loosing antifreeze 2004 chev optra

[cbjr61]

loosing antifreeze cant seem to find leak could it be going into engine was going to put that fix it solution into rad but doesnt seem to be cap on rad have to put in through overflow container what a setup what should i do

[7-even]

dont put anything into the radiator to fix it. that can cause problems later on. especially if you have a leak inside the motor. is there smoke coming out the exhaust? usually if your burniing antifreez there will be smoke coming out the muffler. also a sweet smell

[cbjr61]

how do i check if antifreeze going into engine would this be a warranty peoblem its a 2004 chevy optra about 80000 km

[7-even]

check the anti freeze level and make sure its not low. you can also park on top of a piece of cardboard overnight. in the morning look and see if theres any liquid on the cardboard. this can also help you find where the leak is comming from. look at the motor over where the puddle is on the cardboard. make sure all your hoses are dry. like i said before if your car has smoke comming from the exhaust, or there is a sweet smell when you drive or inside the engine bay when the car is running. check the oil see if there is any anti freeze mixed in with the oil on the dip stick. might be a warenty isue it depends what the problem actually is. maybe someone else can answer that for you.

[QuoteWarz]

It could possibly be a blown headgasket or leaking headgasket that is eating up your coolant.

[r0seyp0sey]

check the pressure on all your coolant hoses by simply squeezing them..if they feel very soft that means there is no pressure which means you are losing coolant somewhere...look in your engine bay to see if you can spot any cool puddles on top of your transmission..also look on the ground...if there is smoke coming out of your muffler that almost means you are burning oil, which usually means you blown your head gausket...if you check your dip stick and it looks like chocolate milk that means that your coolant and oil are mixing together...do not add anymore coolant because if you cant find the problem you'll probably only make it worse...coolant has a very sweet smell to it, also if you open your hood and you hear a hissing sound that is steam coming from a coolant hose that is leaking...do not touch it, its VERY HOT!

[LilBlue04Forenza]

Look. It is pure BS that you can't put anti-freeze dye into your system. If you have even the slightest pinhole leak, the dye will come out and fluoresce when hit with a black light. It does absolutely no damage to any system or with any type of anti-freeze. It is the easiest and quickest way to find tiny leaks - bar none. I do also recommend doing a cylinder leak down test AND a compression test. Both require proper tools, but can pinpoint a head gasket problem quickly.

Absolutely do not put any Stop Leak crap or Liquid Glass into your coolent system as that is one sure way of gumming up the works!

[cargirl77]

I'm having the same problem - but i had my mechanic check and i have a pinhole in the heater hose, he did a temporary fix but i think the fix has worn away as i'm losing coolant again. can i put water in the overflow/resevoir to save on constantly adding coolant until the hoses come in from the dealer?

[P1NkY]

STOP! Don't add anything other than the correct coolant to your cooling system! That means no stop-leaks, no additives and no water- ESPECIALLY if it still contains the awful orange/red Dex-Cool coolant!!! Exposure to air (as in a leak) or any incompatible fluids/chemicals turn this (otherwise fine) coolant into a brown viscuous gel that clogs your cooling system. It (dexcool) has also been reported to soften plastics (as in the radiator taks and plastic pipes) and cause major problems, like leaking coolant into the automatic transmission cooler (bottom plastic radiator tank)! I decided to play it "safe" and flush out the system and replace it with the regular "green stuff" (Prestone). You might not want to do that if you're still under warranty, in which case I'd advise you to flush it anyway, and replace it with Dex-Cool (after repairing any leaks, of course). In my case, I may have been too late with my 05 'renza, a week after the change to green my wife rolled in the carport with steam escaping from under the hood. The top plastic tank developed a crack! It has been my (sad) experience that these plastic tanks can NOT be repaired effectively with any type of epoxy or adhesive, so a replacement radiator is in the mail... :_( I hope I don't have to play the "Chase The Leak" game afterwards!
Good luck to you all!

Here's a link about the perils of Dex-Cool and another with damage pics:
http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/dex-cool.htm
http://www.sancarlosradiator.com/dex-cool_pics.htm