2006 Town & Country van coolant gone
 

OK, I have a 2006 Town & Country van that is using coolant?
I can drive it about 20 to 30 miles and the rad is about empty. With this much loss I would think that it would be easy to find.
Now what I have done so far is Flushed the cooling system, Replaced thermostat.
Pressure tested the system to no end.
There are no leaks under the van, no water in the oil, no smoke out of the tailpipe.
I am really stumped on this one? Any help would be great

Thanks
mccartyser

Look carefully at the plastic tanks used on the radiator. With my Intrepid, I actually had to remove the headlights to be able to find the leak.
That is the most likely place for a leak that bad, besides a hose leak. If that turns out to be it, DO NOT BUY AN AFTERMARKET RADIATOR. Trust me on that, I went through 3 different aftermarket radiators in just over 9 months. The Mopar replacement has been going strong for 41/2 years now.
The plastic tanks can be prone to failure after a while.

Throw a new radiator cap on it too. If the cooling system passed the pressure test, then it could be an issue with the overflow tank, or a defective cap.

Does this have rear aux heat and A/C? and have you checked the lines under the van and heater core in the left rear corner(wet carpet in the rear stowage area)?

Chrysler Voyager & Town & Country
 

I pumped the pressure up in the Rad. to 15 pounds and it held it overnight.
There is no rear A/C or Heat. It sits in the Garage with on spots under the car.
I just can not understand where it is going

Thanks for your help
mccartyser

What motor is in your van? And WHERE is "LA LA LAND"?
Do you get excessive white smoke out the exhaust pipe when running? Does the motor run rough or smoothly as firing on all cylinders?
Have you checked engine oil to see if coolant has mixed with it( blown gasket or cracked head)?

Well it is a 3.3 motor and as I stated in the post (There are no leaks under the van, no water in the oil, no smoke out of the tailpipe.)
This is what has me sooo stumped?
And La La Land is just a state of mind. (aka Cincinnati. Ohio)
Thanks for your help
mccartyser

From info given, it is theoretically impossible to not find ANY trace of ehre the loss is coming from. I have owned a number of 3.3's and Vans, it is going somewhere.How is engine operation and cooling system when prolonged idling? Do the radiator fans work?

This is really strange!
But, when in the past people haven't been able to find the leak in the usual places, engine bay, etc, check the heater matrix in the car itself, often when these get a leak it causes quite a large loss of fluid, but it gets absorbed into the carpet.

So start to check in the cabin, under/around the dash and heater matrix locations, see if you can find any damp spots there.

The only other possibility I can think of is a failed water pump impeller. not pumping(I have never seen this happen but there are many reports of this). As rpms from driving increase so does the mounting pressure from a static cooling system and blowing it out the reservoir while driving. BUT close examination around the res. tank should show at least TRACE residue of coolant.

Yea That is whats got me?
Nothing on the floor under heater, If it was going in to the reservoir then it would be overfull?
And the engine runs smooth as silk. There is no overheating til the rad. is low on coolant. No smell in car, I am at whits end with this?
Thanks
mccartyser

Let it idle a few hours with heater off and monitor the situation. Had a leak from the rear head gasket a few year ago , 200 miles and must ad 1/2 gal coolant . Could not finde it course it evaporate before it could reach the floor.

Watch the reservoir if there is bubbles or level raise much (could be course by a blown gasket/or crack head and get compression in the coolant system.

Dos the radiator fan kick in and off like it shuld do ?

And you are mistaken about the function of the res. bottle.. it has an overflow outlet and can drain down to nearly empty depending on pressure of coolant possibly overfilling it. You are checking coolant at the radiator and NOT at the separate res. bottle correct?

Same system in all gas models 3,3 - 3,8 pre 2008 .

ofcourse the radiator has to be fill with coolant before making the test. if any air pocket in engine block a pressure test is worth less.

If any leak in system it will draw air in when coolant system is cooling down when you leave the car. and not from the reservoir.

A big misstake MOPAR didn't fit a coolant level sensor in the system.

If any compression air is entering the coolant system if will proberly end up in the reservoir tank . if real bad leak it will force the coolant out first .

You could also just leave the radiator cap of and let it idle normal it force a little water out weile heating up, if any air bubbles you got a problem.

The reservoir can offen get black inside if combustion air get in to the system.

Put some of this stuff in it, and hit it with a black light to find the leak.
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

BillTheAxe just beat me to it. I saw this idea on tv and was astonished how good this operation was. You'll need to black-out your garage though...
Leedsman.

Hear me out.....
Maybe a head gasket.
A small leak into a cylinder that only draws coolant in on the intake stroke and promptly burns it. It's not impossible. I had a car with disappearing coolant for two whole years! The system passed all the tests you have done. We just shook our heads every week when we topped off the plastic reservoir. One day after a couple years the thing started pumping out lots of white sweet smelling "smoke" from the tailpipe and all the coolant disappeared in minutes. That was the eureka moment. Sure enough, the head gasket had a small failure right next to a cylinder bore. The vacuum generated by the intake stroke was just enough to suck in little bits of coolant that could be burnt off. When it finally failed it was a classic mess with foamy milky oil and all that crap. Up until that point... nothing, just disappearing coolant.

I hear you clearly ;)

Sometimes it just so .... :)

Had a similar with headgasket tiny leak from rear gasket and the leak was so small that nothing was on the pavment . and when it cooldown it draw air in through the gasket. Next day you could hear bubbles in the heater. Took me 6 months to finde the leak :)

In UK I seem to remember an episode of "Wheeler-dealers" on tv where Ed. (the mechanic) put something in the coolant that fluoresces (hope I spelled that ok) under ultra-violet light. So after turning out the workshop lights, he went round with his little lamp until he found the fluorescence.
Hope that helps.
Leedsman.

Ring amongst others - note you want one not all four