So an indy did my TB/WP about 3 or 4 weeks back. Since I topped everything off, the reservoir shows steadily losing coolant. In the reservoir its down about 2 inches every week - about 5 hours of driving. I know in the past after so often the coolant reservoir would need a little -as these cars are known to lose a little. But I dont think it should lose coolant this fast!


No drips, no antifreeze smell at any time, no white residue that I can see.
Any thoughts or common mistakes after these are done?

I just changed my oil and no milky oil or sweet smell etc. I'm taking it back in, but if there was a simple known 'things to check' I'm happy to look!

 

Yeah, that's obviously a problem. It's leaking out someplace, or being consumed by the engine.

I would hope the shop that performed the work will find the source of the problem. Have you experienced any overheating? I can't imagine there's a head gasket concern.

No excessive steam when you start it?

 

It's possible that the heater core was completely drained during the repair and coolant is now slowly refilling it. Try to run your car with the A/C on Max heat for a few minutes to circulate coolant into the heating core.

 

^you beat me to it

In the mechanic's defense maybe he didn't have the heat on when he bled the system and air is making its way out from the heater core. Again that's a far stretch but if you aren't dripping coolant or cannot smell it then the mechanic may have a hard time finding a leak.

 

Like the others suggested, it's possible that there was a void somewhere in the cooling system, and it's getting filled in. I think the mechanics get in a rush and don't properly bleed the system. I had this happen on my wife's car, with no overheating. I wonder if your actual radiator is low as well? You can either properly bleed your cooling system, or take it back (that's what I would do since you paid them to do it right). If this isn't the issue the mechanic will have to diagnose the problem, and you can go from there.

 

The core was half full initially, so yes I filled the radiator and reservoir. Its been probably 3-4 weeks and I'm still topping off the reservoir every week.

 

Given significant time is passing, make sure to get written notice to the indy that did the work that there may be an issue and describing the problem (if you haven't already done so).

 

I did my wife's water pump on a GM SUV carefully on Labor Day. I idled the car for more than 15 min. in the driveway, burped it, ran the heat. All good. We went out to dinner and vehicle was leaking. Thank goodness I thought the fluid was pink but it was orange.

This was my first go at constant tension hose clamps (I peeked under the LS' hood and it too has them), and it was leaking from where the lower rad hose met the thermostat housing. I had placed the clamp in exactly the same place where it was indented (I took it off and put it back, this is how A1 or 1A auto did it on their video). When I moved the clamp backwards where it no longer matched the indentation, no more leak.

Two things I learned. 1 was the clamp thing--talked to a guy at a wake he said this has happened to him many times. My next go would be to replace the clamp with new, and then the hose. #2 is that getting to operating temp in the driveway is obviously not the same as driving on the highway at operating temp.

Leaks don't have to hit the ground. They can happen and then evaporate. My wife's car had some Dexcool on the ground 2 mos ago, then magically no more. Then all over the **** place just before Labor Day. I find any type of leak to be quite annoying....and they should be addressed because they can't fix themselves, as much as we wish they could. Good luck.

edit p.s. like it or not the indie has to redo the job. On my wife's water pump job there are guys online who said they had to do the job 2X as the gasket leaked afterwards despite being properly being torqued to 89 in. lbs., i.e. they let everyone know to use RTV (what a waste of torque to yield bolts too as they are $4 each times 6 at the dealer). I did and not only did the WP not leak, but I was able to have it held in place while I did the 6 bolts (you can't see all of them 1-2 are by feel). Dudes that give these tips are way cool.

 

I'm no mechanic, but if the radiator core was half full when you got the car back, it seems like they didn't properly bleed and fill your cooling system. I think this lends some credibility to the idea that it is just "filling in the gaps" so to speak. If you combine this with the normal evaporation, I think it's a possibility. I would take it back to them with your concerns, and make sure you tell them about the radiator being half full.

 

what exactly do you mean by this -> edit p.s. like it or not the indie has to redo the job.


FWIW this is a guy that has been a family friend and run a small town service show for probably 40 years. So he dosent get the best talent, but hes well know, reasonable and knows how things go. He'll make whatever to make things right, but who knows.

 

I was thinking that the WP is inside the timing case so he would have to redo it whether he likes it or not, if the car is losing coolant...and trying to illustrate that in real life, say when a shade tree working on one's own car, the job has to be done twice sometimes due to some minor error. Businesses likely lose all their margin when they have to do things 2X, but that is life...

Interesting too someone might know why. I notice in doing my wife's I had to route the serpentine around 7 pulleys/wheels if you will. 6/7 have the belt go around each wheel. The water pump simply has the belt run over it like an upside down U, making contact with maybe 25% of the pulley. The LS430 is the same, only like a U, or more like a V.

 

Are you topping off when the engine is cold? If so there's a good chance you're putting too much in and it's getting expelled while driving. The level you perceive as full changes when the car heats up and the surplus is expelled via expansion thus lowering the amount of fluid you see in the reservoir. Judging the coolant level via the reservoir is not accurate. If you suspect it's low, and losing coolant, check when cold using the radiator cap. You'll have to remove the intake plenum (above the radiator) to do this but you can leave it off while you monitor the level with no issue. The reservoir holds a lot more than you can verify visually so using it as a guide is never accurate. Remove the rad cap occasionally in the morning when the engine is cold. If you're still adding fluid, over time, directly into the radiator then you have a leak somewhere...

 

How old is the radiator?
One of the areas I've noticed and experienced is that the O-ring on the radiator petcock will dry up. When they loosen this to drain the radiator that may have been enough to make it leak and it drains out the drain tube under pressure. The O-ring is cheap fortunately. If you want to get in out fast with minimal coolant mess, buy a new one to swap in. As well, these plastic composite plugs do dry out and become brittle with age, I've had some break the ears or shear off due to being stuck. By 80-100K miles they are usually fairly brittle even for So. Cal climates.

 

Great feedback guys!!! I'll drive it as is, but check the core and reservoir and just see what it does. I have topped off the tank but never gone back a few days later, so maybe its blowing out the first inch or 2 EVERY time I fill the reservoir to the brim.


Thanks!