Losing Coolant

[Razor]

Hi
my daily has been losing coolant, I had to top it up every now and then last time was a month ago and had to put 4 litres!!!

There's no visible leaks, I check every time I park the car o/night/
I've checked the oil if there's any water contamination (blown HG) and the radiator but all good.

The car is running good no white smoke.

I took it to a radiator place before and pressure tested it and everything was fine.

Anyone got any idea?

Its the widebody '93 camry 3.0 V6

Thanks in advance

[The Witzl]

you might not be able to see it.... but there could be a leak around the water pump somewhere, and the coolant is evaporating before you see any evidence of a leak.

I had a coolant leak on my corolla once... and i could never find the bastard.... until i took out the engine, and saw the massive white coolant stains on the block behind the water pump (where the coolant had evaporated and left the white chalky mess behind). The outlet hose from the water pump had a small leak that was weeping water, which would hit the warm block and evaporate before dripping down for me to see it.

Just a thought.... check the whole coolant path to see if it's leaking somewhere that you cant see straight away.

[river]

Hi,

Agreed. Check over the engine and look for tell tale signs of water tracks. So, as Witzy-babes said, check the water pump, but also check around the block, such as welsh plugs etc. I'm sure you'll find it as 4litres is a fair whack to lose, and it will leave some mark.

seeyuzz
river

[X kyle X]

I immediatly thought BHG when I first read the symptoms, but you said you ruled that out, try what the lads above have mentioned, and if that is a no go, then I had a similar problem.

Mine was a BHG but my coolant was not escaping into my oil, it was leaking straight into the combustion camber. (I had hydro locking issues) which finally led to me figuring out what was happening tho...

[JetspeedCamry]

3VZ-FE is also known to BHG, or atleast crack the seal slightly. So you may be just burning it up.

[Razor]

if you have BHG wouldnt it be a little obvious like engine will be kinda running a little off
smoke, overheating etc....

But I'm not getting those stuff...

[The Witzl]

it can be a real minor BHG.
Happened to my GF's N15 ga15de pulsar. Minor BHG... turned into a little overheating, turned into cracked head and major death.

Was losing coolant slowly the whole time, but didnt show any real issues until about 6 months before it died.

[dfunkt]

i'll also confirm about slow-death BHG.

the old 5k engine i had in my ke20 corolla had a slow leak, would lose most of it's water over the course of a month.

the only side-effect was it was a little bit slower than it should've been. otherwise, no symptoms to see or hear.

[Razor]

just an update still havent sorted this out
this morning near my work the car started blowing steam so pulled over and nearly no coolant again.
Would a hole on the top of the Coolant Reservoir cause coolant to evaporate? its near the vent hole of the overflow bottle.
I cant find any coolant leak or a puddle of coolant when left overnight.

[Hiro]

just an update still havent sorted this out
this morning near my work the car started blowing steam so pulled over and nearly no coolant again.
Would a hole on the top of the Coolant Reservoir cause coolant to evaporate? its near the vent hole of the overflow bottle.
I cant find any coolant leak or a puddle of coolant when left overnight.

Considering the overflow bottle is vented to atmosphere another little hole shouldn't do jack.

If you're seeing steam under the bonnet, I'm betting the slow leak around the water pump has suddenly gotten a lot worse....

[Razor]

No the steam came out of the overflow vent.

Now Its filled up again and its OK but still cant find any leaks, even took it out to a radiator place and did a pressure test and all fine

[Hiro]

No the steam came out of the overflow vent.

Now Its filled up again and its OK but still cant find any leaks, even took it out to a radiator place and did a pressure test and all fine

How's your temp guage going? Significant amounts of steam blowing out the overflow vent would tend to indicate a boiling engine, no?

[matty12]

Is this the one with the cap on the engine and a sealed cap on the radiator??

If so ive had a few dramas with the caps not holding pressure,possible that is pumping the water into the overflow tank and that fills up and you lose water.

Also the housing on the engine corrode so they dont seal as well.Next time your getting your system pressure tested,get them to pressure test it with the caps on through the overflow hose and then take the tester off,it should then hold pressure.

[Razor]

right now the temp gauge is normal drove back to work and 20klms 2nite and all fine.
Yes there's two caps one on the top of the engine and one on the radiator.
Should I try replacing it with a new cap perhaps?
I dont really want to take it back and ask for a pressure test again

[matty12]

you could try that and see how you go.the one on the rad is a pita.

ive done a couple and the have been dramas,even changing caps didnt help basically one of the caps just wont hold pressure.