coolant leaks

[leighannem]

Okay. First, I need to say that I LOVE my car. It is a stick shift and I am very happy with it. Okay, now . . . it is driving me CRAZY! It has over 136000 miles on it. I change the oil regularly, etc. In November, the clutch went on it. $800 later, I had my car back. Within a week, I was leaking coolant. My hubby put some stop leak in and it seemed to do the trick. About two weeks ago, I had a HUGE loss of coolant and my hubby found a hose that was busted, so he replaced that. Today, I noticed a puddle of coolant under the front left of my car, near the front left tire. I checked my coolant levels and the radiator was nearly empty and the reservoir was, too. I added coolant to the radiator and the reservoir, but am wondering where this leak might be? My husband and I don't have alot of $$ and really can't afford to either a-buy another car or b-make expensive repairs. Any thoughts? Do I just need to keep checking my coolant until we can save the $$ to fix this or what?

Thanks.

Leigh Anne

[hopeless4life]

Well you can keep topping it, but that has potential to lead to greater engine damage, the best bet is getting it fixed asap. First i'd check to make sure your husband has all his hose clamps tightened securely. If it is leaking that bad it should be quite clear where it is leaking from. I'd say if its on the left side (drivers side) of the vehicle chances are its a hose or your radiator. I'm not sure what size engine is in your car so i don't really wanna speculate on anything else.

[leighannem]

Originally Posted by hopeless4life

Well you can keep topping it, but that has potential to lead to greater engine damage, the best bet is getting it fixed asap. First i'd check to make sure your husband has all his hose clamps tightened securely. If it is leaking that bad it should be quite clear where it is leaking from. I'd say if its on the left side (drivers side) of the vehicle chances are its a hose or your radiator. I'm not sure what size engine is in your car so i don't really wanna speculate on anything else.

Well, the leak that my husband just repaired was at the back of the engine. This one seems to be from my radiator (just looking at where the drip is coming from). It was odd, though. I topped off all of my fluids and picked my son up from school. When I came home, I checked under my car and didn't see anything dripping. When I went to pick up his sisters half an hour later, I still didn't see any leaks. When I came out of the school building, though, after my car having been parked for about two minutes, there was a leak that I could see. When I came home, again, no leak. I suppose I should check the fluids again in case they are all leaking out as I am driving, but my engine is cooling appropriately.