I had my low coolant warning light come on the other day. I was down near the min mark so I topped it off. I had replaced the thermostat not too long ago and thought (hoped) maybe it had purged a little air from somewhere. The level has dropped again to about the midpoint between max and min after about 225 miles or so and 6 hours of driving. Not good. I pulled up the passenger carpet and there is no sign of coolant. No leaks at the hoses or in the steel lines behind the engine. No sign of coolant anywhere, nor can I smell it when the engine is hot. Temps are where they should be, 190 under way and climbing to 220 or so in traffic then dropping back down when the fan gets to work. I don't see any vapor from the tailpipe and I only see oil on the dipstick and under the oil cap. No milky residue anywhere. The cap on the reservoir seals up great and you can hear air getting sucked in when you unscrew it when it cools off. I'm not sure where it could be leaking. Could it be the water pump and it's evaporating before it drips? I am going to try a pressure test but I would have thought I'd see some evidence of a problem somewhere. Anybody have any ideas where it might be leaking or advice on the best way to do a pressure test with it? Is a head gasket a possibility? The car has been running fantastic and has not overheated since I bought it 26,000 miles ago. Not sure how the head gaskets fail on these engines. I have a Land Rover and those almost always fail by weeping coolant at the end of the head so nothing gets into the oil or cylinders. Do these tend to dump coolant into the cylinders?
02duxv70
Probably not a head gasket problem. Get a good light / flash light. Look at the turbo coolant drain hose and heater hoses - easier to see from the underside of car. Look at the radiator hose connections. It would definitely help to pressurize the system when cold (can tap into the overflow hose if you don't have a tool to pressurize from the cap). Much easier to attack when the engine is cold.
Depending on how much of the factory air guides under the car are still there, it could be the radiator leaking at the seams where the plastic tanks crimp on and it runs down mostly out of sight.
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FYI, an easy but not flawless test to see if you have a blown head gasket.
Relieve all pressure from the cooling system and make sure the engine is completely cool. Start the car and let it run for a minute or two. Turn the car off and check for a build up of pressure on the cooling system.
If there is a significant amount of pressure, it's probably blown. If it's just a little puff, all is right and ok as far as that's concerned.
Not a fool proof method, but it's something in a pinch.
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Relieve all pressure from the cooling system and make sure the engine is completely cool. Start the car and let it run for a minute or two. Turn the car off and check for a build up of pressure on the cooling system.
If there is a significant amount of pressure, it's probably blown. If it's just a little puff, all is right and ok as far as that's concerned.
Not a fool proof method, but it's something in a pinch.
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Evaporative leaks can be tough to find. My reservoir cap had an evaporative leak, I flipped the gasket and all is well. Radiators are know to be an issue so I'd check that. You can remove the fan to get a look at it.
If you suspect the head gasket then get a combustion leak tester.
If you suspect the head gasket then get a combustion leak tester.
Several years ago, a friend left he automotive industry and gave me his Stant coolant pressure test kit. I spent the additional ~$30 for the Volvo/Saab adapter that threads into the coolant overflow reservoir.
The leak did not present itself until there was about 15 psi added to the system. Good luck!
The leak did not present itself until there was about 15 psi added to the system. Good luck!
Solved! Thanks for all of the replies. I pulled the overflow hose off of the reservoir and put a vacuum cap with a hose clamp on the nipple, then I hooked the tube up the the outlet hose on my handy garden sprayer/brake fluid flusher. I have a pressure gauge threaded into a hole in the canister so I can see how much pressure I'm building. I pumped it up to about 10 psi and I found a nice steady drip coming off the hose on the bottom of the reservoir. Easy fix once I got to the clamp. Scariest part is taking the PS reservoir off with your fingers crossed hoping it doesn't split open. How come they can build an engine that can easily take 18 psi of boost for well over 100,000 miles but they can't build a PS reservoir that becomes so fragile after 60,000 miles?
If you need a new PS reservoir be sure to buy the 2005 or newer version. The hose locations are slightly different but it is a much better design that doesn't leak.
You may find that your coolant reservoir is cracked, and tightening the clamp only makes the problem worse. If the leak continues just replace it, they are very common. Here is what mine looked like, it had a 2011 date stamp on it and this pic was taken in 2013:
![Image]()
You may find that your coolant reservoir is cracked, and tightening the clamp only makes the problem worse. If the leak continues just replace it, they are very common. Here is what mine looked like, it had a 2011 date stamp on it and this pic was taken in 2013:
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