where's all my antifreeze going!?

Question

i'm going to the mechanic tonight (so dont tell me to go to one) but i'm just wondering... ever since i bought this car a few months ago (1995 pontiac sunfire) it's been making a kind of grinding noise if i press on the accelerator really hard or when i'm turning.

now just recently (last month or so) i've been having a problem with my antifreeze. my low coolant light will come on and i'll look in the tank and be low on antifreeze, so i put more in but then lets say a week or so later... the light comes on and the antifreeze is gone.

in my novice car driving opinion, i'd say the car is running fine (minus the grinding noise) but the engine is just fine (no knocks or anything). also, there's never any puddles of antifreeze lying around so im not sure where it's all going. what could this possibly be and how much will it cost to get fixed?

Answer 1

There are many possibilities. You say there arent any puddles so this tells me that either A.) you have a very small leak that all of the anti-freeze evaporates from the heat of the engine while it's running. B.)You could possibly have a blown head gasket and the anti-freeze is leaking into the combustion chamber and being burned with the fuel/air mixture. You could smell the exhaust to see if it smells like anti-freeze.

Answer 2

I believe you have a blown head gasket.The coolant is going into the combustion chamber and is beiing burned with the fuel.Therefore you will not see any puddles or leaks.The grinding noise I believe,is the engine responding to the extreme lack off coolant,(over heating!).unfortunately,this is a COSTLY repair.It would be a easier than a V6 or V8 to replace.You may have done additional damage to the rings while the car was driven,hot.

Answer 3

The grinding noise could be your c.v shafts or wheel bearings it sounds like! For the missing of the coolant your car is a 1995 pontiac sunfire which are known for the head gasket!! The coolant is either mixing it in the oil or its burning it out the exhaust you will sometimes see white smoke out the exhausts depending on how much it is burning!!!

Answer 4

depending on what kind of car it is it might have a head gasket leaking on it,,this will cause one to loose a small amount of anti freeze,just enough so that you have to add once in a while,,but it will never leave a puddle under it,,it actually passes through the exhaust system in small amounts,,you might see a little steam once in a while,,and that's about it,but it will make it use some ,i own a repair shop,,and this is a hard thing to find on a car,,and it will run fine,,never miss or act up,,just use a little anti freeze,,that's all,,but sooner or later it will get worse on it,,and it will have to be repaired,good luck with it,i hope this help,s.

Answer 5

IF there is white smoke coming from your exhaust, then your most likely cause is a blown head gasket. (If there are no visible leaks on the ground) The coolant is leaking into the cylinders in your engine and being burnt in the combustion process.

Answer 6

first check your oil...if it looks milky then you most likely have a blown head gasket and the antifreeze is going in to your crankcase. If not that then it is possible that you have a cracked head and it's going out the exhaust...but most likely you would notice that. One last thing to check...feel your floor board on the passenger side...if it's wet then you have a leaking heater core.

Answer 7

You got a blown head gasket and its going out the exhaust

Answer 8

In my opinion if you replace the radiator cap with a new one, you anitfreeze question will be answered. When they get some age on them they become week and allow the fluid to bypass and leak out.