Where the F*&k is my coolant going?

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You could always straight wire your fans to a switch. I had to do this on my motorcycle the fans would kick on, but it would run warmer than I wanted. It isn't ghetto rigging, just being safe.
 
TheManRSW said:
You could always straight wire your fans to a switch. I had to do this on my motorcycle the fans would kick on, but it would run warmer than I wanted. It isn't ghetto rigging, just being safe.
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running your fans full time via a hard wire setup or something is GHETTO. Fixing the problem is the right way to go
 
So instead of ghetto rigging until you find the real problem...you are just going to take your chances with an overheating problem? Do you have another car to drive...overheating can be devastating to an engine, but you probably already know this.
 
if you run the fan off of a switch in the cabin of the car you can control when it comes on and when it doesnt.. if you're running your car hard, flip it on
 
eg6sir said:
if you run the fan off of a switch in the cabin of the car you can control when it comes on and when it doesnt.. if you're running your car hard, flip it on
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That's what I was getting at when I said to hard wire a switch. It's there when you need it and it may save an engine. I'll take ghetto over a blown engine any day. If push comes to shove, just keep the switch until you figure out the root cause of the fan malfunction.
 
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TheManRSW said:
That's what I was getting at when I said to hard wire a switch. It's there when you need it and it may save an engine. I'll take ghetto over a blown engine any day. If push comes to shove, just keep the switch until you figure out the root cause of the fan malfunction.
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nah i have two other cars so im not worried, but i dont want to " temporarily" fix anything, i just want to fix it.
 
I was just saying to hard wire it if you had to drive it daily. Ghetto beats overheating in my opinion. I hope you figure out the problem though.
 
ryangt said:
nah i have two other cars so im not worried, but i dont want to " temporarily" fix anything, i just want to fix it.
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well, buy a fan switch and be done with it.. eBay has them for $25-$30
 
first make sure the fan has not went out , run a ot wire to the fan and see if it comes on if it does make sure the relay is good and replace the temp sensor
 
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ok so i sent the wife to the store in the car, she left with the fans not working, she comes home and i hear the fans blowin away like normal. WTF. I read on team integra about " mysterious coolant loss" being linked to a malfunctioning radiator seal. They said its pretty common in G# integras, im gonna look at that today.

where on the temp gauge should i be seeing the fans kick on?
 
SVTS262B, Tester, Cooling System

One of my favorite tools in my toolbox. You can get them from pretty much anyplace that sells a decent selection of tools, and generally a hell of alot cheaper than Snap-on.

Quite often if you have a small leak that is only leaking under pressure (when you are up to operating temperature) the coolant will burn off before you can get a chance to see where it is coming from. Sometimes depending on the size of the leak and the location you wont see much steam making it a bitch to track down a leak :mad: .

1. Make sure your engine bay is fairly clean, it will make life a whole lot easier.
2. Top off your cooling system.
3. Use the hand pump to add pressure to the cooling system.
4. Watch the gauge. If you have a leak you should be seeing a drop in pressure. It might be very slow (up to 15mins) but nonetheless, you should, over time see a drop in pressure.(If you ahve a leak)
5. Never under any circumstances add more pressure to the system than it is rated for. If you dont know what pressure your cooling system is rated for your Hanes or Chilton manual should have it listed. If your car has a 13lb radiator cap do not ad more than 13lbs of pressure to the cooling system. Bad things will happen! How do I know? Well the jeep didnt need a new radiator before i pressure tested it. I managed to blow the seams on the radiator by putting 25lbs of pressure in it. Turns out it had a seeping water pump :eek: . Yay 150 bucks out of my pocket.
6. Make sure to check on and around you water pump.
7. If this does not produce your leak then we move on to the next step
 
GDCT16, Tester, Combustion Leak

Very easy item to use. Kinda like a pregnancy test but you dont have to pee in it:D . Exhaust gasses in you cooling system create a chemical reaction with the chemical supplied with the testing unit, to make it change color. Color varies depending on the brand of testing solution used.

1. Top off the cooling system.
2. Run the car until it reaches full operating temperature.
3. Shut it off and let it cool down for a couple minutes.( Coolant burns are nasty)
4. Add the recomended amount of solution to the tester.
5. Open the coolant overflow jug.(use the radiator if you dont have an over flow jug) The coolant should have cycled when you reached full operating temperature. Use the handpump (little bulb at the end kinda like a turkey baster) to draw air from the coolant jug and or radiator. Dont suck up coolant with it! You want it as close to the coolant as possible without sucking up the coolant itself.
6. On a bad blown headgasket the testing fluid will change color instantly. On most others it can take up to half an hour. Bottom line if it changes color you have exhaust gasses entering the cooling system=Blown headgasket.
 
Well here ya go fellas, i just diagnosed it. The bottom seal of the radiator is blown, maybe a small hole because its not gushing out, but it was a real bitch to see, now i see where all the leaking is comming from, radiator express here i come.
 
the coolant is probably going into a cylinder. The converter is hot enuff to vaporize the water and blow it out ur exhaust unseen. But when its cold out it should come out white and thick from ur exhaust.Thats my bet.


Edit: and you didnt see it leaking onto the ground
 
RcRacing72 said:
the coolant is probably going into a cylinder. The converter is hot enuff to vaporize the water and blow it out ur exhaust unseen. But when its cold out it should come out white and thick from ur exhaust.Thats my bet.


Edit: and you didnt see it leaking onto the ground
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No becuase the seal is a hard one to diagnose, it really only leaks sometimes, and under certain conditions, such as actually driving around. Since it was the lower seal its hard to see in the first place, you look down and its dry because the water is blown out onto the street while you were driving around. Ive been trying to find this problem for over a month and NO ITS NOT EASY TO SEE.
I used some bars stop leak and it worked pretty good as a quick fix, but the radiator should be here shortly. If your cooling is disapearing, and you DONT have a big white cloud following you, and NO coffee colored oil. ITS THE RADIATOR LEAKING UNDER PRESSURE.
 
Good for you man. Dude I had so many problems with my cooling system. My old motors head bolts were stripped between 2-3 so what it did was pressurise the cooling system to the point were i blew apart the radiator. It took almost a month, two radiators, 4 new hoses, 2 thermostats, new motor, and countless other things to fix my problem. You still got off easy.
 
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