What's up guys... So more issues with the car. I drove it quite a bit over the weekend and on the way home the coolant low light came on.

The car had been driven 50 miles to la at light throttle and then driven home several hours later at light throttle when the light came on.

I had the tube u nder the blower swapped about 6-7k ago. Glancing at it I didn't see any coolant on the ground or on the underbelly tray. The coolant level did look low but I'm not certain cause the car was parked on a hill.

I'm gonna check it out more in depth tonight after work. I'll probably let the car idle for some time and see if I can spot anything.

Arrrgg!

 

make sure the O-ring on the expansion tank isnt leaking, if it is, you can goto harbor freight and buy the block oring kit, refresh your NORMA fittings, and there is an oring that also works for the expansion tank in that kit.

Its $7.99 for the assortment box.

 

Thanks for the input. I'm hoping that it's just an o ring starting to go. A cheap fix would be nice since I spent thousands on the car in the past year...


How's the chiller project coming?

 

its chugging along, once I get the car back its ready to drop in!

 

mafioso, I need a chiller. A tuner downloaded the ECU program from my STR and sent it to his tuner/friend for analysis then dyno-tune.

 

Hey what coolant do we need again? Or what brand and make are you guys using?

 

Allright... took a look at it yesterday after work. The coolant tank was about halfway to the bottom. It was way below the min level.

I checked the fittings on the bottom of the overflow tank and didn't see any indications of leakage.

I did notice what appeared to be dried up orange coolant splash on the driver's side valve cover, the supercharger snout, and the bottom side of the intake tube(the plastic one to the maf). It looks like one of the hoses there may be starting to go. It almost seems like it must be leaking from the top side of one of the hoses because it's on the bottom of the intake tube; that is unless its splashing off the engine and accessories.

It took a few photos that I'll upload today once I download them. Do any of you guys know of any problem spots in this area that would result in this happening? Maybe it's a hose splitting at the hose clamp or something.

Also, I did idle the car and get it up to temp but I didn't see anything.

 

Time to pray it's not the hose that runs under the SC.........

 

My 2005 STR has had two small pin hole leaks in the snake pit of coolant hoses on the front of the engine. First you are very smart to have changed the hose under the supercharger out. That is a whammer-Jammer to change!!

Did you not change all your coolant hoses at that time?? There are a lot but surprisingly the prices were almost all pretty good. Most of the hoses are in the $20-$30 range.

I only found both leaks using a pressure tester. It's just too hot and crowded to be able to see where the problem is. Let the engine cool overnight and then pressure test. Also be careful with the top radiator tank. Mine was fine until I cracked a small nipple on top. That was another $120!!! At least the tank does come with a new cap so it was not all bad.

As was mentioned above one big failure point after removing/replacing the top tank is the main hose connection. It is unlike any I have seen. It's an O-ring seal with a wire snap retainer. The wire retainer MUST be snapped in place. It is very hard to tell if it's properly in place. So double and triple check that connection after any repair. We had a fellow STR guy have that blow out while driving and it's such a massive coolant leak that he burned up the motor before he knew what happened.
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Cool. Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can get a loaner tool from autozone to pressurize the system.

I tried to replace the hose under the blower but I threw in the towel and had it done. They replaced that hose but didn't touch anything else other than the intercooler gaskets.

 

My TB return line spring a leak once, its the one running next to the intercooler on top, on the passeneger side.

 

Here's some pics of the dried coolant which gives you an idea of the area....

 

Thanks for the pictures. Your car looks almost exactly like mine did. I bet with the pressure tester you will find it in 10 minutes. Keep the intake tube off like you have it. I hope it is a hose and not something with a gasket or a pinhole in the Aluminum somewhere.
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looks like a tear in the T-stat gasket!

 

I have a low temp t stat ready to go already!

 

that would be my offical E-diagnosis on the coolant leak, if you can snap more pictures around the T-stat housing we can confirm that.

Thats the good thing about orange coolant, its not shy to let you know where its coming from, our engine bays are jsut too cramped to get a good look.

 

okay.,. so I went to autozone today and have one of their pressure testers. The only thing is that the part that is supposed to mount to the radiator cap doesn't fit ours. Ours is threaded unlike the traditional ones. How or what pressure tester are you guys using to pressure test your coolant system?

 

I bought mine from harbor freight.

 

Qwiketz, I had the exact problem happen to me today. I first smelled some coolant and within seconds the low coolant message came one. When I stopped I noticed some coolant at almost the same area as in your pictures. I'm wondering if others have experienced this issue.

 

This is just FYI to those reading this thread and are curious about replacement of the Throttle Body Coolant Return Hose. After searching the forums I came across a thread in which ttwootees did this procedure. This is also available in the S-Type FAQ thread.

supercharger-removal-coolant-leak-repair