higher than the head's sealing surface), or coming from the heater hoses or fittings onto the exhaust.

~Wes~

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The cap is held closed by spring pressure. I've never heard of boiling the Rad Cap.

I've boiled plenty of thermostats though.

~Wes~

So I ran the truck hard today on the way home from school and I did 80 on the highway, got home noticed alil bit of coolant in the wheelwell and on the frame rail so I figured that the reserve tank over flowed, poped the hood and it was all dry around the tank cap and hoses, long story short I traced it up to the headgasket leaking just a little bit right under the T stat housing. You can see where the previous owner put some sealer or glue of somesort on it to stop the leak and a part of it came off and started leaking again.

Im in no position to afford putting a new headgasket in right now and I know I need to get in there and fix it and get R done right but I just cant right now and I have to drive the truck. Is there and temporary fix I can do to stop it or am I going to hurt something or should I just let her bleed?

Ive see that radiator stop leak stuff in the autoparts store does that work? or should I put sealer over it again for now?