engine coolant missing....

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 9:49 pm

I have a 2002 Dodge neon sxt that has been eatting away at my coolant. I checked the oil and the coolant isn't in there.. I left cardboard under my car overnight and no leaks at all.. But i am finding myself filling the container up every few weeks..

Any ideas?

(if i dont respond right away its because ill be in North Carolina until sunday)

thanks
-chris

cbjones26 · Post by **cbjones26** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 10:12 pm

is it burning it? do you have white smoke coming from your exhaust? maybe you have a bad head gasket? my old 96 intepid had the same symptoms and it was the head gasket!

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:19 pm

bad head gasket or cracked cylinder head. thats about the only way it can disappear.

thttxboy · Post by **thttxboy** » Wed Nov 26, 2008 11:45 pm

If you checked ur oil of course it wouldn't be there lol. Um is ur car overheating at all?? Just because there isn't any coolant in the coolant reservoir doesnt mean theres no coolant.

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:40 am

Your car might be shooting the coolant out the overflow tube while your driving. The coolant probably won't leak while the car is sitting turned off.

Fill it up and leave it running for a while, that should give you an idea where it's leaking from. If it's not in the oil, and your car isn't smoking from the muffler or under the hood, it's leaking out somewhere.

Also, check the heater and radiator hoses to see if they are deteriorated or bulging under pressure. Once the pressure builds up it can leak out of a rotted hose, but could still not leak while the car is off.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 7:00 am

When i turn it on and drive it theres no white/grey smoke coming out of the tailpipe.

The hoses shouldn't be bad, a lot of times i will get out of my car once i get back from school (1 hour drive) to check the coolant and nothing seems out of the ordinary.. The hoses looked normal.

The past 6-7 times i have filled the tank up the same things happen.. It will slowly loose coolant till about midway down the tank and then out of nowhere its gone. I have made sure to keep my eye on it so that coolant doesn't all run out and the car overheats but still.. i would much rather not have to spend the money all the time on coolant.

once i get home ill have to check some other things.. for some reason someone told me i had to "remove the timing belt" when i change the headgasket.. is that true? Because i just changed my timing belt about 1k ago (the coolant has been disappearing a month or two before the timing belt was changed)

thanks
-chris

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 10:26 am

it does not look like a head gasket, it sounds like a regular leak from somewhere...

+1 on what donkeypuncher said!

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 3:44 pm

If it was the head gasket there would be coolant in the oil and/or running down the engine block and smoking, plus it makes a very distinct noise. Yes the timing belt has to come off to do the head gasket, it sucks but that's the way it is on all cars.

Your best bet is to rev the engine and get it to overheat while parked. The higher the rpms, the faster the water pump spins, which increases the pressure in the cooling system. I got my money on the lower radiator hose or one of the heater core hoses.

patiofurnituregt · Post by **patiofurnituregt** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 4:41 pm

It is probably a leak from high pressure...Like Donkeypuncher was saying. You could get it up to temp and then try driving it hard for 15min reving it out. Then quickly check the hoses afterward. Since you have not noticed any smells of burnt coolant I'm willing to bet it is a lower radiator hose or you may even try and check around the radiator itself for a lil crack somewhere? But atleast this would explain why you dont see anything on the cardboard.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:56 pm

That does seem to make sense with the lower hose.. Ill have to check that out when i get home sunday.

Thanks everyone. Ill be sure to let you guys know what i find.

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:41 pm

my old 95 used to boil the coolant in the overflow tank when i drove it hard. I put in a 1 or 2 pound stronger radiator cap, and fixed the problem.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:04 am

Ok, the lower radiator hose was the problem

Thanks everyone!
-Chris

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:07 am

was it just loose? spraying out coolant steam?

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:42 am

It seemed to be loose..

I guess it also makes sense because when i did drive it hard, you could smell coolant.. Im pretty much oblivious to alot of things.. I guess i didn't notice the coolant smell before.

But right now the car is at school.. Im taking the aftermarket springs off and placing the stock springs back on so i can trade it in soon. (dont worry, ill still be in the Mopar family, haha).

Neon4Life · Post by **Neon4Life** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:29 pm

Haganracing wrote:Ok, the lower radiator hose was the problem

Thanks everyone!
-Chris

so what did u do replace it or just tighten it more cause i have the same problem in mine having to refill it every few days with no leak. should i just check the lower hose or buy a new one ?

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:08 pm

I just moved the clip on it.. the type were you need plyers to squeeze them on and off...

But part of my clip was just barley on and i guess with all the pressure it would leak out.

The hose itself seemed decent.. i checked it and i dont think it needs replacing..

Im also just trying to get this thing ready for trade-in.. So the least cost for me the better, but i do want the new owner of my car to not have this problem

-Chris

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 8:57 am

Don't let them rip you off on the trade in price, anything under $2500 is an insult, and even that's pretty low.

Neon4Life · Post by **Neon4Life** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:08 am

Haganracing wrote:I just moved the clip on it.. the type were you need plyers to squeeze them on and off...

But part of my clip was just barley on and i guess with all the pressure it would leak out.

The hose itself seemed decent.. i checked it and i dont think it needs replacing..

Im also just trying to get this thing ready for trade-in.. So the least cost for me the better, but i do want the new owner of my car to not have this problem

-Chris

oh alrite ill check mine out later and replace the clamp thats holding it.

but thats a nice neon and yeah just try not to take less than 3 or even 4K for it.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 9:39 pm

Yeah ill get the KBB on it, print it off, and take it with me. My dad has been known to talk them into the KBB price and get a lower price on the car we are looking at buying.

So ill have him go with me to make sure im not going to get screwed on the deal.

Post by **occasional demons** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 10:46 pm

Always work the deal before letting them know you would like to trade. Keeps them from hiding the real value of what they're giving you for your trade. More BS yes, but you are better off.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 11:39 pm

occasional demons wrote:Always work the deal before letting them know you would like to trade. Keeps them from hiding the real value of what they're giving you for your trade. More BS yes, but you are better off.

Thats a good idea.

Im want to get an srt-4 since its my first choice, but i guess it really just depends on whats available when the time comes (hopefully within the next month or two)

-Chris

Neon4Life · Post by **Neon4Life** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:43 am

Haganracing wrote:
occasional demons wrote:Always work the deal before letting them know you would like to trade. Keeps them from hiding the real value of what they're giving you for your trade. More BS yes, but you are better off.
Thats a good idea.

Im want to get an srt-4 since its my first choice, but i guess it really just depends on whats available when the time comes (hopefully within the next month or two)

-Chris

getting a srt-4 thatll be a great choice.

Donkeypuncher · Post by **Donkeypuncher** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 5:56 pm

Don't play their "payment" game either. They like to break it down and ask what you want to pay a month which is bullshit. Just remember, keep lowballing them and make the sales guy go to his manager as many times as possible. Eventually they get annoyed and start meeting you half way on your requests.

The final price of the car is the true bottom line, not what you want the payments to be. The financing department will decide what the payments will be, depending on the APR % and length of the loan, the sales guy has no say in that even they he wants you to think that.

My friend was a car salesman and I've seen him beat dealers into submission at least 5 times in the past 8 years. Also, don't be afraid to walk out and go somewhere else. Dealerships are desperate to sell cars these days and will eventually bend over backwards to make a sale.

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:40 pm

Also get some interest rates for loans at a few banks. I have had dealers try to screw me on the interest too. I just ell them I'll finance through my bank, and they will do much better after that.
Another issue is disabilty/life insurance on the loan. they can sneak that in there and the payments can be as much as $40/month higher. One dealer lost the financing on the car because the loan guy lied and said there wasn't insurance on the loan. I financed elsewhere for the $40/month less. They said they could have dropped the insurance and match that amount. I told them I specifically asked if there was insurance, so you guys screwed yourselves. They weren't happy.

Haganracing · Post by **Haganracing** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:31 pm

Alright cool, ill have to remember all this. (maybe write it on the inside of my arms, hahaha)

thanks
-Chris