Alrite i'm totaly lost by this.

The "low coolant" msg has came on in my car a few times over the year and 25k miles i've had it.

I've takein it into the dealer and they put the system under pressure and let it sit for 2days and couldent find a leek or anything.

i just keep filling it up every time...its not REAL low but low enough to cause the light to come on.

any ideas on why or how i kept looseing it?

i never smell it or see a puddle under the car so i'm LOST!

please guys...help me out here.

 

I've had the same problem, but there was a small leak. Once the leak was fixed it was fine. The it started again with the low coolant light, and yesterday BAM the headgasket let go. Lovely white smoke from the exhaust now, and it'll get towed to dealership tomorrow.

 

did not want to hear that!!!

is that what ya'll think it is?

 

1. There is a reflash for it *thinking* it has low coolant
2. This car secretly eats coolant for breakfast Bryan. I poured some in the resoviour tank and monitored it all week with me putting something under the car to see if it leaks at night. Nothing, the conclusion is while you drive the car eats a little at a time. That's all I can think of.

 

If the car is loosing coolant, but there is not a puddle of leaking coolant or smell it can only be one thing - headgasket leak. The coolant is probably being burned up in the combustion chamber.

 

so does your do this as well mike?

 

How worryed do i need to be?....its usaly over a month before the light comes on once in a while...then a lil longer before it comes on and stays on.

 

Bump!

 

I was thirsty. Your dealership should be able to tell you where all your coolant is going. Could be a bad problem and they are just pushing it off hoping that your warantee will expire before your engine blows.

 

Thats the thing.

it sat there with the system under pressure for 2days and nothing happend.

I trust THIS specific dealer and thats why i'm so confused!

 

System under pressure is a different kind of thing. Have them put the system under pressure then run the car around. Try it with positive boost. IE the engine under load.

Just having it under pressure is fine but it depends on how the headgasket is weakend.

It is a simple as picturing a valve.

If the valve is opening with positive pressure from the cylinder side then having positive pressure on the coolant side will do nothing.

See what I mean?

 

Yes, it does

The car eats coolant. Don't listen to anyone else's advice. Trust me on this one. Even my sedan eats the coolant.

 

yea..took it in today...differant dealer(my fave one) put it back under pressure...then we went for a drive...then back under pressure and NOTHING!

no dye from the last time or anything!

pullled the heads off off..nothing still...checked plugs...nothing....checked exhaust...nothing!

so me/them are out of ideas...i think it just eats it some wear like sneaky said!

I'm no longer going to worry about it tho...checked 3times...and nothing found.

 

thats what i've resorted to htinking as well!

 

Hi, I have a serious problem. On the way to work this morning I ran over a trash bag that was in the middle of the street. Now in the front of the car underneath on the right side, fluid and water is leaking from some black thing with a hole in it next to the radiator. Does anyone know what it is leaking out of and what could have possibly happened?

 

I have the same problem with loosing coolant and came up with questions to help narrow it down.

1.) Is my car loosing coolant from both engine cooling system and super charger cooling system?

2.) Are there any spots on the engine or surrounding parts such as hoses or radiator that have accumulated dirt due to wetness?

3.) Is the problem getting worse on it's own or worse with increased boost levels such as a STAGE II kit?

4.) If there are no indications of external leaks, what other possibilities exist?




1A.) If both are leaking I am leaning toward a gasket that seals a componant which flows coolant from both systems. (I'm researching this now.)

2A.) If the coolant was leaking internally into the oil, the oil would normally become milky but the amount of coolant disappearing is so small, it may not be noticable. I personally do not believe that the coolant is entering the oil but I won't eliminate that possibility just yet. If the coolant is entering the combustion chamber, in such small amounts, it would burn off and never be seem coming out of the tailpipe.

3A.) Bad news if it is. More likely a gasket problem.

4A.) Possibly a leaking cap but what are the odds of both the engine cooling system cap and super charger cooling cap allowing an evaporation effect? Also. If this is the case, the end of the overflow tube should have accumulated some dirt that would stick to the wet tube end.


Any thoughts to add or change would be appreciated. I can also be reached at pfm_67@hotmail.com

 

Coolant could be leaking into cylinders only at a specific temp range thus no leak on the ground.
This could cause the coolant to go down very slowly hardly noticable.
This why a pressure check wont help to find it.
I had another vehical do this but it leaked on the out side, every morning a small puddle under the car,run in the drive way and it would not leak ,shut it off sit and wait nothing come out 2 hours later another puddle .
Very frustrating.

 

1. The supercharger coolant and engine coolant or two seperate closed systems. They do not have anything in common. If you are losing coolant from both then you have two seperate problems.

2. In cold weather the DexCool will become more dense causing the levels to drop slightly. The coolant sensors are pretty picky and will pick up that the coolant has dropped and give you a low coolant light. If you just add a little bit of coolant it will fix this problem. Same goes for the superchager coolant system, it may drop in cold weather and you may need to add a little bit although there is no light for it. I had to do both of these things last winter and this winter it was fine.

3. If you keep having to add coolant constantly to either system you have a leak somewhere. More then likely an engine coolant leak with no visible signs of a leak is going to come typically from the head gasket. If you are leaking coolant from the supercharger coolant, either you have a hose leaking, a leak in the heat exchanger, a leak at the pump or a leak from the laminovas or endplate.

 

I looked for coolant leaks and only found oil leaks around the head so far.




I don't know how to upload a picture or I would. Are Premium Members allowed?

 

I think that Premium members can upload pictures.

Also, if there are not any coolant leaks that you can see on the ground, that doesn't mean that it isn't leaking. You can have a head gasket leak and the coolant can leak into the oil or the comubstion chamber. Typically if it leaks into the oil you will see a milky substance mixed in with the oil. If it is leaking into the combustion chamber you may not be able to tell because it will burn up and go out the exhaust.

As for a leak in the intercooler system... if you can't see any leaks on the ground or anywhere, I am not sure how the coolant is leaking out. There isn't really much place for it to go. The only place it could leak from that would go internal in to the engine would be if the laminova seal or the laminova itself was leaking into the manifold.

How much coolant are you leaking?

 

Not much on the Super Charger side. In fact the amount is small enough that I could consider that steam blowing past the cap or air that was trapped in the system may still be the cause. On the engine side the drop is significant; about 1/2 quart in 4,000 miles.

 

How many miles on the car?
Have you done any work on the car?
Have you noticed any coolant in the oil when doing your oil changes?

1/2 quart is a pretty significant amount, it is defiantely leaking somewhere.

 

Iwas talking to a friend at work that was saying the impalas have a plastic connector for the heater lines that leaks very slow with no noticable leak.
The fix for it is to replace with a up graded part which is metal.
Not sure if it applies to our cars but going to have a look to see if it does.
My car needed a little top up after 8 months.

 

I have 18,900 miles on the car and the low coolant light first came on around 11,000 miles. The car is completely stock and has never been modified. I have always taken the car to the dealer for oil changes but I have checked the oil level and have never noticed any discoloration. The only work done to the car has been by the dealer and includes:

Transmission work: 3-times. Now in for the same problem the fourth time.

Leaking head gasket and possible other gasgets: Oil Leak. Now in for the first time.

Cluth slipping, shifter top fell off, water leaks onto the passenger side floor (Not anti-freeze) which the dealer told me they could find no problem, OnStar antenna failure of some sort, grease marks all over the car and some on the interior from the mechanics, Cruise control failure which the dealer fixed and then told me there was never a problem, and the list goes on... I have no less than 16 repair orders; some with multiple problems.

 

If you have an oil leak as well then that really points me to the head gasket.

As far as your other problems go they are mostly common problems, I had the shifter top problem and have heard of the OnStar antenna problem.

As far as the water leaking onto the floor - it is from the air conditioner. Turn on the air conditioner on cold and full blast for a couple minutes and you will see the dripping water. I do believe there is a TSB on this leaking water problem.