I figure someone here might be able to help me out. I have an 88 Escort, that appears to have a coolant leak. When it is started, it seems like it is overheating, but then 5 minutes later, it runs fine, like there isn’t a problem. The thing is, there are no visible leaks, but the radiator keeps losing all the coolant, and the resevoir on the side is still full. What could cause something like that?
…it seems like it is overheating…
What does this mean? Exactly what are you observing at this time?
The thing is, there are no visible leaks…
A head gasket breach is one possibility. However, sometimes there is an external leak in a place where it is not easy to detect.
…the radiator keeps losing all the coolant…
How rapidly?
…and the resevoir on the side is still full.
With some leaks, instead of the cooling system sucking in the liquid from the reservoir as the engine cools, it sucks in air through the leak.
…it seems like it is overheating…
What does this mean? Exactly what are you observing at this time?
The car steams from the right side of the hood. While this is happening, I lose all heat in the car. Once the steaming stops a few minutes later, the heat comes back on.
…the radiator keeps losing all the coolant…
How rapidly?
During the day, we had the car sitting in the driveway, idling for roughly 30 minutes, and the level stayed good. When I drove to work, I double checked the level, topped it up, and drove for roughly 15 miutes, and it seems to be bone dry again. Once again, no visible signs of a leak when at a standstill, and no puddles under the car after it has been sitting for a while. Plus, with the snow on the ground here, I should notice if anything was dripping, shouldn’t I?
The thing is, there are no visible leaks…
A head gasket breach is one possibility. However, sometimes there is an external leak in a place where it is not easy to detect.
Rough guesstimate, but how much would a repair like that set a guy back?
Visible steam indicates an external leak. Loss of heat, often along with overheating, is a typical symptom of the system coolant level being low. It’s not as typical for heat to be restored.
…the radiator keeps losing all the coolant…
How rapidly?
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That rapid a loss while driving suggests a sizable leak, and supports the notion that it might be a head gasket problem. As far as external leakage, it’s possible that the leaked coolant is evaporating before it gets a chance to accumulate and drip. Lack of drippage is more likely if the leak doesn’t manifest until the engine is warm. If it only or mainly leaks when the car is being driven, drippage might not be detectable.
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For a head gasket repair, I would think a minimum of 700, more is certainly possible. First though, the cooling system should have a pressure test (to find external leakage, and sometimes internal leakage such as a head gasket) and a combustion leak test (to verify head gasket leakage). Cooling system problems can sometimes be tricky to diagnose, especially if there’s more than one malfunction, which your combination of symptoms suggests.
Wow, this is an unusual one or at least it seems that way from a distance.
Here are some more signs of a blown head gasket;
White steam coming from the exhaust;
Radiator hoses bursting, caused by compression from the engine charging the cooling system;
Bubbles rising to the top of the coolant in the radiator (start the engine cold to look for the bubbles, do not remove a hot engine’s radiator cap!)
Without any of the above I’d start looking at other causes, such as;
Thermostat - Possibly siezed shut or open (either way can cause malfunction) or even missing all together;
Low coolant level - Some cars require a special coolant filling procedure to insure that all of the air has been purged from the block and head. This is especially true for cars that have a filler opening lower than some parts of the engine and this leaves air trapped in the head which later gets purged as the engine heats up, this will make the fluid level appear low later when it’s checked. This would be the first thing I would check even though it’s not the first thing I’ve suggested.
Finally, since you mentioned your heater working after the steaming, it is possible that your car uses solenoid actuated valves to control coolant to your heater core and these valves are malfunctioning somehow in operation or are keeping your system from being filled properly.
zabrain, Yeah, but re-occurring loss of substantial coolant??
The OP is saying that the coolant is leaving the cooling system on a regular basis.
Has the oil dipstick been checked for foamy residue (coolant in the oil)??
If you have a cracked head or broken gasket, you could be burning coolant and at the same time leaking some onto the exhaust manifold.
Try a can of Bars stop leak as a temporary fix.
My WAG is an external breach of a head gasket or the thermostat housing. Once things heat up to operating temperature, either the gasket or the metal it’s between expands and seals the leak.
I would not recommend using a “stop leak” product - my experience is they only delay the fully blown head gasket or radiator by a couple weeks.
Re-reading… After a 15 minute drive, the radiator’s empty? You’re on the road to a fully blown head gasket and a warped and/or cracked head. (VERY expensive!) Before you melt the engine, you might want to push (don’t drive) the car to a radiator shop and have them check things out. They’ve got the pressure-testing and leak-finding equipment that can find a leak much faster than you’d be able to.
Empty radiator = VERY BAD THING!
Get your car checked out by a professional ASAP
“zabrain, Yeah, but re-occurring loss of substantial coolant??”
Incorrectly refilling the cooling system would create the same symptoms each time. I distinctly remember a mid 80’s Grand Am that, if filled from the radiatior cap, would trap air in the head. When the thermostat opened it would release that air and you’d discover that the system was only half full. You can see how this could be misleading. Plus without the telltale steam from the exhaust pipe, something else has to be considered as well.
Plus, as far as a blown head gasket or cracked head goes, the OP doesn’t give any of the other symptoms of any breach between the compression chamber and the cooling system. The normal symptoms are (among others); white steam from the exhaust, eroded sparkplug electrodes, loss of cylinder compression, ignition misses.
Not to mention that the OP says the heat only starts working after the coolant has leaked from the system. This is generally opposite of how the system would work if the coolant was filled properly and then leaked out which is, starting off with heat (after sufficient warm-up) and then lose the heat as the coolant leaded out. What actually appears to be happening is what I described before; starting off with air trapped in the system (possibly in the heater core) and then the thermostat opens allowing the air to vent and the coolant to flow through the heater core, giving heat.
It can be a head gasket, cracked head or even a leak from the coolant system into the oil like you said yourself. But, I think the symptoms of any of these would be noticable enough for the OP to include them.
I suggest that the OPer make sure the system is being filled properly in the first place.
A water pump seal can wear and there will be no visable sign of a leak—at first. while the engine is cold get your hands on the pump,around on the bottom and see if its wet. If its the pump just replace it. Other wise, an 88 ya say? try dumping some sealer in the radiator, might seal it up, might not, its cheap tho.
I am by no means a car expert, but I have owned a few of the late 80s Escorts, mainly because they were fairly cheap and reliable and easy to fix when they did break.
In my personal experience, I had a similar problem with the apparent loss of mass quantities of coolant. It was due, like has been mentioned, to my improperly filling the radiator.
What’s probably happening is you are filling the radiator, you get the steam either fron a small leak or from the overflow, then the thermostat opens and the coolant from the radiator enters, and that’s why your heat suddenly starts working. Then when you check again, the radiator is empty because the coolant has been replaced with the air in the engine. You fill the radiator up again, but there is still air trapped in the engine (if there’s a leak, or you’re losing coolant out the overflow before the thermostat opens, even more air). So you keep repeating the cycle.
So, my vote goes with those that have mentioned the coolant filling problem. Maybe a flush and fill, or double-checking the filling procedure, would take care of the problem. Simple, cheap first step, anyway. Just don’t drive too far in the car until you know for sure.