MaxEx

I have an 04 that is losing coolant really quickly. One day last week I just looked in the overfill tank and there was barely anything there. I quickly added close to a quart of water and watched it carefully afterward.

It dropped slowly over the next few days and I added a bottle of redline water wetter. The overfill tank is now completely pink, so I don't even know if this stuff made it down into the coolant system.

I have checked both the oil and transmission fluid which look perfectly fine. I used to have air bubbles in my system that are no longer there, because I don't hear it anymore. Could this extra water and wetter just be filling in the air bubbles in the system? There is absolutely no sign of any coolant anywhere in the garage, and there are no leaks in the system from what I can tell.

Also, I cannot open the radiator cap. How do you take this thing off? I can shake the radiator to tell that it does have coolant in it, but I can't take the cap off. I've only added water the ovefill tank this entire time.

Through this whole process my car has never once overheated, even when it was low in the overfill tank..any ideas?

The car does have 105,000 miles and the coolant has not been changed since I bought it around 50,000. I'm going to bring it in sometime this week, but I wanted to see if there were any common issues among 6th gens. with the coolant system.

SuperMario

I'm not sure how much of an issue it is with the 04s, but last time I checked mine the tank was empty, but the radiator was full. However I life in South FL and I don't know if this is normal in hot climates.

My only advice would be not to use water, only use coolant. And yes, I'm not a mechanic, so don't quote me on that

MaxEx

I plan on changing the coolant sometime before winter. I used water, because it was available. Engines will actually run cooler with just water. You just aren't supposed to have too much of a water mix in the winter.

NiZMo1o1

iTrader: (45)

umm dude , first you need to press down on the cap then TURN it ( lefty loosey )

You DO not fill the overtank and you DONT go buy that ,

The purpose of the overfill tank is self explantorer , when the radiator reaches boiling point the extra coolants fills into the overfull tank.

you need to properly do this or else its your motor , with mileage like yours the average American doesnt even change the coolant.

Flush the system out , theres a drain plugs underneath the car near the lower rad hose.

Make sure the cap is off , Now , get yourself some coolant and fill it up,

start the car and let it run for about 20 mins with the heater ON , Make sure the CAP IS OFF

If you can have an extra person to bring the RPM up to about 1500 -2500 RPM.

what this does it brings the tempeture up and opens the T-stat , you will see bubbles which is trap air in the system , this is HOW YOU BLEED the radiator or as we call it BURP the radaitor.

rev it and hold it at that RPM for about 3 mins and then let it run with the HEATER on , NO A/C , just heater.

watch closely at the radaitor neck and see if anymore bubbles/air comes up .. about 20 mins if idle you should be good and fine , the waterwetter wont effect anything

MaxEx

I got the cap off. Why do I need to change everything out now? Why would the coolant/water be getting lower in the overflow tank after adding more in?

po8pimp

The overflow works both ways. If the car gets extremely hot then the overflow will go in that tank, also the stuff in that tank go right back into the radiator. that is why there is a min and max line. You should have a full radiator while cold, and the coolant should be in the over flow to just below the max line. Also if your radiator fluid is disappearing, check your hoses for leaks while cold and again while warm. The hoses expand when warm. Also check to make sure none of your hoses are squishy. That means they are deteriorating and need replaced. Also take your oil cap off and check for white milky residue on the cap and inside the engine. You can also check the dipstick to see if it is milky or separating like water and oil will do. You could have a blown head gasket if there is coolant in the oil. Your car could be just burning the coolant too. Sounds weird but smell the coolant, put the cap back on and have someone start the car while you stand by the exhaust and if the exhaust smells sweet like the coolant then you are burning it which means a head gasket issue again. Good luck and let us know what you find out.