My antifreeze is going fast?

Question

in the last 4 months my low coolent light comes on about atleast once every other month i checked everything and no leak but im tired of buying 50/50 antifreez someone please help with suggestion or place to look before take to shop and they over charge me as a woman

Answer 1

look for some signs.. first, year/make/model/mileage. Always put these down.
every other month sounds about right and here is why!:
You are using 50/50 mix, you are putting 50% water and 50% antifreeze in the bottle. as the engine warms up, eventually water dissapates if there's more water than antifreeze, the water boils and steams itself away.
since you've been putting in 50/50, you've added more water to the system as a whole vs. antifreeze.

You need to check for leaks under the hood. is the tailpipe emitting white smoke? if so, does it smell sweet?

Use regular antifreeze for a bit to help offset the excess water.

Answer 2

If there are no leaks there should be no loss of antifreeze. How old is your car? If it's getting some age on it the low coolent light sensor might be going bad. Have someone check that. If you are loosing coolent place a clean cardboard, or newspapers under your car and see if you can see drips underneath the car after you shut it off. A good mechanic should be able to tell if there is a leak, or not.

Answer 3

First place to check would be your heater core, If your not sure where it is follow the colloant lines if that all checks out look over the radiator real good sometimes it may have a leak that develops only under pressure like when your driving so you won't see where it leaks from, I don't know what kind of car you have your water pump could also be another source any coolant "tubes" around the motor when you look you need to be sure to look at the whole cooling system then start eliminating the parts you know aren't leaking

Answer 4

Take it to a reputable shop, Have them do aload test on your coolant system.

They can install a minature pump that has a gauge, they pump air into youy radiator to correspond with the pressure indicated on your cap.

It simulates the engine under load and should indicate where leak is actually at.Could be something as stupid as a loose hose clamp or bad radiator cap.

Then again could be a head gasket or heater core.

Answer 5

I've experienced this before- a crack in my Radiator! You may either need a new radiator or some kind of sealant that patches up the leak! Some of the other answers could be correct too- I do not have much knowledge in vehicle mechanics other than through what have experienced myself over the years.

Answer 6

If it's not leaking on the ground, then it is either being sucked into the engine or leaking through the heater core. Usually, that indicates a blown head gasket or leaky intake manifold gasket or a heater core replacement. These repairs will run into hundreds of dollars.

Answer 7

Is it not leaking undearneath? Is there oil mixed in with the radiator fluid? Is there water mixed in with the engine oil? Look at the bottom of your oil filler cap. Is there moistness on there?

Your engine might be burning the radiator fluid through a crack in the engine block.

Your car might have a cracked cylinder head. Or a blown head gasket. A trained mechanic can check for this. In which case, it's time to SELL SELL SELL before your engine blows. You are running on borrowed time. It can blow up any minute now leaving you stranded on an overheated engine with zero compression.

You will need a new car. Unless if it's a classic car worth keeping of course. Otherwise it's time to buy a new Hyundia with a 10 year 100,000 miles warantee.

Answer 8

Probably a leaking head gasket into cylinder.Put in stop-leak (follow directions)and see if that slows it down.I've been running a leaky head gasket for three years without trouble.

Answer 9

Could be a cracked cylinder sleeve or manifold and its going out the tail pipe. Give the ol' tailpipe the sniffer test to see if it smells kinda sweet . IF I HAD TO GUESS YOU ARE DRIVING A GM PRODUCT aren't you ?

Answer 10

The leak might be hard to see,exspecially over that amount of time.Where all have you checked?