Coolant Leak?

[magus0216]

I was driving my car one night and whenever I stopped I could hear this weird gurgling noise. I popped the hood and the coolant level was normal and I wasnt hearing the noise anymore. So a few weeks later I was driving on the interstate and my AC turns off and the temp gauge shoots way past the highest mark on the gauge. As im driving steam is coming out from under my hood so when I got home I popped the hood and saw that the coolant was boiling! After the engine cooled I filled up the radiator with coolant and the reservoir but it drains after driving and I have to fill it up again. Usually what happens when im driving is my AC stops blowing cold and the temp rises a little above normal but not overheating so I turn off the AC and let it cool down to normal and when I turn the AC back on it works normally with no overheating? I'm guessing that I'm leaking fluid somewhere and I was wondering if there is a common place that this happens or how I could find out where its happening.

[WeldingHank]

you've probably toasted a headgasket by now.

[silkk]

thats not good

[magus0216]

I know its not good, what should I do. Any advice?

[180fan]

1. check for bubbles/leaks in your cooling system. that'll eff up your day real good. 2. check your oil. If it looks like a brown chocolate kinda slurry stuff, you're in the dog house man. time to change your head gasket.

[WeldingHank]

check the compression.

[magus0216]

im a noob so i dont know how to check the compression. im gonna change the oil tommorow and drain the coolant. is there a way to take off the valve cover and check the head gasket to see if its blown? if i do need a new one is this a job i can do myself, i hate taking my car to a mechanic.

[frapjap]

Head gasket involes quite a bit of work (taking off accesories, pumps, lines blah blah blah). If its shot, you may have ruined more than that. I did : ( If you have, look for another KA. They're pretty cheap and hopefully won't have the problems that will come of yours.

[magus0216]

wow, each reply is getting more and more dismal

[ricebike]

2. check your oil. If it looks like a brown chocolate kinda slurry stuff, you're in the dog house man. time to change your head gasket.

magus0216, yup, that's the easiest way to check if your headgasket has gone waay bad... no need to take off the valve cover...

just get under there & drain the oil/ u haveta change it anyway since u put the oil under soo much stress anyways.

[180fan]

When you fill the coolant, look for the little yellow sticker that says "do not open when hot" somewhere around your coolant lines. You'll need to open that and fill your cooling system via the radiator and cap that bolt when coolant starts to flow out of there. Then focus on your radiator and fill. Cap the radiator when it's at the top, squeeze your radiator hoses and uncap then refill. Repeat until you've got as much coolant in there as possible. Then start your car, squeeze your radiator hose, after a minute or so, turn off the motor, let cool and refill.

a blown headgasket you'll see if you drain the oil or if you also check down your oil filler. You should be able to stick your finger in there with the motor OFF and have a check at the oil and see if it looks like coffee. Coffee colored is bad and you'll be screwed.

[magus0216]

well, if it is the headgasket how screwed am I? If I replace it will I have already ruined other engine components? And heres an update, I checked my coolant level today in the reservoir and it was at minimum, then I drove the car and the level had gone between min and max. Also, I checked the radiator and there was coolant visible. Whats going on?

[silkk]

if you have a blown headgasket, you should keep your car off the road until you get it fixed. if you keep driving it with it blown, it'll ruin the engine.

the reservoir is also known as the overflow tank, and thats why the level went up because the radiator was building up too much pressure so the coolant had to go in the reservoir.

when you looked inside the radiator, did you see the core or was it filled with coolant so you couldn't see?

[Twinchy]

i have the same problem that magus has i am gonna check my oil today...i just did a oil change on saturday but i'll see what color it is right now.... what if my oil is still golden? is there another problem that it could be?

[nab911]

It could be a straight leak. Are you guys finding pudles under your cars or are they smoking from the engine bay at all? Maybe someone put a tampon in your radiators

[lilvtboigotrice]

i have the same problem, i open the radiator cap and i cant see the core, just antifreeze.....the levels of my antifreeze went up and i see a little puddle under the car, no smoke though....what could the problem be?

[s13EastTN]

Probably just a basic leak. Try finding a portable black light(can get them at wal-mart) and a dark place(or night time). Now move your black light over your engine bay. If any antifreeze is leaking or has leaked it should turn up bright white. Ever notice if antifreeze dries on hoses and such it leaves a white powdery dust like stuff behind? Thats in there to help you find the leak by using a black light. If you don't find anything go under the car, as there should be a trail from where the coolant leaked down and that should point you in the right direction.

[magus0216]

good news, i changed the oil today and the color was normal oil color. I decided to drain/fill my radiator also. Turns out I didn't have nearly enough coolant running through there. I'm used a radiator flushing fluid to clean out my radiator and now I'm waiting for the engine to cool to refill the system, then run, and top off. Hopefully all goes well. I'll also try using the blacklight idea to look for leaks, thanks s13EastTN