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Thread: Coolant missing

  1. #1
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    Coolant missing

    I just bought this car about a week ago and have run about 4 tanks of as through it and I've noticed that the coolant overflow has dropped over that time, I didn't record where it originally was but it's almost to the low mark right now. Upon inspection it kind of looks dirty in the overflow but the radiator appears to be full and there is no overheating. I checked the oil it looks 100% fine and I haven't smelled any coolant off the tailpipe but I do remember smelling some coolant by the engine bay a couple times after being ran for a while. Hopefully it's not a head gasket or anything especially after dumping all this money to buy it! Any help would be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Usually in my experiences, coolant being pushed into the overflow means there's gases escaping the combustion chambers and pushing coolant into the overflow meaning you might have a headgasket issue.

  3. #3
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    Darn. I wanna do a compression test but have no tools or facilities I hate bringing it into a shop I don't know

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    my daily driver ('12 sportback) had its oveflow lose coolant since i got it (Jul '12). when it got below the low line mid last year, i just bought the blue OEM fluid, filled it between the hash marks and its been there ever since.

    my guess, mitsubishi short-fills the system with just enough coolant that the system sucks up the excess put in the overflow tank.

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    Mine is an 05 VIII with 74000 miles I don't think Mitsubishi had anything to do with this lol or maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Corwin06 View Post
    Mine is an 05 VIII with 74000 miles I don't think Mitsubishi had anything to do with this lol or maybe I'm just not understanding you correctly
    Ah. I didnt know you had an 05. i thought you had a new one and just started to lose coolant.

    in your case I'd have the cooling system pressure checked. if you were smelling coolant in the engine bay, you may just have a loose or leaky pressure cap. start with that, fill between the hash marks and wait it out to see if it still loses coolant.

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    When you have a dead or dieing head gasket on an EVO, when you make big cylinder pressure, the pressure goes past the head gasket seal and into the cooling system. Your radiator cap only holds about 15 psi, combustion cylinder pressure is a gazillion psi. Hot combustion gasses go into the coolant passages and you push coolant into the overflow reservoir. Since the head gasket isnt sealing all that well now, as the car cools down the cooling system does not hold the vacuum needed to draw the coolant from the overflow tank back into the sealed cooling system.

    Driving normal, no cooling problems, smashing on it fills the reservoir and gives high coolant temps, on cool down overnight the overflow does not get sucked back in.... = dead or dieing head gasket.

    What you are describing could be that the radiator/cooling system had an air pocket somewhere in it from not being burped properly and it just sucked in the coolant from the overflow.

    Start with a cold car with the radiator full and the coolant overflow at the lower line. With a hot car the overflow should be at the high (hot) level line. Once cooled back down to ambient temperature the over flow should be back at the same lower (cold) line.

    Mike W

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    So I went and put some coolant in and then went on a 40 mile trip and when I got back I checked the coolant level and it was more than I put in when I filled it to the full line before the trip. So maybe an air pocket?

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    What temp was it at when you filled it (before your trip)?

  10. #10
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    I had to pick it up from the store so it was already warm when I filled it

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    Like I said, start with a cold car with the radiator full and the coolant overflow at the lower line. Then look at where the overflow level goes with varying temperatures without opening the cap. Everything else is just mental masturbation and trolling the peanut gallery here :-)

    Mike W


  12. #12
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    Thanks mike w I'll try it today

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    You get this worked out?

  14. #14
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    The coolant levels have been pretty constant sometimes a little low sometimes a little high depending on engine temp I've been driving it for a while now and I would say it's not an issue anymore thanks for the help guys

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