I am doing an experiment with this. As it seems to have started recently not just for me but a bunch of people I came up with a theory. Being that it is now the time of year where it gets cooler the heater starts getting used. As the heater is involved somehow with the coolant system I started thinking that somehow the leaking coolant is tied into the heater. When I am going somewhere I do not turn the heater off when I get there.

The experiment is this. Before you turn off your car turn the heater back down to cold and then turn that off and then turn your car off.

I want to see if this stops the coolant leakage.

 

Where is the coolant coming from ?? You shouldnt have any type of leakage. You might want to check your hoses where they meet the Thermostat and the radiator. When it gets cold, rubber will shrink and with the shrinking and expanding of the hoses, it can easily cause a leak.

Or your water pump is getting a bit old and the gaskets are begnning to seap on cold nights.

-matt

 

i doubt that has anything to do with it... i think is the hoses that are expaning and contracting making the damn thing leak

 

Cooling system and A/C system is completely different systems.
coolant leak has nothing to do with A/C temperature setting.
inspect your coolant hoses and replace if neccessary.

 

Some of these replies i tell you...

He never mentioned the a/c system. When you turn on the heat, hot coolant is directed over to the heater core and air is blown through it and that's how you get the hot air. That's the connection.

 

you are WRONG!! coolant obviously means a/c since the air conditioner makes everything cool.

(and refrigerant only goes into refrigerators)

 

my old maxima...now my brothers car has this issue.....temp starts dropping or the car sits for periods of time and it leaks coolant...once the car is warmed up it stops.....soooooooo I brought to my house put it on jackstands and took everthing off the bottom of the car I could...on a cold morning I started it and it ended up being a tiny crack in the bottom of the radiator that would expand in the cold and seal up one it got hot....VERY VERY WEIRD if u ask me

 

ahahahahahahaa

 

I meant heater, not A/C. hot coolant always go through heater core regardless of you turning on your heater or not. so what i'm saying is leak has nothing to do with turning on the heater.

 

Well if that were the case then my idea would be wrong. I came up with it based on what I had read about coolant going into the heater core only when the heat is turned on.

My coolant is leaking somewhere above the oil pan which I suspect is probably something with the water pump but when I saw there are a bunch of people who started having the same problem around the same time that is when I came up with my idea.

 

only thing that controls the flow of coolant is thermostat which controls flow of coolant from your engine to radiator.

 

Alright let's do this detective style. I think we can all agree that the problem is seasonal. Within the past couple of weeks there have been numerous posts about people who begin experiencing coolant leakage around this time of year.

I think we can also all agree that there are only two variables that change around this time of year; Lower temperatures experienced when the car is turned off and heater usage. Therefore it is logical to conclude that the cause of the problem lies within one of those two variables.

First we shall address the lower temps or "shrinkage" as we shall refer to it from here on out. I say first we should list out the temperature ranges a car may experience from sitting turned off to extended operation in a hot environment. I think we can agree that in normal operation the coolant can reach temperatures of 250 degrees. Though it may get hotter this is a good round number to use as the max.

I live near Philadelphia. The average low temperature in July there is 70 degrees. This means in July we can expect the coolant system to have a range of 180 degrees.

In January the average low is 25 degrees. This means that the range then becomes 225 degrees.

I say that this should rule out shrinkage as the cause. The difference in temperature range from July to January is only 45 degrees. Certainly the temperature drop from 250 - 70 would cause more shrinkage than the drop from 70 - 25 and if that is the case then wouldn't the problem exist throughout the year?

If that is correct then we come to variable number two. Now here we have some question. I have read a couple times that turning on the heat opens something and allows coolant to flow where it normally does not. You say it does not. Personally I do not have any knowledge of the internal workings of the coolant system so I can only go off hearsay.

If you are correct and it does not then the heater can not be a variable as it has no affect on the coolant system and the problem therefore must be with shrinkage.

If you are not correct and a valve is indeed opened when you turn the heat on then we can proceed in analyzing this variable.

Now, as I said above, if I am using my heater I do not usually make it a point to turn it off when I turn my car off. Therefore, assuming a valve is opened by heater usage, this valve stays open when the car is turned off.

And this is my theory that the leak is somehow tied in to that. As I said whether the heater opens a valve or not I do not know.

For my purpose I am assuming that it does and if my experiment causes a reduction or elimination of leaked coolant I would say that the heater does on some level change the coolant system when it is turned on versus off.

However, one car is not really a good benchmark which is why I posted this as I am sure if it might work, people would be willing to at least try it in order to not have coolant leaking wherever they go.

 

I have come to realize that 98% of the folks on here are just here to try and show how smart they are (or wish they were).

 

I have this prob and I'm leaning towards the water pump

 

its simple. look for the leak. if its the water pump it will leak from that area. if not, run the car hot, open up the hood and look/listen for steam. if none there, park the car for 2-3 days and check your oil for the "milk". this is all assuming that the coolant loss is rapid enough to notice (which is the only reason i would think there is a thread in the first place). are you emptying out every day? week? year?

 

or trying to help this guy troubleshoot his problem.

 

yeah i have a seasonal leak. Its only small i notice it when i park in the snow, 1-2 tiny patches of greeen on the white snow. I think its my water pump but it would be nice if it was something simple like a hose. Only leaks when its been parked over night and in the winter.

 

So you know your coolant leak is in the engine compartment, most likely the water pump, yet you start a thread thinking your heater has something to do with it.



Have you checked your blinker fluid lately?

 

Yep I get it also. Only happens after I park the car on cold nights. It a small weep from the waterpump.