How concerned should I be about my car consuming about .5 liters of coolant a week. it's not running hot, and there is always some in the reservoir. Car is a 85 gsl-se with 140k

 

might have a leak somewhere, id pressure test the system

 

yeah ... leak would be my first guess. i've had an undetectable leak for the last year and i only just recently found that it was coming from the intake manifold. look for water in the area of the exhaust manifold or on the unibody rail just across from it ...

 

i have the same problem as well i have noticed coolant accumulating on top of the intake manny closest to the front cover i just keep adding coolant into the reservoir my temps never climb either but then again i dont trust the stock guage either but i am poor soooooo itll have to wait.

 

Il'l check the intake after I drive nextime.

 

Ok trine how about this. Do a pressurized coolant system test.

 

The SEs do not have coolant o-rings in the manifold. Only the 12A engines and the turbo 13Bs have the coolant flowing through the intake. You either have an external leak or the coolant seals are bad (requires rebuild to fix).

You should start off and try to pressurize the system and look for leaks as the others have stated. You can also check for a bad coolant seal by starting the engine with the radiator cap off. If a coolant seal is bad, the coolant may swell up and overflow. Also, "champagne bubbles" in the coolant while the engine is running also indicates a bad coolant seal (combustion gases getting into the coolant system similar to a bad head gasket on a piston engine). Bad coolant o-rings will usually cause white smoke out of the exhaust with a sweet smell. Also, bad coolant o-rings can make the engine hard to start after it has been sitting for awhile (coolant gets into the combustion chamber and on the spark plus).

Kent

 

Trineonx if you dont find a leak it could be a coolant seal in the motor if it was that to make it live a long time buy a stant rad cap with the vent on it and releave the pressure when you are done driving.

 

Flush and refill with clear coolant. Put red tracer die in your coolant. After warming up, give it WOT for ten seconds while your bud stands behind the muffler in his best white jeans ( you know, the ones that look like the crackerjack boy ).

If either pant looks like a bloody hemorhage, then it's time for a rebuild.

If they just stink profusely of unburned hydrocarbons, then everything is normal.