had to refill my coolant for the 2nd time this month... is this bad?

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Feb 7, 2005 | 10:27 AM

s4gonebabygone

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had to refill my coolant for the 2nd time this month... is this bad?

there don't appear to be any leaks, never anything under the car after it's been parked, but i filled my coolant about 3-4 weeks ago (it had dropped well below the minimum line, there was almost none in the reservoir in the engine bay) and it's happened again now.

could this be a major issue? the car's probably been driven less than 500 miles since i topped it off last time, and again, there's almost nothing in the reservoir. it has not been driven hard, and it's the winter. it's getting me a bit worried now.

Feb 7, 2005 | 10:30 AM

DAP@EPL

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Not good. If the coolant is leaking and you can't find the leak that can be very bad.

It might be leaking into the oil.

-Dave Pramanik

Feb 7, 2005 | 10:32 AM

UKS4APR1

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Could be your after-run coolant pump, common, do a SITFA

Feb 7, 2005 | 10:32 AM

RKA

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That's a problem.

A few potential sources for leaks are the aux water pump under the intake manifold, bad hose near the reservoir, or a cracked nipple at the reservoir. If the leak is small enough, the coolant escapes in the form of vapor, leaving very little trace of the leak. Still, if you look carefully, you'll usually see some white crusty remains (dried coolant).