Hey everyone,

I have what I hope is a small problem. I own a 1998 V70, and it's loosing coolant. Over the last two months, I have taken two 300 mile round trips. In both trips, my car has lost about 1 pint of coolant, and the coolant light has come on. In both instances I had to fill up the reservoir with about 1 pint of distilled water. This does not happen in town, even if I drive it about the same number of miles. On occasion, there is a strong smell of coolant inside the car. There doesn't seem to be a leak, and I have not operated the heater (I live in Tucson, Arizona!). I read a couple of posts (1 and 2) about his, which suggested that it might be the heater core. However, as I said, I haven't turned on the heat, just the AC. So my questions are:

1. Could this be just the reservoir cap leaking, and if so, how do you check it?
2. Can the heater core leak even when it's not in operation?
3. If it is the heater core, can I postpone fixing it for a couple of months without any adverse effects?

The reason I ask #3 is that in two weeks I plan on taking a 3000 mile round trip, and I don't really have the time (nor the money) to fix the heater core (if that's the problem), until after the trip.
As always, any help is greatly appreciated.

 

It could be your radiator leaking.

1. The place where it is leaking can be patched up (most likely)but will probably leak again at some point in time.

2. Most mechs will want to replace the radiator which is the best solution.

I had this problem...

A. Coolant smell coming through the vents.
B. Loosing coolant from thr resivior.

My mech found it was leaking from the radiator and said the above two fixes. I went for the new radiator solution.

 

If it is the heater core leaking it is leaking to inside the car. Worse case you can bypass it but you will have no heat.

 

Thanks to both Teck and S70driver for their input.
So, in order to test whether the core is leaking I need to buy a black light lamp (or maybe see if the carpeting is wet). What is the best way to test whether the radiator is leaking? Again, many thanks.

 

You can pull the carpet back and see if it is leaking.
If the radiator was leaking you should be able to see it during a visual inspection.

 

what side would get damp from the heater core leaking?

 

Ok,

I checked both sides of the carpeting, and it seems like it's not stained; I could not find any evidence of any liquid. I checked the radiator, and could not see any evidence of a leak either.

However, underneath the reservoir, there are some signs that might be interpreted as a leak. There is a little bit of white around the areas underneath the reservoir, like when water has evaporated. Like I said before, it does not happen in the city, only when I take a highway trip.

So, could the reservoir be leaking? Has that happened to anyone around here? Could it just be the reservoir cap? I ask these questions because I don't want to run out and start replacing stuff if I don't know what's wrong.
Thanks for all your help.

 

It could leak from both sides.

Also if the heater core is leaking when you turn the heat on you will get a really sweet smell out the vents.

The coolant bottles are also known to crack and leak.

 

coolant bottles?

 

Yes the bottle you fill the coolant through. They crack on the bottom.

 

I am sorry Tech, I got confused. In any event, thanks a lot for your help.

 

No problem.

 

i ocasionaly get a faint coolant smell from the vents, though i think my drivers side carpet gets damp also, though its damp by the seat, like all the way up by the brackets that bolt it to the floor. I hope my heater core isnt bad. haha, guess i will have to keep an eye on it

 

My wife's car has this leak. What are the most common causes of the leak?

Jotadia

 

If you have a leaking for the heater core you will steam up your windshield for inside, I had this problem and start this way before get the carpet wet

 

thanks Fernando but the leak I have is outside the car, not inside

 

Radiator?