no coolant?

[DSMoverJDM]

before i start id like to let you guys know i have a 97 eclipse n/t
ok so i have looked over a few coolant related threads and couldnt find much of a solution so hope you guys can help me. my cars temp gauge works fine, always stays in the middle, during some cold mornings itl stay more towards the cold side. now one day it just starts shooting up towards the H. i was idleing and it shoots even higher so i turn the car off and wait a little. i turn it back on and it goes back to the middle. the minute i put it into drive it starts shooting up again.

i decide to look under my hood and check if i have any coolant issues, my reservoir was and is full but when i open the radiator cap , inside is almost bone dry. i had to manually put some down there and now that i check this morning it is not as dry but i would think it supposed to have at least some coolant in there? is there a hose i have that might be leaky? do i have air bubbles maybe? idk much im still a noob at dsm's if anyone could help me with this

 

[Bobster66]

If you are not blowing white smoke out the exhaust, then it is probably just a leak. Fill it up, go for a short drive to fully warm up the car and then stop and look in and under the engine bay for leaks. try to trace all the hoses and take a good look at the rad.

 

[undefined0000]

I would say to smell the exhaust for maple syrup, but with how much you're losing, you should be blowing white smoke. You could get a cooling system pressurizer and pressurize it to see if it holds pressure and find leaks from there. If you do have air in it, try burping it by putting a spill-proof system of some sort over the radiator cap and run the car till the t-stat opens. Its a little ghetto, but its worked as a last second thing. Last thing would be to have someone sitting in the car, run the car and just watch for leaks, have the person sitting in there to turn the car off when it gets a little too hot (a smidgen past half-way) to avoid warping anything.

 

[DSMoverJDM]

my car does burn some whitish/grey smoke but not so often tho. on start-ups or when i idle for a few then it does blow some smoke.

 

[undefined0000]

my car does burn some whitish/grey smoke but not so often tho. on start-ups or when i idle for a few then it does blow some smoke.

Grey blue smoke would be oil. Go back there and sniff for maple syrup, don't shove your nose in tailpipe though.

You are burning oil though and that can be an indication of another issue.

 

[DSMoverJDM]

i was told that was a valve cover or seal something like that i forgot

 

[undefined0000]

i was told that was a valve cover or seal something like that i forgot

That would be valve stem seals

 

[DSMoverJDM]

yes thats what it was . going to have to get those replaced as well

 

[JDT]

Try replacing your thermostat or drive around without it for a little and see if your car still overheats. Also, when the car is warmed up check if the top radiator hose is getting hot.

 

[gst96spyderman]

head gasket anyone? Is oil milky. Do a leak down test to see your numbers. Hope thats not it and is just a leak.

 

[Kod]

420a I would say check your head gasket.. if you change the oil see if its water or if the anti freeze you have looks choclate milk like or if your oil is like choclate milk.. if you have the money get a tester for it, it just a fluid you get that you wait for a air bubble from the anti freeze to come up and pop and suck it into the tube (the air from the bubble) and if it turns yellow you have a head gasket issue without a doubt.

Think blue point? makes it.

 

[gst96spyderman]

Leak down or compression test... I forget, but you should do this first... Search it, and there will be more than enough info about it... Save you the process of installing things that are hard to get to if you have to replaxe the headgasket. Because thats a serious list.

 

[JDT]

You can also try pulling your spark plugs and checking them for signs of coolant if you're worried about the head gasket.

 

[moonstation2000]

I had this problem on my 94 TSi, turned out to be the radiator cap. Once the system got hot the cap would release the coolant in the form of steam and the car would slowly run dry of coolant. Would take a week of driving around town. Took a while to figure it out.

I would recommend a new cap, it's a cheap fix. If I'm wrong and some of these other posters are correct and you have a more serious problem like a head gasket then it will show up again. But why not start with the easy cheap stuff and cross your fingers for luck?

 

[DSM1G90]

420A DODGE motors have the T-stat mounted vertically. Bet you're experiencing air lock in the system.

Airlock is when the coolant level is below the T-stat and air pressure, created by the rising temp of the coolant is below the T-stat is preventing the coolant to to into the T-stat, thus making your temp gauge climb until the T-stat opens then the gauge drops to normal.

It's a horrible and sucky design by Chrysler.

Easy fix:

Take the T-stat out, drill a .050 hole in the T-stat flange. When remounting the T-stat, have the hole at the 12:00 position when you reinstall the t-stat and your cooling issues will be over with since this little mod eliminates Airlock.

I used to do this trick on all vertically mounted T-stats that suffered similar overheating issues...esp with the DODGE 2.2/2.5L motors.

Good luck - DSM