coolant issue

[silverboxter]

need some advice on coolant leak. today i left the parking lot and the coolant light started flashing. i pulled over and checked for leaks...nothing to be found. i did see some moisture on some of the suspension parts so i know that liquid is leaking out. i also notice some moisture on the inside of the trunk lid just above the coolant filler cap. however, there was no liquid in the trunk. i got home and checked the level...i was about 2 pints low.

question is...does this look like a reservoir failure or do you think it might just be a cap or something else?

[Steve Tinker]

Looks like it could be the coolant filler cap, check the serial number - the latest design has a suffix 04. They are not expensive from your nearest supplier.
Any earlier number is suspect.....

[fatmike]

Originally Posted by silverboxter

need some advice on coolant leak. today i left the parking lot and the coolant light started flashing. i pulled over and checked for leaks...nothing to be found. i did see some moisture on some of the suspension parts so i know that liquid is leaking out. i also notice some moisture on the inside of the trunk lid just above the coolant filler cap. however, there was no liquid in the trunk. i got home and checked the level...i was about 2 pints low.

question is...does this look like a reservoir failure or do you think it might just be a cap or something else?

That is what my car did, except when I stopped -- all of the coolant flowed out.

Turned out in my case it was a busted rubber hose -- a simple inexpensive fix. The most expensive part was getting all new Coolant. But since my car is 8 years old, I didn't view that as such a big deal. Also, I shut my car down immediately when the light flashed. A flashing coolant light means your level is dangerously low. Don't drive it until you get it sorted out.

Good luck with it.

[silverboxter]

i ordered a cap last night from pelican parts. should have it in a couple days. hope that takes care of my issue. i'll keep you posted.

thanks for the advice.

[silverboxter]

drove to work and back today. no moisture on the trunk. guess all i had to do was take the cap off and put it back on! jk....i'm convinced the problem is a bad cap. should have the new one later this week.

[SeanZ4]

Same thing happened to me last spring. Mine puked a bunch of coolant out in my driveway. Then it quit and didn't leak again. My cap pn# ended in .00. I had the mist on the trunk lid near the cap etc. I ordered a new one (I think from autohauz?) for around $18-20 and have had no problems since.

good luck

[silverboxter]

got the new cap yesterday evening. put it on this morning. forty-five miles to work and forty-five back. not a drop of moisture on the inside of the rear trunk. i'll keep an eye on it but it looks like the cap was the guilty subject. guess i'll order another cap for the wife's box s this week to head off another episode.

thanks to all in the forum.