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    thomas27's Avatar
    thomas27 Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #1

    Nov 2, 2005, 12:56 PM
    Anti freeze leak
    I have a 99' chrysler lhs leaking anti-freeze. Its not a slow leak, I am constantly adding more around once every other week. I can't figure it out where it is going. No puddles or spots, not in the oil, it's just disapearing. I have high miles (151k) and I am fearing the worst. Is it leaking into my engine? Head gasket? Loose hose? Resivoir? Where is it going? Keep in mind I don't know much about cars plus these chryslers are hard to "get to" which makes it hard to work on and hard to diagnose the problem. What are the possibilities? Should I trade or could it be "worth" fixing?
    CroCivic91's Avatar
    CroCivic91 Posts: 729, Reputation: 23
    Senior Member
     
    #2

    Nov 2, 2005, 04:03 PM
    I can tell you my experience.

    On my '90 Honda Civic, I had a coolant leak. When the winter came, I noticed that when I stopped at the light stop, white smoke would rise from under my hood. I checked the temp gauge, and it was fine. I just thought that perhaps it's snow that's thawing since the hood is warm. I popped the hood once and noticed that the radiator is leaking. I bought a new radiator and fixed the problem.

    It had a tiny crack at the top, so no water could drip out, it could only escape by evaporating.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
    Uber Member
     
    #3

    Nov 2, 2005, 06:33 PM
    You could be lucky like Cro. With colder morning, are you getting more white exhaust than you remember? Does it smell white? Pull the plugs. Do any of them have a lump of crud? All bad signs of a leaky head gasket. One other thing, is to open the hood and look around good with both a cold and hot engine. Some leaks show up with one but not the other.
    thomas27's Avatar
    thomas27 Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #4

    Nov 2, 2005, 09:46 PM
    Thank you for your help so far
    No exhaust but I do smell the coolant at all times it's a pretty strong odor. I need to check the plugs tomorrow when I have some daylight then I'll get back with you.
    fredg's Avatar
    fredg Posts: 4,926, Reputation: 674
    Ultra Member
     
    #5

    Nov 3, 2005, 06:32 AM
    Radiator leak
    Hi,
    I know this might sound dumb, but have you put in a container of "Radiator Stop-Leak"?
    There are different brands and names on the market. Try a container, see if it works.
    It just might stop the leak, and doesn't cost very much to try it.
    About trading cars; your car is about 6 yrs old. I keep mine, both car and pickup truck, for at least 10 yrs, maybe longer, depending on what has to be repaired. Short of putting a new engine in it, I would keep your car, have the leak fixed. You can always get an estimate before any repairs are made.
    Even trading yours for another "used vehicle" means losing money. Personally, I don't buy "new" vehicles anymore... lose too much money in the process.
    DAVE231's Avatar
    DAVE231 Posts: 91, Reputation: 9
    Junior Member
     
    #6

    Nov 3, 2005, 08:48 AM
    One place that may leak and be hard to detect is the heater core. If you get a strong smell inside the car, especially when the heat is turned on, check it out. Just a guess because that happened to me once.
    thebriggsdude's Avatar
    thebriggsdude Posts: 1,096, Reputation: 53
    Ultra Member
     
    #7

    Nov 3, 2005, 04:21 PM
    Quote Originally Posted by fredg
    Hi,
    I know this might sound dumb, but have you put in a container of "Radiator Stop-Leak"?
    There are different brands and names on the market. Try a container, see if it works.
    It just might stop the leak, and doesn't cost very much to try it.
    About trading cars; your car is about 6 yrs old. I keep mine, both car and pickup truck, for at least 10 yrs, maybe longer, depending on what has to be repaired. Short of putting a new engine in it, I would keep your car, have the leak fixed. You can always get an estimate before any repairs are made.
    Even trading yours for another "used vehicle" means losing money. Personally, I don't buy "new" vehicles anymore.....lose too much money in the process.
    I wouldn't try it though, unless your getting ready to trade it in, just think about it, say bars stop leak... stops small leaks, which is essentially a tiny hole, then think about your radiator, heater coil, thermostat, hoses, water pump... the radiator and especially the heater coil have tiny holes inside to carry around coolant.


    Though I would expect myself, a heater coil.
    thomas27's Avatar
    thomas27 Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #8

    Nov 7, 2005, 08:35 AM
    I pulled the plugs and didn't see any crud.
    Van's Avatar
    Van Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #9

    Nov 25, 2005, 04:14 PM
    I think you may need an compressor test on your cooling systems the find out hidden leaks. I have the same problem on my Ford Falcon. The radiator only shown the leak under pressure. Since replaced the radiator I do not have to top water daidy. Good Luck.
    :)
    thomas27's Avatar
    thomas27 Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #10

    Nov 25, 2005, 06:45 PM
    Under pressure
    I've had a coolant pressure test... nothing showed up... cost $90. The crysler place told me it would cost at least another $90 to see if its in the head gasket or manifold. I told them to f@#k off. I can't keep putting money into their not-so-diagnostic tests.
    thomas27's Avatar
    thomas27 Posts: 25, Reputation: 5
    New Member
     
    #11

    Dec 5, 2005, 02:53 PM
    Now its making noise... not knocking but it sounds like something is loose.

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