Cracked coolan reservoir, bad?(awnserd).major fluid los
 

I have a crack in the top of my coolant reservoir and am wondering what affect that will have on my coolant system & levels. I am also trying to diagnose loss of coolant. I did the uim 2 yrs ago & maybe 25-35k miles ago. Not sure if is the lower manifold now causing the problems or what. Figured I would start with maybe an obvious problem of the cracked coolant tank. Is this something to be concerned about?

I also installed a new heater core 2 months ago.


Thanks for all the time.

*** alright my bad.... I did do a search before posting this, but after posting i did some more searching & found another post that sz a crack isn't going to affect anything but crack may get bigger & become a problem with time. ***

So I guess my problem is now the loss of coolant that I am suffering. Not sure if related but after I shut off my car Ii can audibly hear driping noises before exiting the vehichle. I cannot pinpoint where it is coming from. But it's pretty loud i think. You can hear it both inside & outside the vehichle & doesn't seem affected by the a/c heat settings. Anyone else ever see this?

If it's cracked to where it leaks, then yes get a replacement immediately.

If the crack is near the top, well above anywhere the fluid level will reach, it won't affect anything right away (the cap's vented anyway); but I'd replace it before the crack spreads.

Did you do the LIM gaskets when you did the UIM? What UIM did you use?

Wow you guys are Jimmy Johns fast, I didn't even have a chance to edit before you two gave a response. Mann thanks.


No i didn't do the lim when doing the uim not sure where we got it but I think it was checkers. It is plastic if that helps?

Crack is on very top of resevoir & been there for a while, no fluid coming out of crack I just didnt know if the reservoir was rpessurized & the crack messing that up, so I guess not.

Why don't you just replace it if you're worried about it? They're near dirt cheap, even new.

did you replace the LIM gaskets when you did the UIM? You're supposed to. If you didn't...and you're over 100k and running dexcool....you might just be ingesting coolant into your OIL. I highly suggest you check your oil and see if there is any milkyness to it or if it is not DARK and the normal color of used oil.

Otherwise, you're ingesting it into your combustion chambers and burning it. Does your exhaust smell like coolant at all?

Changed out the dexcool when did the uim..

Would it be pretty obvious to a noob if there is coolant being combusted? I would assume to smell for a sweet smell? Not entirely sure tho.

Oil didn't appear to be milky I'm pretty sure on that as my parents volvo's oil once was milky & frothy looking. -- i thought it kinda smelled like gas but not sure.

I had meant to buy a pressure tester for the cooling system. How much help would that be in diagnosing my problem? Is that something that I should do right away to figure this out?

doubt that it would help any.

yeah, if you know what coolant smells like....then start the car...and at full operating temp, or maybe when just coming off some high speed driving, just gently smell the exhaust. if you even think you sense it, you're loosing coolant...and your oil is clean....its your LIM gaskets.

I suggest you get on it immidiately if thats the case, but you should do them anyways even if it isn't. The GM aluminum LIM gaskets are the best replacement.

Great thanks for the help! Hopefully I'll get this problem resolved.

Pull all 6 plugs. It'll show where you're leaking on the LIM. Usually #1, 2, 5, or 6 before the middle (3 and 4) cylinders will.

Don't let this go for long. Please also check that UIM for the manufacturer. We need to know that.