Infiniti :: 2003 - Hard To Locate Coolant Leak / No Visible Signs
Apr 4, 2013
Our '03 Infiniti I35 lost large amounts of coolant each time on 2 long trips but when we did a pressure check, we couldn't get it to leak anywhere we could see and no visible signs of where it may have leaked while driving (no drip lines, puddles, etc.). We're not sure where the water pump is located, but have been told it's internal to the engine, so how can we tell if it's gone bad? Would the coolant burn off with no visible signs? We changed the radiator cap but no change. We use a trusted shade tree mechanic, but he's stumped.
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On starting today I had an alarm to check coolant. Never had this before - and the expansion tank was dry. No visible signs of loss - Oil seems fine and free from contaminant.. so I guess not the head gasket!
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I have a 2005 Cadillac CTS with a 2.8 V-6. I have changed the Mobil One oil when ever the oil life has hit 50% since the car was new. I have 122,000 miles on the car now. In just the past few months I have noticed the coolant level going down at a rate of about 1/4 inch ever week with no visible signs of any leaks. I have pressured tested the radiator and the test comes back with no pressure loss. I also am losing about a 1/3 to a 1/2 quart of oil ever week with no signs of any leaks or smoke out of the exhaust pipe. I drive about 600 miles a week. My son is a tech at the local Chevrolet dealer. He has looked over the car and can find no visible cause for the fluid loss.
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I started loosing a bunch of coolant on my tdi which is still under 36k and there is no visible leaks anywhere
Took the car to the dealer last night to get it checked out and they were ready to send me back home telling me there is no issue since they don't see any leaks under the car
Either way after telling them that I have already gone through 2 gallons of coolant they decided to top off the coolant and ask me to drive 200 miles.
I drove 156 miles last night since I need to get this issue resolved and now the coolant tank is empty again... sitting at the dealer while I'm typing this.
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I've had to replace my radiator twice due to it overheating. I am noticing coolant level going down but I'm not seeing any signs of an external leak. My garage is saying it is probably internal and going into the engine. Says I probably have to replace the head gasket but that will be very expensive.
Could I get some further feedback on what it could be and what else I could do? I am also getting a check engine light on a "lean mixture" issue. Not sure if they are related.
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I have a 2006 Jeep Liberty (2WD), 149k miles, that has been using a lot of antifreeze lately. I am using a full 50/50 gallon mix about once a week. I do not have any visible leaks. My heater no longer works and I was not sure if that may be a cause. The check engine light is on, but has been since I purchased the vehicle in 2012. I thought it may be a gasket, but do not see any white smoke from the exhaust. I am not hearing any strange sounds, so I am perplexed.
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My 1999 mercury mountaineer 4.0 smells like coolant there r no visible leaks overflow is at the normal the temp gauge didn't go high and the cap is cold IM kinda confused...........
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Just noticed my level is about an inch below the full mark, it was fine at the last oil change, no leaks that I can see....nothing on the ground.
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My 2002 has had a slow coolant leak for quite a while (maybe a quart a month). Now, however, I am losing over a gallon a week, but with NO visible leak!
The oil is clear, with no signs of antifreeze in it, so I am guessing the head gaskets are ok. But I am perplexed as to where my coolant is going!
After reading more threads in the forum, (which I should have done more thoroughly before posting,) it seems that I may indeed have a head gasket leak. From what I've learned, that would cause me to lose coolant through the exhaust while driving, and would explain why I don't see a visible leak anywhere. Am I on the right track? Before I replace the head gaskets, are there any other causes that may have a simpler fix??
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I have a '98 Honda Civic with 230K miles on it. Last month, I suddenly saw few drops of coolant on my garage floor. I opened the hood and saw coolant splashed over the engine. I opened the coolant reservoir and it was empty. Surprisingly, the car never overheated and neither did the temp needle go up. I took the car to the mechanic (Honda shop) and they said that the radiator is leaking. I replaced the radiator and after driving for couple of weeks, the same issue re-occurred.
The coolant ran low in the reservoir and there was coolant splash over the engine. I took the car back to the shop and they said that the hose was not properly installed. They fixed it and said there is no sign of leak. I have been driving for a week now and check the coolant routinely. I have noticed that the coolant level has again dropped significantly. But, after the last fix, I do not see any visible sign of leak. There is no evidence of coolant anywhere under the hood. I am not sure if there is something else going on now. Is there something else I should check?
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I am a clueless 2003 Volkswagen Passat 1.8L Turbo owner. My power steering line has a visible leak that I can see underneath the front bumper. The leak is now more like a hole and was caused by the line dragging after the car was in the shop. I guess someone bumped it or it got knocked loose, but at this point, I need to just get the line fixed. The leak is on a U shaped part of the line, and I can take a picture of it.
I also understand that the power steering fluid is not the standard type...where do they sell the kind I need?
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In the past, I've had the common issues of vacuum leaks causing issues as evident from the defrost/ac and then finding busted vacuum lines. Changed out and everything fine for a few years. Now, i dont have 4wd but i dont have the tell tale vacuum leak signs. Also, even if i manually engage the hubs, still no 4wd.
I try to listen for the transfer case to engage when i switch from 2wd to 4wd, I think I hear it engaging, but to be honest the 7.3 makes so much racket Im not positive that Im hearing it, or at least not hearing it the way I "think" that i heard it in the past. I seem to recall a distinctive clunk when engaging, now its barely audible if at all. Now when I switch to 4-Low, there is the distinctive sound, and it does goes into low drive, just that its only 2wd-low, still no front wheel action.
I have never had any issues before other than the vacuum leaks, have never had reason to dig into the transfer case for any reason. The only time it has ever been touched was last summer when i had the BTS installed and all they did was remove and replace.
Do I finally need to either rebuild or replace my hubs? Is it possible not to have 4wd even with hubs manually engaged? Or is there an issue with the t-case? Or is there something else going on? I have access to a lift to attempt "driving" while all wheels off the ground, its just not mine and its a tight fit and a pain to get my truck on it.
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I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt, 2.2L engine and am having a few problems. I believe I am losing coolant somewhere, but cannot ever see any leaks or anything on the ground where I park. I am having to top off the reservoir a couple times a month with water/coolant to keep the temperature from going up above normal (which I've found is around 190 degrees). I first noticed this when the temperature had reached 230 degrees! I also hear a sound like sloshing water in the front end when I first start and drive the vehicle. The sloshing usually subsides after I've been driving for several minutes. To top it all off I now have a bit of foam on the oil cap and the oil looks a tad bit cloudy.
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Getting po171 and 174 codes. Also losing coolant, but unable to locate source of coolant loss. Had a 2000 Tahoe that had the same problem and had to replace the upper/lower intake manifold gaskets. I'm guessing I'm having the exact same problem with the suburban. Is this a common thing with the tahoes/suburbans? Anyway just want to see if everyone else thinks and if this is most likey my problem. Still getting good gas mileage and power....nothing is off...just getting those codes from time to time and losing coolant, but unable to find the leak.
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I've had my R32 for a year, in that time the car has used a quart of coolant in 9K miles. Is this normal? No visible leaks.
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2007 Mini Cooper (Not the S model) burning coolant. Have brought to two mechanics and no visible external leaks. Both did a pressure test and was fine. They think the head gasket is blown. Car is operating normal.
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2010 Prius IV, Purchased July '13 with 133k. Now 175k. Other than drivers rear hub & brake recall, never an issue...until now. It the past 3 weeks, it has "went through" 3.5 quarts of oil. NO SIGNS of a leak (no puddles on floor and the "padding" on the pan side of the access door is dry). Doesn't smoke at all. The oil dipstick isn't rusted out.
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I started noticing a burning oil smell a few weeks ago after driving to and from work. Then I noticed drops of oil on the floor in the garage. I wanted to start a consumption test so I scheduled an appointment at my dealer and asked them to look at the leak.
The invoice says they replaced some screws and a bolt near the turbo and cleaned the area. That was Monday. Today there are a few fresh drops and the burning oil smell is back as I drove to work. I made another appointment for Friday. What this could be.?
I'm at 53k miles and glad it's still covered. Just hope they get to the bottom of it.
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On my 2000 Ford Windstar when I step hard on the gas I have a coolant leak from the back side of the motor and had antifreeze coming up onto the windshield when I turned on the heat. I took the van into the shop and they did a pressure test on it and could not find any leaks and after this I didn't notice any leaks or smell of antifreeze. Drove the van 400 miles with no problem but last Friday I had to step on the gas to exit a parking lot and then again I smelled coolant and my van was steaming. I added coolant and drove it and it is fine now. There is no oil in the coolant tank.
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I have an Oct 2001 2.7 GLS which apart from the odd ABS Tone Wheel and speed sensor issues has been uber reliable and a real pleasure to own (I've had it from new).
We had a problem about a year ago when the wife didn't get the fuel cut-off when filling up and over filled the car resulting in fuel pouring out of the tank vent and down the fuel tank under the car but after a long drive that cleared up and has not happened again. Interestingly we didn't get any engine CEL's or have any codes turn up at all when checked by my mechanic.
Over the past couple of weeks we have noticed a very strong smell of fuel under the car around the fuel tank. I can't see any indication that there is a fuel leak but have noticed when filling up that the smell is very strong and as the car runs the fuel down the smell reduces to almost nothing.
Today I removed the rear seats and the fuel pump access panels to see if there was any seeping around the pump gaskets but couldn't see anything and the top of the tank around the both pumps was a dry as a bone. Using a torch I did however notice that there was a darkening of the fuel tank surface in the centre which I guess is close to the vent valve, part 311990b:
Or maybe is where the fuel vent pipe runs to?
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I have an 11 F350 6.7. It has just under 200K miles on it. The other day I was driving home, about 100 miles, and my truck's temp spiked. Not like a little spike, but jumped to the 3/4 mark (if there was one) then slowly kept rising to to the overheat mark. I pulled off onto the hard shoulder waited an hour or so to let it cool down, then finished the drive home. All the way home my temp gauge seemed like it was on some sort of drug. It would jump a needle width when I would have to accelerate, then slowly cool to normal after I got up to cruising speed.
Up until this point this truck has been exceedingly reliable. I pull a 13k 5th wheel once a month and drive about 40k-ish miles a year. I also had to refill my degas bottle up to the fill line. Took 2 gallons of Ford VC-3-B Coolant and water mix. After a short run to verify the problem, it took another 1/4 to 1/2 gallon of mix. But, no overheating. No signs of leaks anywhere. Just a strong scent of coolant on shutdown outside the truck. Pressure tested the cap, I don't have a way of testing the system pressure.
Data from Autoenginuity:
Engine Oil temp 195-202 Degrees
Engine Coolant #1: 188.2-199.5 Degrees.
Engine Coolant #2: 125.5-129.9 Degrees.
I have the full CSV file.
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