Losing Coolant, no leaks?

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Losing Coolant, no leaks?

By MilpitasEH2
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:24 am #338171 What's up everyone! not gunna lie, i really like this community more than hatertech -_- BUT.. i have a problem. I'm losing coolant with no sign of leaks. So i did a compression test.

Normal:
1:225
2:215
3:235
4:235

W/ Oil:
1:250
2:250
3:260
4:265

Those are the numbers i got for a 90,000 mile OBDI GSR engine.

Engine is not overheating. No gunky liquid under the radiator nor any coolant mixed with the oil when i pull the dipstick. I did a valve adjustment before doing the compression test, pulled out the ecu for the compression test AND i pulled out all the spark plugs before even testing it as well. I think it's the head gasket but i wanna be sure it's the head gasket and spending tons of money just for something that doesn't fix the problem. People told me it's fine but my axleback exhaust is shooting out white smoke after being warmed up and revving the engine. And yes, i even tasted the clear liquid that was dripping from the exhaust lol. Tasted like nothing.

Can the white smoke be caused by an exhaust leak? Because there is liquid dripping from the mid pipe and axleback exhaust due to a stuck silencer i had to yank out. :thumbdown: Please help guys. It's been almost a month since i haven't driven my car and it's killing me lol.
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By Leppy
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:29 am #338172 Check your thermostat?

I've never had this problem on my Honda, but my Ford truck was having the same issue.

I fixed it by pulling the radiator out, flushing it entirely of rust (it was bad!) and changing the thermostat. Simple maintenance, but it worked like a charm
Last edited by Leppy on Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By teal_dx
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:30 am #338173 How much coolant are we talking about here? Has the temp ever gone above normal?
Possible that the coolant is being forced out of the coolant reservoir?
Some other possible places to lose coolant are the water pump,fitv, iacv and the hoses going to it, and the water pipe on the back of the block.

If you have white smoke though, I'd say it's an early sign that the headgasket is starting to go. Your compression numbers are still decent although #2 is a little suspect.
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By mitch6
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:36 am #338178 when I had my civic coupe winter beater, compression test was consistent and was not too low, but I was losing alot of coolant. Turns out it was my Head Gasket, so I replaced it, no more leaks, and the compression was much better than I expected. So most likely an early sign of head gasket failure as Teal stated.
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By MilpitasEH2
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:39 am #338180 thermostat is fine. i just replaced it. yeah i might flush the radiator if anything.

i would say depending on how far i drive i would say 1/6 would be gone from the reservoir tank. The highest the temp has ever gone is half. Yeah coolant is going out of the reservoir tank! yeah that's what i was thinking too... :?
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By mitch6
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 1:54 am #338181
MilpitasEH2 wrote:thermostat is fine. i just replaced it. yeah i might flush the radiator if anything.

i would say depending on how far i drive i would say 1/6 would be gone from the reservoir tank. The highest the temp has ever gone is half. Yeah coolant is going out of the reservoir tank! yeah that's what i was thinking too... :?


Yea, when I had this problem with my coupe, the temp was never above half, but man when I took off the head to change the gasket, I was in for quite the surprise.... That block was no good, the cylinder jackets were corroding away.... and my head gasket was leaking very minimally, but enough to cause a noticeable coolant level drop after frequent driving too. So worst case, the head gasket is probably your issue.

Ill try to post some pics of my cylinder jackets corroding :lol:
Mind you it was a beater, so I didnt care much about it

If its not the head gasket, that will save you a lot of work :thumb:
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By teal_dx
- Wed Oct 30, 2013 3:09 am #338183 If coolant is leaving the reservoir tank, you're getting air into the system somehow. The air will push out the coolant and an air pocket can also cause the temps to rise as well as bouncy idle. Air could be creeping bast the combustion chamber into the coolant passage. If you're burning coolant then I think I'd replace the head gasket - that's 2 signs.
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