Car x/2.5 is losing coolant and if a/c is on it seems to go quicker. Thought I found the issue which was a broken plastic nipple on expansion tank. Repaired it, topped the coolant and same issue. Do not see any visible leaks. Oil looks good on dipstick. Can it be coolant pressure cap? Or something else?

 

dvd711, start the car, drive it around the block to get the motor up to temp. Now, with the A/C system on, leave the car parked in one spot for about 5 minutes. At the end of the 5 minutes, move the car from that spot so you can see where the firewall of the car would have been setting. You should see a small puddle of liquid there (this is normal). Is that liquid clear, or is it colored? If it is colored, there is your source of leakage and you need to replace your heater core. If the liquid is clear, then we know the heater core is good.

If you have fixed the expansion tank, then the next likely place is going to be your water pump. This is not an easy leak to see. If you have any mechanical ability and you do not know when the last time the water pump was replaced (or it has been over 100K miles since the last one), I would say to spend the $50 or so and put a new water pump in. Sometimes you can look down behind the battery to on top of the tranny and you will see where coolant is starting to collect in a little recess there.

 

Chris..Thanks for the quick reply. Will check heater core. Have looked underneath after driving and running a/c and nothing dripping which seems unusual but will look again.
Replaced the water pump myself 6 mos ago but will check again as well as last time it was hard to spot the actual leak.
One other question. Why does it seem to lose more coolant with the a/c on?

 

dvd711, there is nothing specific to the A/C and the coolant system. The only "commonality" between them is the radiator/condensor assembly. Unless you have a leak there (would not be the first one), nothing else is really common. Besides, anything that would work with the A/C system would have the coolant system in operation all the time. So, the A/C should have no effect on the amount of leakage. Only thing I could possibly think is that the compressor puts more load on the engine and that somehow is causing the water pump to get more load to it. But, they are using 2 different belts, so, even that argument doesn't stand up. This is an interesting one.

 

Chris..once again thanks for quick reply. Checked all suggested and no water at all and no drip from core. Topped up the rez twice and will monitor. Maybe air was just purging out of system. Probably added close to a gal. back. From what I can see it's a closed system and vents to radiator. Excess air pressure vents through cap??? Thanks again Chris...Dave

 

dvd711, air does not escape from the system except when it exceeds a certain pressure (15 psig?) But then, the whole coolant system is pressurized to that when that happens. Hence why it is recommended that you fill the system, run the car, get most of the air out of the internal passages, let it cool, then open up the reservoir to allow the extra gases to escape. You can also have the cap off, start up the engine, get it up to temp, letting all the gases escape that way (refilling as needed). The problem with doing it this way is you can not reinstall the cap until the motor is essentially cold. To install the cap earlier will put the system at a negative pressure and can lead to early overheating of the motor since the temperature that water boils at is a function of the pressure it is seeing (ie, higher the pressure, higher the temp for boiling, the higher the vacuum, the lower the temperature).

 

Thanks again. Will keep an eye on it and let you know.

 

Hey Chris just wanted to let you know that rez has now maintained level w/without a/c running. So air must have been the issue. Once again thanks for all your help and rapid replies. This forum is the best.

 

dvd711, not a problem. We will get to the end of any issue with enough time and effort.

 

I had the same problem last summer with the coolant. I couldn't find any leaks and replaced the expansion tank. I called the dealership at the time and through the forum, understand that this was a common problem with the x-type. I have an '03. The dealership said that sometimes the computer takes awhile to reset since it didn't pass inspection, which I tried earlier than normal. I had to go away on business, came back and the battery was dead. It didn't hold a charge. Got a new battery and it still doesn't communicate with the state(NY) computer to pass inspection. A mechanic suggested a common ground problem. All checked OK according to the pin suggestions. Any other sensors or other problems associated with the coolant leak that I could check? You were a big help on the last posting Thermo and all!

 

Does any one know any other issues this could be other than the head gasket, i did over heat recently i bought a new t tube and changed the coolant reservoir, did not change any of the coolant tubes , have no ac in the vehichle due to a bad radiator im guessing, people say it could be my head gasket just wondering if there is any other issues that i don't know about that could be causing this much coolant to just disappear,

 

My question are:
1. Do you factually know the radiator is bad?
2. Is the temperature gauge reading above center? Does the car overheat?

3. When you say "causing this much coolant to disappear" (weekly) if so how much?

Often though not always signs of a head gasket failure will be coolant mixed in the oil and or vica versa.

Let us know

 

Head gasket failure = Coolant mixed in oil = pull dipstick, it will be gray and gooey

 

no i dont know factual that the radiator is bad just recently my a/c has stopped working since the incident where i overheated and blew the T tube, i fixed that, i just got back in with checking under the car and did notice a major leak comming from underneath the engline, im goona bring it into my mechanic next week and see whats causing the leak and no coolant is in the oil at all i just got an oil change last week and oil is still clean, the coolant levels drop from max to min within about a day or two

leaking from around this area best photo i could get

 

looks like its near the water pump but hard to tell without further investigating

 

No i dont know the radiator is bad , my car is at 180k hasnt ever been replaced it looks shot tho, , the car does feel like its too hot in the hood while runnng a short period of time like a 20 minute drive, but my temp gauge stays center and i do have a leak so thank you guys for replying so quick i jut hope it nothing too serious

 

Grizzly4200. I would start with simply pulling the under tray and then letting the car idle and get up to temp (if it starts to overheat, turn off the engine). But, as the car is idling, place paper under the car and see where the drops are forming. Look straight up and that will be the general area of the leak. If you don't want to go that route, then I would get my hands on a coolant system tester and then remove the intake from the air boxes to hte throttlebody. This will give you room to see where a leak is forming. Then you can press the coolant system up to say 15 psig and you should see your leak that way.

The other thing you can do is get yourself a black light. Most coolants these days have a UV dye in them. So, you open the hood/bonnet at night and shine a black light into the engine bay, the area where the leak is will light up big time. That will get you into the area. But, if it is near the water pump, then odds are, it is your water pump. A new water pump on this car is one of the easiest jobs that this car has.

 

okay perfect thank you so much for your replies, i will do this tomorrow morning once the sun comes back out, and i will keep you guys posted with the outcome from where this leak came from, definitely going to check the water pump first see if thats the issue,