Is it normal for an engine to lose coolant?

[nextbillgates]

I topped off my coolant a few weeks ago because it was running low, and today, I noticed that a small, but noticable amount of it was gone.

I haven't noticed any leaks or seen any white smoke from my exhaust, although that may have been hidden by the rainy weather recently.

I have noticed that the engine is running a bit rougher than usual, but again, that could be due to the colder weather.

I've got a little over 40,000 miles on my engine.

[CraigW]

The coolant level in the tank may never be rock steady (due to temp changes) What I do is mark the full line on the overflow tank with a sharpie, Then bring the fluid level to the mark when the engine is at temperature.

Then you can just glance down and make sure its is at the top mark when checking fluids.

CW

[Flashmn]

might be the headgasket... the coolant shouldnt be below the low mark.

[nextbillgates]

Originally posted by CraigW
The coolant level in the tank may never be rock steady (due to temp changes) What I do is mark the full line on the overflow tank with a sharpie, Then bring the fluid level to the mark when the engine is at temperature.

Then you can just glance down and make sure its is at the top mark when checking fluids.

CW

I can understand tempurature variances when checking coolant level when the car is cold, but I thought that when the car was completely warmed up, the coolant is the same tempurature regardless of what the ambient tempurature is

[CraigW]

You could also use the lower cold level as a reference point if you always checked it cold. For me it is easiest at the hot/top level.

Why does the level vary with outside temps I dont know ! It is not a great amount.

Keep a close eye on it by all means.

CW