Hello all,

My car began to run hot on Sat. I parked it and discovered I had almost no coolant. I replaced the coolant and have been watching to see if I have any leaks. The car has been running fine and at regular temp. It's now Wednesday and during this time span I have only seen a small puddle three different times. So it appears i only get a small leak every now and then. Each time the puddle was in the front of the car, underneath almost in the middle like it was coming from somewhere around my radiator.

My car sat all night last night..no leak...I leave this morning ( running late so I sped a little bit..took me about an hour to get where I had to go). I park the car and about 5-6 hours later I notice that I have a small puddle of coolant again. So I'm beginning to think that I only get a leak when I drive fast for a long distance.

Ne way..My question is with this sporadic leaking occurring (I'm constant checking coolant level and replacing what I have to) will the car be ok for a couple days until I can get pricing for the issue I have. I'm supposed to get a quote on Sat and then again on Tuesday. My friend says the issue doesn't sound really bad but I do need to get it check as soon as possible.

Can I get someone's opinion? Do you think this leak will cost me more than $400? I'm inquiring because I really don't have much money right now and it's around the holidays as u know..

 

It sounds like you have a small leak in the radiator. When the engine gets to operating temp around 200 deg, the leak can come out as steam instead of an obvious leak, and when it cools down it condenses back to liquid. I don't know what kind of car you have, but I had to buy a new radiator for mine earlier this year. It cost $119 for a new one shipped to my door.

As for how long you can live with the leak, thats a trick question. Could be two days or two years? Just keep the coolant full.

 

Thanks alot for responding! I did forget to mention my car make/model. I have a 2002 mazda 626. I'm glad to hear a radiator only costs 119..I think it might be that or from what I've read on other sites..possibly the water pump. I check the level every day and also the amount of fluid that leaks.

Thanks again for your advice!

 

i have an 89 323, i dont know how similar the cooling systems are, but my rad had a plastic drain plug, that had been overtightened, causing the threads to strip and leak. a little bit of teflon tape fixed that no problem, otherwise, get under the hood with a flashlight, and look for any obvious signs of coolant running on hoses, the pump, and rad. Check the rad cap too, mine had worn out and caused steam to blow past it now and then, causing coolant to pool on the top of the rad.