HELP! Losing Coolant and other ?

[DSM1gTalon]

Ok, so like the title says, Im losing my coolant. Ive had to completely refill my car twice in the last 4 days. I recently switched from the stock overflow to a greddy one which shouldnt matter but does anyone have any clue to as what it can be? The first time I thought it was a loose hose connection which I thought fixed the problem...


Secondly, when I first start up my car evey morning or if it has been sitting for a little while it will start and then the idle just drops and the car shuts off. It also does this if I rev the car up too high or shift out of gear into neutral above 600rpm...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[L2RTSiAWD]

Losing coolant can be the first sign of a headgasket failure. Is the car running hot at all? Do you have any oil in the coolant?

Or it could be as simple as a little hole in a water line. Do you have any puddles under the car?

 

[marcmsj]

you're either burning coolant or there is a leak somewhere.

do you notice any smoke coming out your tail pipe while driving? if you do then you're burning coolant and the first thing i would check would be the headgasket.

if not then you're probably leaking coolant. easiest way would be to pressurize your coolant system, your local parts store should have this tool. if you don't want to buy one, then all you can really do is look around with the car running and see if you see it leaking anywhere.

 

[DSM1gTalon]

You mean coolant in the oil? I actually didnt think towards a head gasket so I havent checked. But to answer your other questions, yes the car is running hot. It almost over heated the first time this happend which was like 4 days ago and no, I havent noticed any puddles.

My buddy said it could be a thermostat issue so Im going to replace that today and also put back on the stock overflow.

 

[DSM1gTalon]

you're either burning coolant or there is a leak somewhere.

do you notice any smoke coming out your tail pipe while driving? if you do then you're burning coolant and the first thing i would check would be the headgasket.

if not then you're probably leaking coolant. easiest way would be to pressurize your coolant system, your local parts store should have this tool. if you don't want to buy one, then all you can really do is look around with the car running and see if you see it leaking anywhere.

thanks, im heading to advanced today so ill check it out

 

[marcmsj]

thanks, im heading to advanced today so ill check it out

that's cool.

running warm doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad gasket, you might have air pockets in your cooling system due to running low on coolant.

but yeah, pressurize your coolant system, listen for hisses, if everything checks out, then i would lean to assume it's the headgasket.

 

[DSM1gTalon]

ok, when i came out of work there was a puddle under my car and it is right under my overflow. the reason it wasnt there the first time was because i originally had it over the xcase so it just puddled up there. when i got home from work, again, lost mostly all coolant and overflow to the brim.

i need to get a new tstat, gasket and plug but i dont wanna risk overheating.

any ideas on maybe what else it could be?

 

[Talesin]

I'm having the same thing happen, though losing it a little slower (about a liter every other day), and I'm actually running really cold, and rich. As in, normally on or just above the line at 'C', and coming up to 1/4 when I drive it really, really hard for about 15 minutes to a half-hour. Constant boost and braking, similar to AX.. but it never even gets to the halfway mark.
Smoke at first startup (overnight condensation), but no smoke while driving. And the coolant is clear of oil, so it's unlikely to be the headgasket. Even if I have a spare.

Suspect the thermostat (maybe a prior owner swapped out for a 180 degree?), but I have no idea. May be picking up a datalogger cable soon... what should I be looking for, by way of normal operating ranges?

 

[terefic181]

Does the Greddy catch can have a siphon hose in it? ( The hose that sticks down inside the catch can)

Tom

 

[badas93tsi]

dont those catch cans have a petcock valve on the bottom? just a thought

 

[GSEclipse06]

Secondly, when I first start up my car evey morning or if it has been sitting for a little while it will start and then the idle just drops and the car shuts off. It also does this if I rev the car up to high or shift out of gear into neutral above 600rpm...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

could be a vacuum issue. my buick had that same problem...granted it was auto but it start, idle, stall all in about 5-10 sec...took sometime 8-10 starts before it would finally stay running. why it would do this in higher rpm's im not sure or out of shifting...like i said it was auto so i cant help you there, but you may want to try looking there. hope it helps.

 

[terefic181]

dont those catch cans have a petcock valve on the bottom? just a thought

That's the direction I was going. If no coolant is being reclaimed then it continues to blow it out on the ground, and then the warmer it runs it blows more out. It's a vicious circle and sooner or later you've run dry.

I run a catch with no return on my race car and I have to fill it after every run.

Just a thought,

Tom

 

[DSM1gTalon]

Does the Greddy catch can have a siphon hose in it? ( The hose that sticks down inside the catch can)

Tom

nope

could be a vacuum issue.

now that you mention it i think it could be. this started happening a while ago but not before i put on my aftermarket intake. maybe i forgot a hose someplace. i know there i put a nipple on one of the little pipes the hoses go onto on the stock maf so i dunno, any idea if that could be the issue or where that line goes to?

 

[GSEclipse06]

yea if u have vacuum hose off that could do it...my vacuum was leaking somewhere we jsut never found where before it died anyway...we scanned it and everything that came up was in sync with a vac leak. does your check engine light come on?

 

[DSM1gTalon]

nope...no lights at all. i can hear a hiss so i know its a vaccuum leak but i cant figure out where its coming from

 

[GSEclipse06]

oh well yours is obd-1 (since its a 90), mine was obd-2 and the leak tripped the engine light on and off, but since its obd-1 it may not register anything

 

[DSM1gTalon]

well, there is no coolant light on cause the sensor was unplugged cause im not using the stock overflow.


anyway, on to a BIGGER problem, i went to install a new tstat and when i did, one of the bolts snapped. anyone have any ideas on how to extract a bolt. i tried heat and vice grips, that was a no go.

 

[DSM1gTalon]

do you guys think this is a headgasket issue or what?