Help, I have a coolant leak somewhere...

MarTTy4653 · 12-16-2008, 12:53 PM

Hi, Guys...I have an '86 MRII. I guess the "No Skills" title is me for sure! This morning when I was on the road on my way to work, the temp needle pegged at maximum. It's about 20 degrees outside now, and we just had an unseasonably cold couple of days. I noticed a lot of steam coming out of the area under the coolant overflow tank near the oil cap. The heater in the car didn't work either when I started the car to warm it up.
Since I'm a newer MRII owner, I don't know the car as well as I should yet...I did put some more coolant in, but the overheating started up shortly after I started up the car. What / Where are the things I need to be looking for? It seems like there's a loose or cracked water hose leaking somewhere, but I just can't see it yet. (Too much steam in the way on a cold day)
Thanks in advance for any help, Marty

MarTTy4653 · 12-16-2008, 12:59 PM

Ooops, sorry for the double post.

MarTTy4653 · 12-16-2008, 02:44 PM

I figured it out, my coolant was semi frozen, blocking the water flow to the heater core. Once I got the engine warm I was able to add some more new antifreeze and get things flowing again.

Timon · 12-16-2008, 04:44 PM

So it wasn't leaking then? Well glad you were able to get it up and running.

PETC · 12-16-2008, 04:49 PM

Ummm... If you had problems with "Freezing" inside of your cooling system then you have more than just a simple "Add more coolant and call it good" problem.

If your car is overheating it is entirely possible that you have damaged your motor. Check to make sure none of the freeze caps on your block, designed to blow out if water inside of the motor freezes, aren't broken or missing. If they are, you're going to continue to loose coolant and overheat.

MarTTy4653 · 12-16-2008, 08:33 PM

I'm lucky, it ran fine on the freeway to work this morning, after I gave the car a good warm up! The steam was coming from the coolant overfkow tank hose.

12-16-2008, 12:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
MarTTy4653 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Help, I have a coolant leak somewhere... Hi, Guys...I have an '86 MRII. I guess the "No Skills" title is me for sure! This morning when I was on the road on my way to work, the temp needle pegged at maximum. It's about 20 degrees outside now, and we just had an unseasonably cold couple of days. I noticed a lot of steam coming out of the area under the coolant overflow tank near the oil cap. The heater in the car didn't work either when I started the car to warm it up. Since I'm a newer MRII owner, I don't know the car as well as I should yet...I did put some more coolant in, but the overheating started up shortly after I started up the car. What / Where are the things I need to be looking for? It seems like there's a loose or cracked water hose leaking somewhere, but I just can't see it yet. (Too much steam in the way on a cold day) Thanks in advance for any help, Marty

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12-16-2008, 12:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
MarTTy4653 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Ooops, sorry for the double post.

12-16-2008, 02:44 PM	#3 (permalink)
MarTTy4653 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I figured it out, my coolant was semi frozen, blocking the water flow to the heater core. Once I got the engine warm I was able to add some more new antifreeze and get things flowing again.

12-16-2008, 04:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
Timon MR2 MKI AW11 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Utah Posts: 669 Thanks: 13 Thanked 42 Times in 37 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	So it wasn't leaking then? Well glad you were able to get it up and running.

12-16-2008, 04:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
PETC √(176400) Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 43 Thanked 65 Times in 53 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	Ummm... If you had problems with "Freezing" inside of your cooling system then you have more than just a simple "Add more coolant and call it good" problem. If your car is overheating it is entirely possible that you have damaged your motor. Check to make sure none of the freeze caps on your block, designed to blow out if water inside of the motor freezes, aren't broken or missing. If they are, you're going to continue to loose coolant and overheat.

12-16-2008, 08:33 PM	#6 (permalink)
MarTTy4653 No Skills Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	I'm lucky, it ran fine on the freeway to work this morning, after I gave the car a good warm up! The steam was coming from the coolant overfkow tank hose.