Ok well I had no coolant loss or smell for 2 weeks after replacing a gasket but just last night as we pulled home I smelled it and it looks like the reserve is about an inch low...

I have replaced both rad hoses, water pump, o-rings in the front tubes by the head. the gaskets for the waterflow pipe on the side of the heads radiator cap and put new clamps on just about every hose... I added some dye to the coolant again, hopefully I find the leak...

 

You should love it because it keeps your engine from overheating...also, without antifreeze you wouldn't be able to find the leak with the dye.

 

haha yeah, screw it I will just get a 50 gal drum and make that my reservoir and top it off once a year.. lol

 

Could be the radiator itself. They can crack along the bottom or top cap portion.

 

Thats what happened to my max. First friggin day i had it, the antifreeze was low and kept dropping. I ended up finding that the radiator was leaking, and had to get it replaced . I think it was around $3-400 (guy replaced hoses and everything for me too) for the job.

 

Well I have checked the rad for leaks about 30 times but I will check again. I have used a pressure tester and dye, so far radiator is fine but who the hell knows!

I have also checked the tube that goes to the reserve and the tank for that ... poop

 

Can anybody use water (distled water) in the hot summer ?

 

Hot is relative...keep in mind water starts to boil at 212 degrees F. Do you think you can keep it under 212 degrees F on a hot day?

 

Check the underside of the engine around the water pump. There is a weep hole in case the water pump starts leaking so you can spot it.

 

Have you checked the oil cooler hard line at the bottom of the engine? it runs right from the oil filter under the alternator to the radiator

 

I have checked the oil cooler and it seems to be ok but I will look again.

I am well aware of where the waterpump weeps, I replaced the pump 2 months ago.

I still can't find this leak, I added dye again and nothing is showing up. I think I will take the cover plate off the water pump and make sure those bolts are torqued correctly.

 

Look on the driver's side of the engine, under the intake piping. Towards the driver's rear corner of the block is a Water Outlet and that gasket can slowly fail.

#8:

 

Water is fine to run in the summer. Remember that its called "anti-freeze" which means that its main purpose is to keep the fluid from freezing in the winter and doesn't serve much of a purpose in the summer (aside from lubricating the water pump a bit). Water was used before antifreeze became available (hence the term "water" pump). Also remember that the coolant system is under pressure which means that it will take a higher than normal temperature for the water to boil, this is simple high school chemistry. Not to mention that coolant is usually half water anyways and you can change the proportions depending on how cold it gets in your area.

Relating to the OPs problem, you should pressure test each cylinder and make sure its not the head gasket before you throw any money into it.

 

Maybe in Canuck country. It's not just called anti-freeze. It's also called coolant, as you referred to it in your post. It's irresponsible to tell someone they can use straight water in our cooling systems. The 'high school chemistry' you refer to also tells us why the system was engineered to run with coolant from the manufacturer year round.

 

Using the stuff we generically refer to as antifreeze is the best thing. You can run pure water if you want to, but you have to be aware of the problems that you will cause by doing this.

Looking strictly at cooling, there is no problem. The thermostat opens at 180 degrees and the radiator cooling fans are supposed to keep the water temp between 200 and 210 degrees. The cooling system is pressurized, 13 to 15 psi. This raises the boiling point of water to be between 245 and 250 degrees.

But by running pure water, you will be missing all the wonderful chemicals that actually do good for the engine. Ethelene glycol is strictly to prevent the water from freezing. Back in the old old days, up into the early 1950's, people used to put alcohol in the water to keep it from freezing. Problem with that was that alcohol boils at a lower temperature and you had to keep adding alcohol.

The 2 main things that have been added to antifreeze that helps the engine are water pump lubricating chemicals and anti-corrosion chemicals to prevent corrosion and scale build-up in the engine. When I was young, if you went 60K miles before the water pump leaked, you had a semi-miracle.

Use water in an emergency, but don't run it for extended periods.

 

TAll Tom, I have already replaced that.

Both gaskets, also used new hose clamps for all hoses in that area including the throttle body coolant lines.

I am going to barrow a compression tester and see what I have going on there.

Since I don't know I will ask, would my EGR problem have anything to do with coolant? I am pulling a code and have not yet fixed it.

 

Yep Mine failed. Took me a week to finally find the leak since it would evaporate off of the head when the engine was warm and seal up when the engine cooled down. Bit of a pain to replace too. Speaking of that region have you looked at the throttle body heater hoses? Maybe one of the heater hoses could be weeping too.


I wouldn't run straight water in a cooling system for any longer than it takes to leak check it. Water is very dense, easily cavitates when it's at temp in our engines causing damage to the water pump impeller amongst other things and due to electrolysis the water will start to degrade your engine components.

THis is also a very valid hypotheses I have been reading about radiators "silent leaking" since I first signed onto the org. Same concept as that coolant tube, leaks enough when it's hot to produce the smell but evaporates too quickly to find.






BTW you will love anti-freeze once you accidentally dump a bottle of hyphoid 85W gear oil in your vehicle. Nothing like driving in a vehicle on a hot sumer day that smells like a Pterodactyl took a crap in the back seat.

 

sorry if this has been answered but I'm too lazy to read all post

 

I pressure tested the radiator and the cap and it they were fine according to the instructions I followed.

Also no coolant smell inside the car and no wet floor boards. I have checked the heater hoses quiet a few times and they seem to be dry on the parts I can see .

 

^ What he said is a good point.

Not exactly saying that you should run it permanently, I'm saying that it's definitely a suitable substitution in an emergency or for a short period of time when you can't find a leak. There's no point of dumping coolant into a leaking system because you're just throwing out money.

I once had a coolant hose burst near the clamp on the highway and the engine temp started to rise fast. I stopped at a reststop and water was on sale, so I bought a few cases and poured it in after I cut and shortened the hose to stop the leak. Ended up making it home no problem (200+ km).

I've also had a bad rad leak for about 2 weeks and after I'd spent $60+ on just pouring in coolant, I started to use water until I had the rad fixed because it just made more sense. ran it for about another 2 weeks on the water with no issues and then flushed the system after.

My point is that you should obviously be pouring in coolant into the coolant reservoir but its not that big of a deal if you use water temporarily in summer temperatures.

 

Pkrainert, did you ever find this leak? I have been researching common leaks in maxima's and you seem to have had bad luck, any updates? I am going to search for leaks tomorrow as mine seems to be dripping onto the middle/ front portion of the crossmember.

 

I'm curious to see what the problem may be as well... I've been having to use water for a bit now because even after filling my coolant tank it leaks all of the fluid out within a day. I see no visible leaks though, so I think I'm going to just change my radiator and see if that fixes it, if not then at least I'll know where the problem isn't at.