damn coolant
 

hi guys,my gen3 has started to lose coolant.if i drive nice and steady for a couple of miles there is no problem but as soon as i give it a bit of boot the add coolant light and buzzer come on.its not overheating and the motor seems to be fine.when i do top up the coolant its not much about 1/4 pint sometimes less will fill it upagain. has anybody out there had the the same problem and know how to fix it because this is driving me nuts .....thanks in advance

Question:

Is excess coolant building up in the overflow tank? If the answer is yes then you may have a bad AST or filler cap, or there may be a leak or blockage in the line from the AST to the OF tank.

If the answer is no, then you need to look for a leak in the system. There could be a leak in the OF line from the AST. A pressure test will help locate external or coolant-seal leaks in the pressurized part of the system. A hydrocarbon test on the coolant while the engine is running will help to determine if there is exhaust gas getting into the coolant past the coolant seals, a distinct possibility, since your problem occurs when there is high combustion pressure.

Dave

thanks dave.when i turn the car off i do get some coolant being pushed out is this bad do you think

Having some coolant come out when you shut off is normal, since the coolant will heat-soak and expand/boil slightly from sitting in the hot engine. However, having the low-coolant light & buzzer come on is not.

Have you tried driving for an extended period of time to see if the coolant level continues to go down?

If it does not, then maybe the low-coolant sensor or its wiring is the problem. The very small amount of coolant you've been adding does not, in itself, seem like a definite problem indicator to me.

That's why I asked if the level in the OF tank was increasing by the amount of coolant you've been adding.

Dave