My car keeps losing antifreeze, whats wrong?
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It is a 2000 malibu. I have taken it to a mechanic and he hooked it up to some machine to check for a leak, said there wasn't one. It has been going on for two years now, I have to refill it every month or so.
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Answer:
OK my guess would be the water pump it has a leak/seep hole for when it starts to go bad or is bad. from the sounds of it the amount you loose is about right for you needing to refill it every month or so. well lets at least hope so or it could cost a whole lot more.
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Other answers
Yes, there is a known antifreeze thief in your area
James N
You didn't mention what size engine you have, but if it's a V6, there are known issues with the lower intake manifold gasket in GM V6's from the mid 90's through 2005. The gasket leaks, and your coolant may be getting into your oil. This happened to my 2003 Pontiac and to some of my friends as well. It is not an inexpensive repair and could cost from $800 up to $1500 if the heads have been damaged. Have your coolant checked for oil contamination. I did my own repair and it cost me < $200 in parts.
Scott H
obviously it must be evapourating,,,, unless it is coming out ofr the overflow on the radiator or you have a very very very fine crack in your cylinder head,,,get a second opinion from a different mechanic,,,,,,,,
indian307
Go get another opinion cause it sounds like you have either busted a hose or have a hole in radiator.
akkasmycat
the anti freeze is only to keep the radiator from rusting, try putting water in your radiator.aswell. it might be your thermostat. it controls the amout of water or antifreze that goes in your engine..maybe its sucking in too much..
ROCKO
How much are you having to "refill every month or so?" That is the real key to if there is a problem. Some antifreeze will leach into the oil, leak, evaporate, or overflow during normal opperation that isn't worth worring about. How many miles do you put on in that "month or so" and how much do you need to put in? You simply could be overfilling your radiator and it overflows during peak opperation. If find a leak spot under your parked car, then it's a leak. Otherwise it's leaching into the oil, and that depends on how many miles you put on your vehicle. So many questions...
Gary V
its possible that your car is absent minded and doesnt recall wherte it left the anti-freeze there for ultimately it loses it. I AM REALLY SORRY> Hun If your filling it only once every couple months and your addinhg under a half gallon, each time and your not experiencing or noticing any overheating, then your just fine. and I wouldnt worry about a thing. And Let me just say to you GOOD JOB,, I say this cause it looks like you might be just being a little over cautious and mabe adding more coolant than you system can hold (remember the coolant as with ant liquid will expand when it gets hot) , and you keep finding it lower than you left it cause your radiator cap will allow your cooling system to adjust the amount of coolant if it is filled to full, But I say GOOD JOB because you can never be too cautious with caqrs and I can tell your paying very close attention to one of your cars most important systems and your not letting up till you find out what the deal is. and for that I say you get the star of the day good work. but hun I trully believe everything is currently ok under your hood. But because I've been known to be wrong once in a while, I want to bring to your attention one thing. It is poosible for a car to slowly leak coolant while have the location of the leaked fluid completely hidden (sometime even from your mechanic) This leak would be called a heater core leak, It's small rdiator like device behind your glove box that is use to creat the hot air you get when you turn on your heater. Because engine coolant is your to heat the inside of your car your engines cooling system has two 3/4 inch hoses which come icide the cab to feed the heater core, there is a small possibilty that one of those hoses or the heater core it'self could be leaking and when this happens the cool will run down the floor board of you car Hidden underneath the carpeting which is frequently lined with plastic so you wouldnt notice wet carpet. I doublt your having this problem at this time but one thing you may notice if it is happening is a sweet smell and / or taste in the air when you use the heater/a/c or defrost, and sometimes excessive moisture on the windshield at times when your windows wouldnt norma;lly stasem up. Good Job, and good luck. Oh and sorry bout that lil joke.
November
its probably got an internal leak where its getting into the cylinder/combustion chamber and getting burned ,going out the exhaust.hes not that good of a mechanic if they pressurized the system and didnt find it.did you bring it to the dealer where the car was bought.if so they tend to purposely not find the problem until the warrenty has run out.
mr. y
2 years is a long time for it to be leaking. You should see antifreeze on the ground, if not it is definately going somewhere. Have your oil checked. If it's in your oil then you have a bad head gasket [s] and it will have to be fixed as antifreeze is not good for engine bearings.
goalaska
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