T_R

iTrader: (1)

Hey whats up guys, i have a 2003 350z i bought it with 55k on it and its been a year and12k later. When i bought it was low on anti-freeze in the resevoir so i filled it up. Through out the year i have done this a total of 3 times, last time i filled it was about 2-3 months ago and today it was low agian. But the thing theres no sign of leaking from what i see. My mechanic says its prob a small leak in the intake gasket or head gasket? Idk what to do, from what my mechanic tells me if its the head gasket i should sell the car. But i have to much money into the car. Any help Please?

Tomek350Z

iTrader: (14)

check the condition of your oil. Coolant mixed with oil will create a milky like substance if contaminated. Also if that does not solve it the next step would be to pressure test the cooling system. if your handy then you can pick one up from sears and do it yourself. Last, while driving, does your car emit white smoke? because when coolant is burned it creates a thick white smoke from the exhaust.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

Well my friend drove my car the other day and wasnt fully warm and pushed it kinda hard and there was a tiny bit of white smoke but nothin bad, also nothing on the normal basis. Btw i have test pipes, stillen exhaust and intake. Also i just changed my oil today and i didnt really check the oil condition. What i also really want to know is should i put off on installing my new kinetix v+ plenum, because once i put it on and have to remove it ill have to send it in for re-gasket service? And is it safe to drive, on the normal basis it drive great?

Tomek350Z

iTrader: (14)

well at this point if it truly is a 'small' leak then I would go about performing a pressure test on your cooling system. If that doesnt yield results, the next step would be a cylinder leak down test. On a side note if you are burning coolant, there will be a sweet smell to it, but considering the fact that you have TP's it would be hard to tell. Do you have any CEL's present? normally coolant that enters the exhaust would contaminate your oxygen sensors, but this could take some time considering you say that it is a small leak.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

i caint really tell the smell from yhr exhaust because of my test pipes, and theres no cel. if i do a pressure test wouldnt that cause the leak to get worse in which case if its the head gasket, its a bigger issue?

Tomek350Z

iTrader: (14)

well the purpose of the pressure test is to see if the system truly is leaking. it wont hurt anything because you areonly applying about 10 psi to the system. The whole point is to build pressure and see if it holds. If it does not you can start looking around to find a leak. The benefit of this is that it might only leak when under pressure. If that does not solve anything you can do the leak down test. something simple you can do at the moment is to leave your radiator cap of whilethe motor is running for a few mins and see if there are air bubbles passing through. That would indicate combustion cylinder pressure is escaping into your cooling system, indicating a bad headgasket somewhere.

DaveJackson

iTrader: (5)

You can check the condition of your oil by simply looking at the bottom of the filler cap. If it looks like someone spunked in the oil on the bottom of it, you probably have a bad head gasket.
Coolant leaks can be very difficult to find. Pressurizing the system and getting under the car (remove under-shroud first) makes it easier to find the leak. It sounds like it will be quite tiny.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all ur help guys, so i havent done apressure test yet but i did do the test where u check for air bubbles with the cap off and there were no bubbles. For now i filled up the resevoir to the max and will keep check for a couple weeks. I will try to do a pressure test soon. Also got the supplies for a coolant flush which ill do next week. The coolant was kind of dirty when i did the bubble test.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

The oil cap is clean, its starting to seem like a tiny pin-hole type of leak to me.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

Btw i really really want to install my new plenum. Do u guys think i should go ahead with it or wait a bit, because if i have to remove it for some reason ill have to send it in for a regasket service. Thanks

Cass007

iTrader: (34)

Either be prepared to spend the money on the regasket service or act like and adult, have some patience and see if you lose coolant again. It seems to me that you know you have an issue, but instead of heeding your mechanics advice or getting the tests done to find the problem you are intent on putting on the Kinetix (POS) so you can raise the hood and show your friends your cool new mod.

T_R

iTrader: (1)

Ok so im holding off on the plenum, i was just excited about the new part and it was the last bolt on part before i was getting it tuned. But back to the issue
its been about 3-4 days and 500 miles and the coolant level is the same, so far its good.

Tomek350Z

iTrader: (14)

good to hear, keep us updated

T_R

iTrader: (1)

Will do, Thanks for your help.

bjr

I know that this may sound VERY stupid but I feel like there are more details that need to come or I may have missed a clue. So in the mean time have you simply tried replacing the radiator cap?
A faulty/worn cap will allow coolant to escape looking like a leak (low on coolant).