quickly losing antifreeze in 1994 camry

[irons414]

hi- im new to this forum, so let me begin by saying hey to everyone!!!

im a college student who bought a 1994 camry with 85k mile son it roughly 2.5 years ago. it's been a great car, with like minimal maintenance.

yet, now i got a real odd problem. the antifreeze in the engine reservoir is quickly being depleted in less than 2 days! on friday afternoon i filled the reservoir up with antifreeze (50/50 mix) and now today when i go out to check the car, the reservoir is a little below the low marker on the reservoir.

car has had an issues though...
in the past with sludge, with the car just eating all the oil and nothing would show up on the dipstick. i figured (i think) out how to fix it though by giving time for the engine to warm up and keeping a close tab on the oil.

also, the car's exhaust is white colored, not really think and consistent over a drive, but just in the first few minutes after start up.

could someone maybe advise me on what the problem is? i liv ein buffalo ny and it's cold up here- i don't want to damage the engine by running on no antifreeze and have a frozen engine block!

sorry for the long post, but i thought i should give what i know for help...thanks!!!

[davemac2]

So, just to be clear, it sounds like you are losing oil as well as antifreeze.

You first need to determine if you have actual leaks or you are consuming either/or thru the tailpipe. Put some cardboard under the car when it is parked overnite to see what is leaking. Also look for any signs of coolant leakage from a cracked rad or water pump leak near the passenger side of the engine.

White smoke from the engine for a few mins during warmup in cold temps is normal. A puff of white or bluish smoke at startup could be a sign of leaking valve stem seals. You can check for wet spark plugs after the car has sat for a few hours before starting it up to see if it is a head gasket leak. You can get false negatives here though.

You may also want to have the engine looked over by a good mechanic before spending your money on any fixes. A block test can be done to determine if you have a leaking head gasket. The engine compression should
be checked as well to see if it is healthy and even worth doing a head gasket repair on at all. They can also do a leakdown test on the cylinders to see if air gets blown into the cooling system. Well worth $200 or so they may charge.

You can check for coolant in the engine oil also by inspecting the dipstick or removing a small amount of oil from the oil pan drain and inspecting. If coolant is in there, it's likely not worth repairing your engine.

I just did a 3ze-fe V6 head gasket which did not display any positives on these tests at all. The only symptom was overheating after 45 mins of highway driving. My block test I performed came out negative. However, an independent garage it was taken to claimed they had a positive on a block test. It turned out that the #6 cylinder gasket ring was blown out and #2 was on its way. So there you go.


dave mc

[irons414]

so basically the car has either internal coolant leakage or is overheating from what i gather from this haynes 92-96 repair manual.

your suggestion about checking the dipstick makes sense. this problem started happening when the cold weather first hit around here. anyway, i checked the dipstick on friday to see the oil level and it looked fine. and thank goodness from what you said- i need the car!!

so if have this block test you suggest done, it would help diagnose the location of the problem i guess.

i shudder when i think this: could the water pump be defective, causing the coolant to just be gone so fast?

yea, the engine exhause just blows the white cloud in the first few minutes after start up. so i guess its ok.

EDIT: o yea one other thing, my mom noticed a puddle of antifreeze in the driveway afetr a trip or the car being parked for a while. maybe that might help. perhaps a leaking hose?

[toyomoho]

Is the engine running OK, not overheating?

Given the age of the car the coolant system could be leaking. The upper and lower radiator tanks are plastic, can crack and leak. Could be coolant hose, the plastic reservoir tank can leak.

Check the coolant for signs of oil and oil for signs of coolant (would have a milk shake appearance). Check for oil leaks with the engine running, look at the passengers side of the car under the timing belt cover.

Until you find the problem keep adding a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water make up the loss.

[davemac2]

Originally Posted by irons414

EDIT: o yea one other thing, my mom noticed a puddle of antifreeze in the driveway afetr a trip or the car being parked for a while. maybe that might help. perhaps a leaking hose?

well, that's kind of important info. So you have a leak then. Go do some snooping to see where it maybe coming from. Check for wetness around the rad, around the front (ie. passenger side) of the engine. The location of the puddle should help obviously.

dave mc

[irons414]

yea, i just found out about the puddles when my mom just stepped in and i questioned her about it.

so it could be the hoses or the tank itself. ill have the repair shop take a look at those tomorrow.

thanks for helping me in the right direction all!!!

say, one other question not directly related to the antifreeze thing. the gas line is badly corroded and leaks gas whenever i fill the tank up. ive put it off, using an old mayonnaise jar to catch the gas( ghetto, i know so i susually fill the tank at night!!!) how much does that thing usually run to replace?