Low Coolant.......AGAIN!

[SHOemup]

If you have a leaky waterpump you won't know it. this may have already been mentioned before, i just skimmed through.

What happens when the waterpump leaks is it goes onto the crank sensor which may in turn cause it to stall. It then goes onto the catalytic coverter(s) and burns away leaving no evidence of a leak. This happened to me. However, i could smell the coolant, i just couldn't see it. I changed the waterpump, CPS, betls etc etc. Everything has been fine since. tough job though.

 

[sdpatt]

Oh, but you can see evidence of the water pump leaking. Just look on the lower timing belt cover below the crankshaft damper. That is the drain port for any fluids in the timing belt area to exit the sealed covers. If you see a drip of coolant hanging from the drain port then the water pump is leaking. If you see a drop of oil, then the front main seal or camshaft seals may be leaking (or both).

 

[JimN696]

My radiator was leaking a lot with no evidence of coolant on the ground, just a slight smell of it when I was stopped in traffic. Check the seams when the engine is hot and running, you may find some of your leaking problem there, and although this is pretty obvious, check to make sure your coolant recovery tank is not leaking a little, too.

 

[CharlieSHO95]

The radiator on my wife's car would leak intermittently. During warmup it would leak, then when hot it would stop leaking completely. When it first started, it didn't leak enough to get on the ground, but the coolant would still go down.

 

[pete c]

Looks like I've got the same problem. I just bought this car (93 mtx)so I can't say exactly how quickly it is consumed, but, I put fresh coolant in yesterday, the old stuff was kinda brown looking, is that OK?

Anyhoo, I topped off the coolant, let it idle till warm, topped off again and drove to work, about 35 miles. I then drove to a friends house, maybe another 10. When I restarted the car, the cool light was on.

When I first started it yesterday morning, as it warmed up, I noticed for a short time very faint steam and a few drops of water out the left exhaust. I am quite sure (I hope) that this is just normal condensation burning off. It does not smoke when hot.

As for operating temp, it quickly warms up to the A, then over the next 20 mins or so it gradually wanders it's way to R or O. It seems to bounce around a bit from there, but it hasn't made it to the N yet.

This car has 90K on it. The prior owners (since 95) say it has had regular "service" including a clutch, but there is no paperwork to support this. I am considering flushing the rad and changing the thermostat. Are there any rad flushing product which can be used without removing the rad, that are worth-a-$hit? Or should I just keep driving and not worry until the needle goes north of the N? I have also heard from some that flushing a perfertly good rad is just an invitation to new leaks. Any comments/recommendations would be appreciated.