Having an issue with my 04 grand voyager. I topped the coolant up when I changed the spark plugs but now the levels are down and i only topped it up yesterday. The overflow bottle is full its just the level in the radiator itself that looks low. is it supposed to run like that or do I have a problem?

 

How far down? Do you notice any puddles under the van?

 

pressure test will show leaking

 

No puddles at all and car is not getting hot at all. Temp never goes over half. Dont have a pressure tester but am trying to afford it

 

- if temp ever goes over the half you will have real problems, you never want prolonged half plus +
- the expansion bottle is called an expansion bottle for a reason, it might appear empty cold and full hot because it e x p a n d s
- so cold or hot fill properly but do not overfill - if you do overfill it will pump it out itself as it over-expands and becomes too pressured
- even in this hot weather it will take 20 mins + to even begin to get that lump hot !


Never overfill the coolant recovery bottle, you can be badly burned by steam or boiling coolant when taking the cap off while the engine is hot. Checks you can do would include looking at the coolant recovery bottle tubing for brittle rubber, cracking, tears, cuts and tightness of the connection at the bottle and radiator. Inspect the entire system for leaks. Just watch the expansion bottle with the engine running you will see the squirt of water entering the bottle, as in squirt pause squirt pause etc.

 

I believe he was talking of the radiator not the expansion bottle when talking about adding coolant to.

 

Did you ever find a solution to this as I'm having a similar issue having to top coolant up every week .. No visible signs of leaks

 

Usually, when the mysterious consumption of coolant has gone on some time and you can't seem to find any reason, the engine is consuming the coolant due to a blown head gasket between a combustion chamber and the coolant jacket. Worse, as on some 528 BMWs., there is a crack in a cylinder wall/liner between it and the coolant jacket. A giveaway could be a slightly steamy exhast when engine is hot. If you hold your hand near the exhaust when hot and idling it feels damp, this is another pointer to coolant being lost to the engine.
Hope it's only a gasket...

Leedsman.

 

To add: If a head gasket is blown and you loose coolant into the combustion chamber smoke from the exhaust appears to be white.. like the damp you see in winter when it freezes.
Its a costly gasket replacement due to a lot of working hours to replace

 

The 3.3 and 3.8 v6 are know to have lower intake manifold leaks. The rear us driver side will leak and usually evaporate and leave a crystalline trail on top of the bell housing.
The front leaks and might be crystalline and might be wet.
It is also possible for the front timing chain cover to leak as well and is a bit harder to prove since it looks like the water pump causes it and should have an oil leak as well.

My bet is either the intake manifold gaskets or the hose for the expantion tank is weak where it connects to the radiator neck and could us a trim or a clamp.