hi there, ive got a 95 850 turbo, for a while now the car has been losing coolant. it is not over-heating according to the guage, and the theremostat was just replaced. coolant was seeping from under the expansion tank cap, turns out that that had a crack going halfway around the cap threads, replaced the tank and the cap. the hose under the tank leaks a little now, and sprays a bit if i lift up the tank while the car is running, ( trying to track one of those hoses down but it seems like none of the local parts stores carry it and i just got my order from fcp with the tank and didnt get that). alas the car is still losing coolant. i am going to replace that hose and the lower radiator hose as soon as i get the parts. been reading about this online for a bit, trying to elimintate possibilities and stressing all the while.

looked at the water pump this morning, sounds fine, and doesnt show any leaks.

got a block tester today and am trying to make sure theres no headgasket problems. but am having problems. the car is warmed up and i have already lowered the coolant level to around the min line on the tank. after less than a minute with the tester on the tank the coolant starts to rise drastically, and over flow and i rush to put the cap on and turn the car off. in that short time the test fluid has not changed colors. because of the pressure in the system that is kinda what i expected to happen, but it seems that others have used this test on this model car and have been able to have the tester on for a minute or 2 at least. so i tried again and this time after the coolant tried to over flow and i got the cap on i left the car on but the expansion tank never lowered, but bubbles were coming into the tank via the small hose from the thermostat housing. why isnt the coolant equalizing, is this ok?

i tightened the hose under the tank and its not leaking unless i lift the tank up, and drove around for about 45 min last night and there wasnt any noticable coolant loss in the tank. but i feel like this problem is not solved and really want to rule out the head gasket before i do anything else. i will try the block test again in the morning when the engine is cool and see what happens. really hoping that if i replace the hoses there will be no problems with the cooling system any more.

is there a way to test the temp senser with out a reader, or to know if the fan is turning on when it should. again its seemingly not over heating, but it seems like thers alot of pressure in the system, ill get a laser temp senser today maybe.

thanks for any help/advice

al

 

Use the block tester when the engine is cold. Last couple times that I had coolant flowing out of the coolant bottle the head gasket was the cause. If you've got a big enough leak you'll see it right away.

 

a few other areas to check out - do you get a sweet smell in the cabin when starting up? If so you could have a slow leak in the heater core/lines - pop the side covers in the center console to check... Also check the pressure cap and overflow reservoir. Another start up check is to look for any white smoke (no, not a new Pope, just means you could be getting some coolant into the cylinders when the car is cooling down - ie when you turn off the car, the remnant coolant pressure is higher than the oil or cylinder pressure). Any frothing on the dipstick or oil fill cap?