missing coolant fluid

[tchoke]

hey guys need a little diagnostic help
i have a 92 v6 car gets hot almost to the red after driving for about 1hr regardless city or highway i would hear the fan go on and it would go to normal or 3/4 till i exit the highway and it stays in 3/4 or almost red.
after parking i would check the coolant reservoir and will always find it full almost to the top
next day reservoir would be bone dry?
where is this fluid going? on sunday i filled up reservoir to full and open the upper hose cap and fill there to top.. and this morning once again rad fluid is gone from the reservoir and the upper cap took about 1/2 cup. oil dipstick looks good no mayo looking substance so im hoping its not a BHG.

another question im not able to open the radiator cap is that normal?
when i had jiffylube flush the coolant they did the sucktion through the upper hose was this right?

thanks

[ruoknow]

1. How many mileage on it.
2. check your oil quality, is there any indication of mixture of coolant?
3. check the quality of your coolant, is there any oil there?

[tchoke]

it has 160Kms
quality of oil looks good no sign of coolant and oil mixiing
quality of coolants is good also had it flushed 2 mos ago

[ruoknow]

It could be

1. water pump
check: with the engine running till normal temperature, squeeze the upper radiator hose and release, do you feel a pressure surge? if you do, the water pump is fine.

2. thermostat.
check: when the engine is running hot, touch the lower radiator hose. if it is cold, thermostat is stuck closed.
since you have overheating problem, it's not possilbe the thermostat is stuck open

3. check leak of your radiator. you need to go to a shop.

4. belt tension should not be an issue, cause the water pump is driven by TB.

5. it is also possible that you don't have enough coolant in your radiator

[jhbhatia]

A while back i was flipping out assuing i need a new head..(since our coolant also was vanishing). Happened to be a micorfracture on the radiator! Something we couldn't see...So go to a radiator shop FIRST!

[Kep]

If your oil is clean after loosing that much water I would certainly suspect a leak. You might get lucky if you park the car and let it run at operating temperature while watching the ground for leaks and looking in the engine compartment for water vapor. If you don't find anything you can have your cooling system pressure tested and/or have your coolant checked for possible exhaust leak (bad head gasket $$$). By the way, it doesn't give off a puff of white "smoke" when you first start up in the morning does it?

Kep

[tchoke]

puff of white smoke in the morning till it warms up is pretty normal here in canada
i will have the car pressure tested.
also u guys didnt answer me how come im not able to remove the cap from the radiator?
is this normal? its a 92 v6 looks like its the stock radiator plastic on top of radiator

[dirtdiggler]

you might have trapped air in the cooling system. there should be a air valve close the thermostat housing.

dirt diggler

[AVL92CAMRY]

Dumb question, but you are pushing down on the rad cap before turning it, right? Is the cap on straight with the writing facing toward you standing at the front bumper?

Karl

[tchoke]

Originally Posted by AVL92CAMRY

Dumb question, but you are pushing down on the rad cap before turning it, right? Is the cap on straight with the writing facing toward you standing at the front bumper?

Karl

Yea im pushing down but theres like 2 little tabs to prevent it from opening
yes im infront of the bumper

[tchoke]

i think i found the culprit
looking in from the hood saw wetspots behind the fan
seems like i have a small hole in my radiator
i put a little bit of stop leak in the cooling system last night
hopefully that slows it down till i can save $ for a radiator..
also how many hrs do they charge to do radiator and thermostat?
thanks