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Old 11-08-2020, 03:45 PM   #1
Deasmumhan
 
Drives: Chevrolet Camaro LS
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Case of the disappearing coolant...

Good afternoon all - I've got a riddle for y'all.

Background my Camaro is a V6 (yes yes I know "why didn't to buy a V8?")

So its a 3.6 Liter V6 323 HP @ 6800 RPM and 278 ft lbs tq @ 4800 RPM.
With 80768 KM's on it (about 50186 Miles)

I'm in Canada so this will be in Metric but I'll give Imperial conversions for my yankee friends

Today November 08 2020 has been unseasonably warm here 20C (68F) for November!

So I took the Camaro out for a cruise around town, picked up a few things here and there etc. Suddenly I'm rolling down the highway doing 90 Km/h (55 Mp/h)

When the indicator comes on (High Temp A/C off) I'm like "Eh? odd I check the readout for coolant temp (130C and climbing) (266F) "Well this ain't good I mutter" So to bring temp down I crank the heat to max to push out as much waste heat as possible (another message comes on "Slow to idle - High temperature) at this point I was two seconds from my drive entry way. I pull in park and get out now I can hear the radiator fan running full bore.

So at this point I'm thinking "great bad thermostat locked in the closed position"

I shut her down, wait an hour but before I go ripping parts out my naturally first thought is check the radiator (I last checked it in August and it was full of Orange DexCool). Radiator... dun dun dun EMPTY... "huh?" check overflow tank dun dun dun "empty!"

So now I'm thinking somewhere the car is pissing out coolant. So I look for dead grass underneath and wet anything also sniffing for that sweet like smell DexCool gives off - Nope no leaks. So now I'm like "Great either blown gasket or cracked block..." Check oil, which was changed in August, usually I do it myself but in August this year I took it to the dealer because COVID was causing such a pain to get into any store to buy anything. So the dealer did it. I pull dipstick, oil is still quite golden (like medium grade maple syrup) I was looking for any milky white in in to tell me if I had a blown gasket or cracked block. Though I already knew I didn't as she was running well and no blue/white smoke out of the exhaust.

I'm thinking I know what happened, though can't prove it. I think that when I had the dealership do the change, they also got the bright idea to flush and refill the radiator and coolant, but then realized I didn't ASK for that on the work order, yet neglected to refill it, and left a little bit just enough to keep it running properly without setting off any issues until now as its normal for a bit of coolant over time to evaporate.

So off to Canadian Tire to get coolant, where I had to argue with the kid behind the counter that strait Prestone and DexCool are NOT the same things (guh!). In all it took one and a half bottles to bring it back to full for the rad and the overflow. Started her up and took her for a run. Now she's running at 80C (173F) and when I got back home I again looked for leaks, nothing on the ground other than water from the condenser for the A/C.

Kept the half bottle of DexCool remaining in the trunk.

Anyone have any other things I might need to look for here?

Keep in mind I'm a "backyard mechanic" meaning I can do tires, oil changes, brake work, general maintenance and I know where everything is, but if I took the motor apart entirely and put it back together I'd be standing there going "Wonder what all these extra parts are for?" lol

Just look for feedback to what I may have missed if anything here?

Thanks all, have a great day.
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Old 11-08-2020, 04:21 PM   #2
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Maybe a small leak in a hose or the radiator that has been leaking for a long time? Check the front of the radiator through the grill to see if maybe a rock has damaged it. Also check the water pump for an indication of a leak. Hot dexcool might evaporate before it leaves a drip or stain. I suggest you monitor the fluid level in the overflow tank to see how quickly it goes down. That might give you an idea of how big the leak is.
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Old 11-08-2020, 04:26 PM   #3
Deasmumhan
 
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Ahhhh that's a good suggestion Mark, didn't consider hot DexCool evaporating before it showed up somewhere. thinking along that line, could it also be a bad radiator cap? Maybe not having a good seal? If it's not sealing the DexCool is boiling off before I'm noticing?
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Old 11-08-2020, 06:00 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deasmumhan View Post
Could it also be a bad radiator cap? Maybe not having a good seal? If it's not sealing the DexCool is boiling off before I'm noticing?
Certainly a possibility. The dealership should be able to test the cap for you.
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Old 11-09-2020, 07:08 AM   #5
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My girls Challenger had a coolant problem we found a pin hole that would drip and burn off never dripped but you could smell it when you got out of the car. I kept checking it and checking under the car and never found eveidence of a leak but you could def smell it. But you'rs being so far empty that you needed that much to bring it up is suspish.
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Old 11-10-2020, 08:55 AM   #6
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Head gaskets can have slow leaks that could cause something like this. Sometimes they can drip outside the engine, and sometimes they drip into the crankcase. I would watch your fluid like a hawk for a while, and if it goes down again, I would either check yourself or have the dealer check compression and leakdown on all of the cylinders.

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Old 11-10-2020, 09:15 AM   #7
Z28GTOSSMike
 
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You should be able to rent a pressure tester for free from any chain parts store. It will allow you to pressurize the system to check for leaks without having to get the car hot. Makes it a lot easier than poking around a hot engine bay and you can test the cap also.
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Old 11-10-2020, 10:14 AM   #8
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Sometimes, when doing cold pressure test at 15 PSI there would be no pressure drop.
When the engine is hot, metal expands and can open a small leak.
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Old 11-10-2020, 10:29 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by MGD View Post
Sometimes, when doing cold pressure test at 15 PSI there would be no pressure drop.
When the engine is hot, metal expands and can open a small leak.
That is true...good info. It's not fool proof but has worked for me many times over the years. I'm looking for the leak itself while using the pressure tester and not really looking for the pressure to drop. You may very well need to get the engine hot but I usually try the tester first if the leak is not easily identified when the problem first appears.
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Old 11-10-2020, 01:08 PM   #10
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If coolant has disappeared there is a leak. A small leak won’t necessarily result in any drops on the ground so you need to look for moisture all around the engine.

Also a pressure test is essential.
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Old 11-10-2020, 02:24 PM   #11
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I've read several threads, and noted in the owners manual, that evaporation from the lower tank is normal.

However, can anyone chime in about what is a normal evap rate (e.g. ounces/1000 miles, etc)?

For reference, in my first 1000 miles of ownership the lower tank level has dropped about 1/2" to 3/4".
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Old 11-10-2020, 03:51 PM   #12
Deasmumhan
 
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Ahhhh I found it, MGD you were right on this one, but so was Mark.

Turns out it WAS indeed a hose/clamp leak. When cold it wasn't leaking because I filled it full with DexCool - nothing coming out underneath, but as the engine got hot one hose was just a bit off (I guess over time it had started to loosen) and it was allowing the clamp on it to expand dripping the DexCool on to the really hot lower portion of the engine so I'd never see it. I only found it after taking it for a run, then getting into my garage on ramps and having my wife give it some acceleration while in park, with the parking brake on of course, then I saw it start spurting out, also got a face full of hot DexCool too. But found it.

My worst thought that it was a blown gasket was not it (thank god) Id have had a fit for a blown gasket and a vehicle that is not abused at only 50000 Miles. I doubt any damage has occurred either as it didn't run dry more than a minute or two.

After fixing the clamp and hose doing a recheck (and another recheck) the coolant is no longer lowering in either the rad or the over bottle. Highway speed its at 86 C (186F) and idle about 92C (197F before the fan comes on)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. What a STUPID problem.
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Old 11-10-2020, 04:27 PM   #13
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Glad you found it. And thanks for sharing the solution.
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Old 11-10-2020, 04:30 PM   #14
Deasmumhan
 
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Originally Posted by CRBWS6 View Post
Glad you found it. And thanks for sharing the solution.
Frankly my fault for being stupid... honestly I should have looked harder or been a bit more patient in locating the problem.
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