[rwess]

Lost Coolant

my 98 seville keeps loseing coolant.i can smell coolant once in a while but it is not leaking in the driveway,or getting in the oil,and doesn't seem to be burning it

 

[Ranger]

Look closely around the surge tank for white deposits left by dried Dex-Cool, especially around the nipple that the purge line connects to. I just found a hairline crack there on mine. Also run your fingers under the bottom edge of the water pump cover. That gasket has been known to be a problem and has been redesigned. Lastly another common place is where the radiator hoses connect to the plastic radiator side tanks.

 

[rwess]

i checked the surge tank,the radiator but i did not check the water pump as soon as get a chance i will check it. thanks for the heilp

 

[rwess]

i checked the waterpump just now, looked at the surge tank and radiater again and seen nothing

 

[mcowden]

i checked the waterpump just now, looked at the surge tank and radiater again and seen nothing

The water pump bearing seal can leak, which might be hard to see because you will only see evidence of it underneath the pump. You might have to look underneath the car to see it. The water pump cover can also leak - the gasket is not very well designed in my opinion, and that could also be hard to find. Get the car up to full temperature and search carefully with the engine running. Rev it up a little bit to get the system really moving.

 

[rwess]

thanks for the info.mcowden. i will try that.

 

[rwess]

check the waterpump when the car was hott. i could not see any leak from the top or the bottom of the car. one thing that i don,t understand is when the car sits for a day or 2 thier is still pressure in the tank. i was all was under the impression if thier was a leak the car would lose pressure from the leak and not hold it under the cap for a day or 2

 

[Ranger]

Tank is under pressure after 2 days? That's not right. Have the cap pressure tested or replace it and see if that helps.

 

[txspursfan]

I had the same problem on my 96 DeVille. After searching and searching, I let it idle for about 20-30 minutes and I finally saw a leak. I pulled the radiator and sure enough, it was cracked on the front right side, not very easily seen without removal. I went to radiators.com and found a replacement for about 160.