Coolant level!

[Bosen_Sweden]

Hi!
I bought a Venture -98 (called transsport here in sweden) a couple weeks ago! When I came home I noticed that the coolant level was about 1" under the "cold level" so I filled it up. After 2 days I checked again and it was about 1" under this time too. I´m started to feel nervous and started to feel that it was the IMG. But I filled it up once again. After 2 more days the coolant was 1" below the "cold level" again and I really was nervous... This time I did not fill it up. I took a pencil and draw a line where the coolant level was and then I checked several times a day. Now I have driven the van in 2 weeks and the coolant stays where I draw my line! Why??? Could it be the coolant cap???
Any other sugestions????

[rockwood84]

could have been air trapped in the system. if you will notice there are two coolant bleeders one on top of the heater hose ,above the water pump. one on the thermastat housing which is under the hose that goes to the throttle body. to get all the air out of the system you crank it up and loosen the little fitting in the center just enough to bleed until coolant comes out then tighten it back up then do the other. but that is the way most intake gaskets let you know they have a leak at first loose a little coolant then more then it will start to cause the temp gauge to go up then back down then back up. the more you drive it with a bad intake evetually will cause the head gasket to blow. if the intake keeps making it loose coolant if you catch it quick i have seen people get away with just putting in intake gaskets. but as you said a bad radiator cap can cause the radiator to loose coolant. most auto parts stores can check your rad cap . another thing that will tell you if you are getting cooolant in you oil is take the oil fill cap off and look at the inside of it if you see a lot of milky white stuff on it then you are getting coolant in the oil from the intakes leaking.one more trick is see if you can hold you bare hand up close to the tailpipe any closer than 4" if it burns you at 4" then you have coolant in the combustion cycle . good luck

[Bosen_Sweden]

but that is the way most intake gaskets let you know they have a leak at first loose a little coolant then more.

The problem is that I don´t loose any coolant nomore.... the only thing is that that the coolant want to stay 1" under the ordinary coolantlevel!

[HC2000]

Originally Posted by Bosen_Sweden

Hi!
I took a pencil and draw a line where the coolant level was and then I checked several times a day. Now I have driven the van in 2 weeks and the coolant stays where I draw my line! Why??? Could it be the coolant cap???
Any other sugestions????

Hi, I've owned a 99' Montana since 9-2001 and it is does exactly the same as you describe. It is simply the design, eg., the height in which the coolant reservoir is mounted versus the radiator over-flow nipple/hose. Just watch your new "pencil" full mark and you'll be fine. Bye the way, how's the weather in Varberg?

[Bosen_Sweden]

The weather is alittle rainy just for the moment, but nothing extreme! The temperature is under 0 degreas celsius in the night... so the winter is near

Where is the radiator over-flow nipple/hose placed???

[HC2000]

Hi,
The hose runs from the reservoir to the radiator and connects to the radiator just below the cap. The hose slips over and attaches to the nipple with a clamp. If you don't see any of this, your model is made different than those here in the states. Good Luck.

[Bosen_Sweden]

yes it like that on my van too... but I don't understand where the water goes when I filled up to the ordinary level?!?!

[HC2000]

Hi,
I believe the coolant could be escaping in a number of places. You probably know the 3.4 engine's history of intake manifold and cyclinder head gaskets failing.
You could even have very slight cracks in the head itself. Possibly not large enough to present any more problems at this time other than some coolant escaping into the combustion chamber. When the amounts increase you will have symptoms for sure. You have to consider some slight loss to evaporation also. Good Luck.

[Bosen_Sweden]

Now I think I have a IMG leak.... but, how do I know when the head gasket is defective???? The Van runs without any problem, but coolant dissapear!
The van have'nt run hot anytime!

[meggabad]

Originally Posted by Bosen_Sweden

Now I think I have a IMG leak.... but, how do I know when the head gasket is defective???? The Van runs without any problem, but coolant dissapear!
The van have'nt run hot anytime!

I had that same problem, engine ran great, like new in fact, but I was losing coolant. I used to have a small stain under the van which indicated the leak at first. After doing some research in these forums, I realized that these 3.1 and 3.4 motors are notorious for LIM gaskets failing. As far as how you will know if your head gasket is leaking, I say what does it matter. Once you tear this thing down, all that will be left is the heads on the block anyway.You might as well pull those too and have them pressure tested to ensure there are no cracks. I just finished mine last Sunday, you can read all the helpful info I received in this forum here>> http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...d.php?t=900281

One thing I would suggest is to pull to oil filler cap on the front (or right, depending on how you want to look at it) valve cover and see if you have sludge on the bottom of it. If you do, you have coolant in your oil, mine did.

Also, I took lots of pics if your interested in seeing them of the work in progress. I'll have to send them to you e-mail though, I do not have the option of posting them in these forums.

[rockwood84]

bosen, how much coolant are you losing? have you checked to see if the water pump is leaking at the weep hole? an intake gasket will lose a pint or so over two or three days if its just starting to leak. most of the time the intake gaskets crack on the ends. see if you can see coolant laying below the thermastat housing. if you see a puddle under the t-stat housing then most likely the intake gasket is cracked. also have the radiator cap checked to see if it is holding pressure.the mayonaise crap under the oil cap is usually a sign of an intake gasket leaking.so is a real hot exhaust if you can't hold your bare hand any closer than 2" from the end of the tailpipe with it idling then most likely you are burning coolant.also check the heater hoses for a small leak.if you do find that a heater hose is leaking let me know and i'll tell you how to fix it for a couple of bucks.can you see any drips on the concrete after it has sit awhile? is the temp gauge fluctuating up then back down then back up? a blown head gasket will usually make it run hot and miss.but have seen some head gaskets blow and just make a knocking sound that goes up with the rpms.