Cars today are no longer luxury, but only means of transportation around the city or between cities. Any vehicle must be in good technical condition. From time to time, breakdowns occur that need to be fixed. In this article, read about the situation when the antifreeze leaves the expansion tank. This can be a mild breakdown, or it can be a symptom of a serious problem, we will consider all possible options.
Radiator
Did the radiator flow? What to do? The main thing in this situation is not to panic, because this breakdown is comic in comparison with what could happen. If you find a place where the radiator flows, then you need to analyze everything. Some people seal a hole if it is insignificant, but this is not a panacea, but a temporary solution to the problem.
Other people fill in systems with special compounds that will clog the hole from the inside, but this is also not quite the right move, because not only the hole in the radiator will clog, but all the internal channels of the cooling system will become narrower, and this will reduce the “cooling” circulation in the system, which may cause more serious problems.
If antifreeze leaves the expansion tank through a radiator, then it must be changed and forget about the problem. This is the only right decision in such a situation. Prices for original radiators can be bitten when it comes to foreign cars, but you can always find a good quality analogue.
Let's say that many modern radiators are installed on modern cars (the main one, on the air conditioner, on the automatic gearbox and so on), any of these radiators can get a breakdown and start to flow, this must be taken into account. It is also important to understand that any of these radiators has an analogue that may be more interesting in price than the original version.
Cooling hoses
Another probable problem. Any antifreeze hose can leak over time. It is advisable to check the cooling system in dry weather and this should be done on the "pit" or on the lift, illuminating a flashlight. Hard-to-reach places for the eyes can be felt with your hand, which will certainly feel moisture if there is a leak in any place. In such situations, the scheme of the cooling system will help, with its help you can view and test all the highways through which the antifreeze circulates.
Expansion tank cap
On some vehicles, the expansion tank cap is equipped with a special valve through which excess pressure in the system is vented. Sometimes this valve fails and excess pressure is not relieved. Visually, it seems that the level of antifreeze in the tank is reduced. But if you unscrew the lid, then it is restored. In this case, replace the expansion tank cap with a working one. If this is not done, as a result, excessive pressure will lead to rupture of the radiator, expansion tank or hoses.
Expansion tank
Sometimes cracks occur on it. Especially if it is made of low-quality plastic. It is noteworthy that a crack may form on its reverse side. And it will be imperceptible without completely removing the tank. To detect a problem, it is necessary to remove the tank and carefully examine it for cracks. In case of cracks detection, the tank must be replaced with a new one; no gluing of cracks is allowed.
Stove
The radiator of the stove can also leak over time. Determining this is not so difficult, because in this case there will be a smell of antifreeze in the cabin, and under the driver’s rug it will be wet. This problem is not very simple from the category, since it is usually not very convenient to select a stove radiator, but you will have to do this, since it will need to be changed to a new one. In this situation, you can also buy either the original option, or pick up an analogue.
water pump
This coolant pump has its own resource. Once, if not changed on time, it will flow. The antifreeze pump should change according to the regulations. Finding a pump leak is not very easy, as it is sometimes located very deep in the engine compartment. You need to look for such a breakdown with the help of a flashlight on a raised car on a lift or crawling under a car in a “pit”.
Oil cooler
Some cars have such a knot, and sometimes it can lose weight over time. In this case, oil will get into the antifreeze, or vice versa. Visually, this will look like the serious problems described below. If the problem is the oil cooler, then it must be replaced with a new one, and the entire system should be flushed. Do not delay the flushing, because the flushing process becomes more complicated with every minute. If some part of the system is not washed out (for example, a radiator), then this part of the system changes to a new one.
Cylinder head gasket
If the antifreeze leaves the expansion tank, and the leak does not show up, then this is an occasion to begin to worry a bit. Since the coolant may not go outside, but inside the engine. This is already a serious expensive repair, but there are options that are even more serious and financially expensive.
You can identify such a problem using an oil dipstick (sometimes antifreeze gets into the engine oil in such cases, and on the dipstick it will look like a white emulsion). You may notice a problem in the expansion tank (air bubbles will form in it). Also, this problem can manifest itself through the exhaust pipe (from there it will pour out too much white smoke while the engine is running). Another symptom is the swelling of the radiator hoses when the engine is running (they are difficult to feel with your hand during operation due to air being sucked into the system and the working pressure in it is too high). In addition, to determine the problem, there is a special gas analyzer that can immediately find out the problem, but in our service stations such a device is a rarity.
But there are options when the cylinder head gasket is broken, and there are none of the above signs. This can be in this case, if the gasket is broken in such a place that the antifreeze does not enter the combustion chamber, but immediately goes into the exhaust system, and white smoke is not visible because, for example, the particulate filter successfully copes with it.
In any case, if the leak does not show up, then you need to open the motor and look for a problem there already. Gasket - this is just one of the reasons, there are other problems. Read about them below.
Cylinder head
The signs are the same as with the cylinder head gasket, and they also may not be at all. In this situation, the antifreeze also does not go outside, but goes into the motor, but if in the case of a cylinder block gasket it is required to remove the cylinder head, replace the gasket and put the cylinder head in place, then in the case of a cylinder head repair it is more serious. If the gasket is in order, then the "cool" goes through the "head" itself. So, in the "head" there is a crack. This can be determined using special computer equipment. If cracks are found, then you can try to weld them. If this is not possible, then the cylinder head will have to be changed, and on foreign-made cars it can cost several hundred thousand rubles, even used one.
Old cast-iron motors can be used in such situations, but this cannot be done on a modern aluminum engine, unfortunately.
Cylinder block
This is an even more serious situation. The symptoms are exactly the same as the two problems above. If the gasket and cylinder head are in order, and the antifreeze leaves the expansion tank into the engine, then the cylinder block must already be checked. Cracks are also found in it on computer equipment, if they are found, you can try to weld them. If this is not possible, you will have to change either the cylinder block or the engine assembly. The costs are more than substantial, especially for owners of foreign cars.
How to add antifreeze?
Sometimes, when antifreeze or antifreeze leaves, there is no reason for panic. This can happen, for example, once a year with a sharp cold snap. If this happens, then add coolant and observe. If there is no repetition, then forget and relax. If the situation recurs soon, then you need to look for where the antifreeze flows from.
It is important to know how to add “chilled water”. You need to top up exactly the coolant that is in your system. You can’t mix. Topping is possible only on a cold engine, because if the engine is hot, the coolant can be very hot and it is under pressure, you can get very seriously burned when you try to top up.
It is necessary to add fluid within the normal range (there are risks with a minimum and maximum level of coolant on the expansion tank, these marks are relevant for an idle cold engine).
Antifreeze Replacement
He must change according to the regulations. Usually this should happen once every two years. This is done because the antifreeze in the cooling system loses its properties over time, and then there may come a moment when, for example, radiators begin to oxidize and collapse. This is especially true if they are made of aluminum. For an aluminum engine, this situation is also possible. It is cheaper to change antifreeze than radiators, or how to repair a motor.
Non-standard situation
If the coolant has gone along the way, and there is no way to get to the place of repair on a tow truck or tow, then you need to act outside the box. You can fill in the cooling system with ordinary clean water from the reservoir, but upon arrival home you need to completely replace the antifreeze in the cooling system. This is especially important if the action takes place in the cold season, when the street is cold. Diluting antifreeze with water, you reduce its density. When the car cools down, it may freeze. It is for this reason that it is necessary to go to a car service in such a situation in order to leave the car there, and specialists will pour antifreeze from it with diluted water, find the cause of the leak, eliminate it by finding the car's cooling system according to the scheme, and fill the cooling system with new liquid.
Overheat
When the coolant leaves, the motor starts to heat up. This should not be allowed in any case. Serious overheating will lead to engine jamming, which means that you will have to completely replace it with a new power unit. The costs are impressive, and the initial problem may not be significant. For this reason, you should always monitor the level of coolant in the system and its temperature.
To summarize
Antifreeze is not a joke, if its level drops in the system, then this is an occasion to beware. You can’t ignore such a problem, it can generally lead to overheating and complete failure of the engine of your car. Sometimes solutions to the problem with a decrease in the level of antifreeze in the system are simple and cheap, sometimes they are complex, require significant costs, but in any case, the repair is worth it, since there is simply no other way.