Radiator Losing Water [Merged]

[kurt]

im losing water in my radiator including the overflow bottle"??" reservoir

i cant see any leaks, all caps and hoses secured. all fans are working. one a 90min drive to makati temp usually jumps to 95deg in traffic but gradually lowers back to the normal 90deg. but it has never reached 100deg. and it hasnt overheated yet (even with the replaced broken radiatior since it was detected while parked and not on the road).

toyota corolla gli, 1996 MT. using a 50/50 water/prestone mix
replaced radiator with a surplus one about 8mos ago.

could i have a blocked radiator, it being a surplus? were does the water go if its not leaking or even evaporating. no traces i can detect. a faulty temp gauge perhaps, reading at a minus 10deg?

i want to know possibilities and try some DIY, before going to a mechanic


thanks

[gregsp]

im losing water in my radiator including the overflow bottle"??" reservoir

i cant see any leaks, all caps and hoses secured. all fans are working. one a 90min drive to makati temp usually jumps to 95deg in traffic but gradually lowers back to the normal 90deg. but it has never reached 100deg. and it hasnt overheated yet (even with the replaced broken radiatior since it was detected while parked and not on the road).

toyota corolla gli, 1996 MT. using a 50/50 water/prestone mix
replaced radiator with a surplus one about 8mos ago.

could i have a blocked radiator, it being a surplus? were does the water go if its not leaking or even evaporating. no traces i can detect. a faulty temp gauge perhaps, reading at a minus 10deg?

i want to know possibilities and try some DIY, before going to a mechanic


thanks

Try first to replace your radiator cap

[finchy18]

im losing water in my radiator including the overflow bottle"??" reservoir

i cant see any leaks, all caps and hoses secured. all fans are working. one a 90min drive to makati temp usually jumps to 95deg in traffic but gradually lowers back to the normal 90deg. but it has never reached 100deg. and it hasnt overheated yet (even with the replaced broken radiatior since it was detected while parked and not on the road).

toyota corolla gli, 1996 MT. using a 50/50 water/prestone mix
replaced radiator with a surplus one about 8mos ago.

could i have a blocked radiator, it being a surplus? were does the water go if its not leaking or even evaporating. no traces i can detect. a faulty temp gauge perhaps, reading at a minus 10deg?

i want to know possibilities and try some DIY, before going to a mechanic


thanks

-try mo pa overhaul ng rad mo baka barado. cheap lng nman ata yan
-try mo lagyan ang water mismo sa radiator and check again the temp
-try mo tignan ang ang radiator cap mo baka mayroon leak
-try mo check hoses if may leak in the morning na hindi pa umaandar ang engine
-try mo tignan ang fuse ng fan kung mag automatic bah

[Mamar]

baka nag tatags na pala sa water pump mo hinde mo lang napapansin ganyan kasi nangyari sa oto ko dati ehh!

[kurt]

thanks, for the replies

checked them all. the only constant indication something is wrong is the fluctuating temp upto 95deg. especially after stopping on a red light but after a minute it will return to normal. and temp can go as low as 80deg when running continously. even left it idling with aircon on for nearly 20mins, no overheat temp at a normal 90deg. no/minimal loss of water in the resevoir.

the big loss of water in the radiator has not repeated itself. (i discovered it after the car was park for 2 days)

most likely something is not right with the radiator since its a surplus,

but now; will flush the radiator again using appropriate chemicals and use 1 liter of prestone coolant for the whole mix ration. maybe that will un clog the radiator and at the same time prevent boilovers.

[Elroi]

check for discoloration around the water pump. baka meron kakulay ng coolant mo.. baka maliit lang yung leak at nag-evaporate agad due to heat ng engine.

[vinj]

First change your radiator cap... especially if you have not done so in the past 3 years. Next check your water pump... if' it's leaking it'll only leak when the engine is running so do a visual for any water dripping (other then the a/c) with the engine operational.

If you have checked on both then it's time to look at other possibilities but there's a more than 50% chance it's with the rad cap being worn out already and releasing water/coolant under pressure.

[niky]

Same goes for hoses... they may not look like they are leaking at rest or idle, but may sprout pinpoint leaks under heavy load.

[finchy18]

same here. leaking hose nakita ko under the hose talaga pero morning lng mas makikita if nka coolant ka. green

[oliver1013]

Kumuha ka ng puting papel, itapat mo sa tambutso mo pag naka idling. Pag may talsik na itim i check mo kung basa o moist. pag basa malamang cylinder head gasket. ibig sabihin pumapasok ang tubig sa makina.

[kurt]

no traces talaga, weird.

trying a stronger mix of coolant para hindi na mag evaporate ang water. but i think 1 liter of coolant is too mch na coz medyo matagal na umakyat to normal temp. before was using 500ml only

about the caps, yes yun ang una suspect ko, the resovoir cap first. kasi plastic lang sya kaya can come loose easily, hindi naman (but i really believe a loose reservoir cap made me lose water in the first place). the radiator cap fits snugly, the neck of the radiator is not malformed or uneven, even the spring is working ok. i usually refill water via th reservoir about 250ml a month.

baka mechanic nalang talaga, it could be dripping from the water pump but too minute to detect as a puddle on the floor. or bad luck in the surplus radiator.

just came from a 90min trip to manila from marikina. aside from the usual flauctation in temp (no overheating) car's normal. will check in the morning if i lost some water.

thanks

[OTEP]

It's possible that your water pump is not turning as fast as it should be or water in the radiator is not flowing as fast as it should be (e.g. barado ang radiotor core).

Resulting in water not circulating to the radiator.

Causing it to boil over and become vapor exiting via the overflow hose.

Resulting in water loss.

[impulzz]

happened to me, no visible leaks upon inspection pero maguguglat ka na lang biglang tataas temp...pag tingin mo sa radiator ubos ang tubig pero walang basa sa engine bay.. so pinagaw nung friend ko... pinalagyan ng food coloring sa radiator to see saan ang tulo sa cooling system, turns out pin hole sa radiator na sobrang liit... na yung tulo bago pa mabasa egine bay, nag evaporate na... kaya overhaul radiator... ayos na

[Cobalt Blue]

Change your radiator cap usually ang radiator cap mukhang okay pero nauubos ung tubig and try overhauling the radiator you need to do this sometime and it helps na bombahan ng tubig ung radiator once in a while for old cars or for cars na wla nang coolant. My mechanic told me that if you have a car nad rans out of coolant replace it immediately with coolant and wilkins mineral water kasi to avoid corrosion. Ako my cars if ever kailangan dag dagan i use bottled water not from the faucet.

[kurt]

has any one tried a "stop radiator leaks" product. i always see these chemicals made by prestone. will it work as claimed or db kaya it will enhance clogging or other ill effects. pang lubricate din daw ng water pump.

at around ph200 might want to try it muna kahit stop gap solution. budget constraints kasi for radiator repair or water pump replacement.

right now the condition is, after about 100kms of daily drive, maybe 6-8 ounces of water daily replace ko. and thats with a strong coolant mix na.

[tuned]

This is a clear sign of cylinder head gasket failing. Have it check and replace.

[buraot]

This is a clear sign of cylinder head gasket failing. Have it check and replace.

any other sign of a defective cylinder head gasket? notice ko kasi nagbabawas na din ng tubig engine ko, eh...


thanks..

[mikejohnny]

lagi nauubos tubig sa radiator pero dun sa coolant reservoir meron naman lagi. then meron parang konti oil na napapansin ko sa loob ng radiator pag nilagyan ng tubig. one more thing parang amoy gas ang tubig sa reservoir at radiator.

[speedyfix]

might be a head gasket failure pero hard to say for sure

[speedyfix]

open the rad cap, start the car. kung malakas talsik ng tubig then it's busted.