No coolant in overflow tank?

[crazy_camry]

I have a 98 camry IMZ-FE. For the 2 years i've owned the car, there has never been coolant in the overflow tank. I've topped up the tank occasionally with water, but it always disappears-i'm guessing it boils off. The car runs fine and the temp guage never goes above halfway. What's going on here?

[SnakeyeS]

Same thing is happening on my 99 XLE. I just keep adding coolant but there are no visible signs of leaking and i don't have overheating problems. I'm puzzled as well.

[pmesfun]

There could a leak burning onto something hot like the exhaust manifold.
The same thing happens on our quest.

[JohnGD]

Look at the head gasket area. The 1MZ has the coolant "seepage" problem. See if you notice the dried up deposit there.

[96ToyoCam164K]

Originally Posted by crazy_camry

I've topped up the tank occasionally with water, but it always disappears-i'm guessing it boils off.

Don't top off with water, that makes it worse...

[dgsbikes]

Originally Posted by 96ToyoCam164K

Don't top off with water, that makes it worse...

How?

I thought topping off with water was okay (as long it doesn't get freezing cold in the area the car is kept/runs in).

It's topping off with just coolent that is a problem as it increases the concentration of coolent in the mix which has been talked about as a bad thing (though I don't know exactly how and why)

[96ToyoCam164K]

Originally Posted by dgsbikes

How?

I thought topping off with water was okay (as long it doesn't get freezing cold in the area the car is kept/runs in).

It's topping off with just coolent that is a problem as it increases the concentration of coolent in the mix which has been talked about as a bad thing (though I don't know exactly how and why)

I use 50/50 mix so no over concentration. Water is bad as it doesn't have the corrosive protections that coolant has. It's actually diluting the mixture. May be fine temporarily but not for the long haul...

Matter of fact, earlier this month I was too cheap to buy coolant and kept buying Prestone 'coolant additive' or something. My coolant tends to run low during long (600+) mile trips. Well I kept adding that stuff and about 350 miles later car began to overheat just slightly above half way...get this: in the middle of a snow storm! I had to pull off thinking uh oh, I just ran out of coolant! But nope, it was full. I never had that issue before using regular coolant, but luckily I had just bought a bottle not long prior.

[crazy_camry]

Thanks for the reponses guys. Looks like a coolant flush is on the cards.

[jordan7831]

Just be sure to fill it with ethanol glycol coolant. Hint: you can find out if it contains that in the first aid treatment part!
It will say "First aid treatment: Contains ethanol glycol..."

[chuckoff]

Why not take it to a shop and have them pressurize the cooling system to check for leaks? My guess is water pump. Will leak inside timing cover. Could also be a very tiny leak that never makes it to the ground.