Eatting Coolant

[mounties83]

I seem to be refilling my coolant a lot...but its not smoking or anything but i do see the occasional coolant puke...whats causing this?

 

[Earl43P]

Bad radiator cap is the cheapest thing to check/replace, then the thermostat.

Either could cause puking.

Along with a blown head gasket.
Check the oil for antifreeze and see if the exhaust smells sweet.
If it's getting burnt, the spark plug on that cylinder should look a lot different than the rest.

 

[mounties83]

No anti-freeze in the oil and there is no white smoke or a sweet smell...and it pukes at the canister (plastic bottle)

 

[Doodlebug]

What Earl said, and also check for good flow of the coolant. If water pump belt is loose or if pump itself is going bad, it could be overheating and blowing off steam.

 

[AgPete139]

Check to see if the water pump is working properly. You can squeeze the coolant hose and feel the water flow by. if it's really bad, more water may weep out of the water pump.

The radiator cap swap is a good idea. Even if it's not the cap, it's good to replace it.

I would check to make sure all of your hoses and clamps are secured well.

And if theres water in your oil, youve got a headgasket problem.

 

[mounties83]

Alright its probably the belt, i tried squeezing the hose and didnt feel anything but the hose was hot so ill try it again later. i changed the oil last week and not a drop of coolant in it so that rules that out

 

[Doodlebug]

Just out of curiosity, is there any belt squealing sound at start up or reving? If you are careful, you can remove the cap and watch the coolant flow as the engine heats up. Then rev the engine to see if flow increases. If not, belt is sliping when driving around. Please post what you find to be wrong.

 

[mounties83]

No belt squeal at all

 

[Cleanster]

I had the same problem till the other day when my motor blowed up, it blowed up real good. It overheated a month ago after the power steering pump seized . After replacing the PS pump it seemed fine but started to eat some antifreeze, I thought it was the cap because there would be fluid leaking out. Was driving the other day and it let loose without warning, no idiot lights no CEL no temp warning. Hope your problem is different, good luck

 

[AgPete139]

No belt squeal at all

Is it new-ish rubber/ply-able? If the coolant is running, no oil/water mixture, and there are no additional leaks, I would inspect all of my pulleys. It's just one serpentine belt, so remove it, and check all of the pulleys for play, wiggle, or seize. This would also be a good time to check your tensioner, and if it is still tight/difficult to turn open.

Tell us what you find.

I had the same problem till the other day when my motor blowed up, it blowed up real good. It overheated a month ago after the power steering pump seized . After replacing the PS pump it seemed fine but started to eat some antifreeze, I thought it was the cap because there would be fluid leaking out. Was driving the other day and it let loose without warning, no idiot lights no CEL no temp warning. Hope your problem is different, good luck

What ended up being the problem?

 

[squealingtires]

Checking the head gasket for an internal leak is pretty easy. Run your engine and allowed it to puke some coolant then let the motor cool down completly (Overnight is good). Once its cool open the radiator cap and put your nose too it. If you smell exhaust then you can be sure that you've got a bad head gasket (let it cool complety so you don't have the steam masking the exhaust odor if present). What happens is the combustion gasses leak past the head gasket and pressurize the water-jacket in the block, this in-turn pushes the water out of the block and into the radiator where it has nowhere to go except up past the radiator cap and into the overflow bottle and then out on the ground.