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Coolant dissapearing

1K views 9 replies 10 participants last post by  travlin1 
#1 ·
Just curious if anyone has any idea where my coolant might be going.its an 01 6 cylinder auto. It's not dripping on the ground. It started almost overheating so once it cooled down I opened the rad cap and nothing there. There was still coolant in the resevoir. I put 1/3 jug of coolant into the rad before it was full. I've had intermittent issues where I can faintly smell coolant ever since the head gasket was replaced in 2009 but no one has been able to find a source.
 
#2 ·
I'd see if the radiator cap is holding its seal.


If not, you'll lose evaporating coolant w/o a visible leak.

Small hose leaks, etc, can also do that.

I'd check for that sort of thing first, as they are cheap fixes. If everything is OK, then start worrying about head gaskets, etc.

Also look for a rainbow sheen in the rad fluid, and/or emulsion in the oil.
 
#3 ·
+1 on checking the cap. I had a similar issue of coolant vanishing from the radiator....until I realized my overflow tank was way over the max line. The cap was not opening correctly to pull vacuum on the overflow tank. Also check the small hose going from the radiator to the overflow tank to make sure its not degraded.
 
#9 ·
I had a similar issue on my 2001 v6 Xterra.

The problem was the intake manifold heater lines. They run from the back of the block to the bottom of the intake manifold, and serve to prevent intake icing in cool, wet situations, the equivalent to carb heaters on carbureted engines.

If you inspect the ends you'll see an accrual of white cruft if they're leaking. If they are, they're cheap, but a genuine pain in the ass to replace since you need to pull the manifold to get to them.

If you need to replace them, you may as well replace the valve cover gaskets while you've got it apart. They're also pretty inexpensive and harden over time, leading to oil leaks from the valve covers.
 
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