Ugh...coolant leak?

[particlewave]

I spent some time driving in KC on Tuesday during high temps...after parking, I noticed a small river flowing from under the car. It was coolant. Looked to be about a liter or so and had stopped by the time that I noticed it and looked under the car and rear trunk. From the stream, I could tell that it originated from the resevoir/fill tank area.

I'll do some searching, but was hoping for some quick, experienced answers before I tear into things...is this a boil over situation, or am I looking at a leak? No condensation under the trunk and no overheating, though the temp needle was slightly higher than normal.

?????

[particlewave]

Also, is there an easy way to check if it is leaking from the tank area or pump?

[Stroked & Blown]

I had this happen one time during an AX on a high temp day - turns out the tank was overfilled & it was just overflow, but I parked it for the day as a preventative measure.

The coolant overflow tank is prone to cracking.
Pedro has a DIY here: Replace Coolant Reservoir

[particlewave]

Cool...I'll check that out. One more thing to add: I drove it the 60 miles home afterward. It wasn't overheating, so I wasn't terribly worried, but the resevoir was empty after I got home.

[SeanZ4]

You're a lot more committed than I am. I'm just West of you on 70 and wasn't it like 104 that day? Uhgggg... It's hopefully just an overflow. Mine did that a couple of years ago and it turned out to be the infamous cap that ended in pn# .00. I did drive mine in 102-105 deg. heat a week or so ago and it was running a tad over the usual temp. level.

[particlewave]

Oh yeah! It was over 100 degrees...Just checked under the trunk carpet and it is bone dry No signs of anything unusual. I'm really leaning toward an overflow situation.

BTW, bad lighting led me to think that the tank was empty; in fact, it is only slightly below minimum level, further leading me to a hot day overflow scenario. I will add a bit of distilled water and call it good, I think, seeing as it never overheated.

Thanks all!

[nieuwhzn]

These tanks just suck. It is practically impossible to get a proper reading from the outside. I don't bother trying anymore, just take the cap off and peek inside.

[19martin83]

same thing happened to me today, it just started leaking and it went away, about 110 degrees outside. so overflow is normal to a 99?

[bmx672]

Mine did the exact same thing yesterday after I got home from a drive in 100+ heat. I replaced the tank this past spring and thought maybe one of the hoses came off, but they were all fine. I do have my coolant watered down quite a bit from topping it off over the last couple of years. Maybe I had a boil over easier than I should have because of that... The leak is somewhere at the tank because the only coolant that leaked was just from the tank.

[particlewave]

I'm assuming its normal...I topped it off and had another trip to KC in 100+ degree heat(about 120mile round trip). It ran slightly hotter than usual, but held steady. I got home and immediately started to remove the bumper to clean out the radiators. After watching a YouTube vid on bumper removal, it honestly only took about 20 min to get the bumper off...well worth it. My rads were so full of crap! I'll post a pic later, but it looked similar to other pics I've seen here; leaves, bugs, cigarette butts....

Haven't drove it again yet, but I hope it helps the car to run a little cooler in this oppressive heat.

[SeanZ4]

Particlewave, it was absolutely beautiful here yesterday.. 75-85 deg. Saturday though... yuck... 106-109. I just stayed in. I'll have to find that youtube vid. I've always been curious as to what lurks inside my radiators. From what I see they look pretty good. There's an area though that you can't see that's probably full of crap.

[particlewave]

Yeah, the bulk of it was really crammed back in there where you wouldn't be able to see...

[particlewave]

Just a repeat of the other pics on the forum...clean out your radiators! Well worth the hour or so that it takes.