jlnellz

I have a '92 ES300 with 325K miles on it, and have had it for almost 3 weeks now. I have to add coolant to it about every 3 days, and I can't see a coolant leak after my car has been sitting. The car engines smokes somewhere in the area of the pictures, it's hard for me to pinpoint the exact area, and I don't know anything what-so-ever about cars.
I've read how to fix the cup holder from this website and did it no problem, so I figured I'd try to find out some help on what this problem could be.
Does anyone have an Idea, and if more information is needed, I'll do my best to find out and supply it. I just hope it's not a $$$$$ fix since I just bought the car from a family friend.
Thanks all!

-Jeff (new to the Lexus Club)

LeX2K

Do you have a block heater? The best way to find a coolant leak is to get a pressure tester, it will reveal a leak in a few seconds.

jlnellz

No I don't. But I know someone that has a pressure tester. He did it before and said he didn't find a leak, but I'll have him do it again. I know that I read in one of the forums about coolant going into the cylinders? I just hope that's not the case.

LeX2K

Do you smell coolant in the exhaust? If you do a coolant pressure test and don't find one, then the only other place for it to go is into the cylinders. A leak down test will show this. But one thing to note, a coolant pressure test is sometimes not enough to reveal a leaking head gasket, there is not enough pressure introduced into the system.

If you have access to wheel ramps, drive the car up on them and start the engine, and go under the car with a good, strong light and look for coolant, and the signs of a leak. Coolant when it dries leaves behind coloured trails.

It does sound like coolant is dripping onto the hot exhaust.

jlnellz

Alright, I'll have him do a pressure test again and see what the results are. I do smell an odor every now and then, mostly when I am at a complete stop after getting of the highway. I'll try to get access to wheel ramps and look from underneath also, anything to figure this thing out. I never see color trails in my driveway.
Would I be able to see where the coolant would be dripping onto the hot exhaust?
(I wouldn't even know where the exhaust is, besides the tail pipe)
Thanks for your input.

LeX2K

Yes, especially considering the amount you are losing. What would really help is to clean the engine off nicely first, it makes tracking down leaks much easier.

here is a diagram of the cooling system. If I had to guess, you might have a leak in and around the EGR system which is dripping onto the exhaust manifold.

donbryce

Just a thought, but considering the mileage and the new-to-you car, it's also likely that you have more than 1 problem here. You could have a coolant leak AND an oil leak. You need to go under the car with the engine hot, level surface, and look real close at the top of the exhaust pipes, front and rear (that is, the pipes off both front and rear manifolds). You're looking for oil and/or coolant running down and burning off on the hot pipe. If the smoking starts only when the exhaust has reached hot temperature, this is the way to go.
I had smoke coming out the right front wheel well, at stop lights and when parked/idling. After cleaning off all the gunk with a high pressure cleaning wand and solvent, then allowing everything to dry up, I found my leak: the O-ring in the oil filter support/housing where it is bolted to the engine block. Your leak could be many places, above the pipe, like a valve cover gasket, which trickles down and eventually burns on the hot pipe. Also, look for black areas on the pipe where oil has been burning off.
The coolant loss could be a leak or something more serious like head gasket. A bad gasket will make lots of tailpipe smoke, but probably not smoke like you are describing.

jlnellz

I appreciate the input from both of you, I will do all of the above with everything in mind. Looks like I won't be able to get to it till this coming week. I will keep everyone posted on my discoveries and hopefully they are minimal...hopefully. Thanks again!