Just what it says. I have a 93 Cavalier with a 2.2 motor. I runs great, but recently I've had to add water regularly. There is no sign of a leak anywhere. I've checked everywhere, nothing. I put my pressure tester on it, pumped it up to 15 psi, checked it 15-minutes later and its still at 15-psi. So whats going on here??
Water can not just magically disappear, its gotta be going somewhere. This problem started back in August. It doesn't over heat, there is no water in the oil and no oil in the water. I'm at a loss.
Any Ideas??????
It's coming out of your heater core and onto your carpets and evaporating. Do you have a lot of condensation on the inside of the glass after sitting in the hot sun, or after a cold night you have frost on the INSIDE??
Or
It's going out your tail pipe.
If you haven't any leaks....ever, no puddles, no signs of coolant residue on the engine, it is going into your combustion chamber and being vaporized.
Check for a coolant leak when the engine is cold. Do it for hours, not 15 minutes.
It could be a cracked block, a cracked head, a bad head gasket.
If it is being burned, the leak is young and will only get worse.
When you start in the AM after sitting all night, is the exhaust visible but noticeably a white color and have a "sweet" smell to it?
This is a sure sign of major problems.
Keep us posted
Dave
I will check what you have suggested. I do find the combustion chamber unlikely (please correct me if I'm wrong) because the cooling system operates at 12 to 14 psi. If there was a leak in the combustion chamber, whose pressure is much higher, should cause serious cooling system problems. This car runs normal temps, even after the problem started, even in 99 and 100 degree outside temps with the AC running.
I will however look into it, it will get worse.
I do sincerely thank you for taking the time to respond, it is appreciated
Just finished a compression test, lowest cylinder was 144, the highest was 155. Not bad for a motor with 118,000 miles. That should rule out water in the combustion chamber. I'll have to put it up on ramps next weekend and see whats up.
I just remembered, I did replace the water pump in August, the old one started leaking. Thats when this problem started. I'll have to see if the new one has a slight leak when the motor is running. I had the pressure tester pumped up now for 30 minutes, lost about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound. Thats normal for a Snap-On Presuure tester. Cannot find my radiator cap adapter so I cannot test it.
Its getting late and I gotta get up at 5:30
Ranger SVO wrote:Just finished a compression test, lowest cylinder was 144, the highest was 155. Not bad for a motor with 118,000 miles. That should rule out water in the combustion chamber. I'll have to put it up on ramps next weekend and see whats up.
I just remembered, I did replace the water pump in August, the old one started leaking. Thats when this problem started. I'll have to see if the new one has a slight leak when the motor is running. I had the pressure tester pumped up now for 30 minutes, lost about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound. Thats normal for a Snap-On Presuure tester. Cannot find my radiator cap adapter so I cannot test it.
Its getting late and I gotta get up at 5:30
Maybe losing that much pressure is normal for a defective Snap On Tester, It shouldn't lose any. Defeats the purpose of doing a test! Get a new or better tester.
Are you sure you got ALL of the old gasket off of the pump housing? It can be horribly difficult to get it all, especially up at the top where you cannot see and can only feel. Also Where did the pump come from? Many of the cheap (low cost) ones out of Auto Zone or similar aren't really worth the effort it takes to install! It may very well be defective.
Also Many coolant leaks ONLY happen when the engine is stone cold and everything has contracted after being hot. That is the time to check it, not hot. Look carefully around each hose connection. Also look carefully at the metal heater pipes, they rust and leak as well.
Best of luck, keep us posted
dave
Found it, I put the pressure tester on it at 10 this morning and cheched it at 12:30. It lost 2-1/2 pounds. So this was a slow leak. Two years ago I put a flush T in the heater hose and thats where it was leaking from. I replaced the T and the two clamps.
The key to finding the leak was warming up the motor (after putting the pressure tester on) and then waiting, because there was no sign of a leak with the engine cold. It leaked as the engine cooled down. Thanks
