Coolant gone, next steps?

KrakityJones

KrakityJones

Well-known member
ISDC Club Member
Went for a short spin (thank christ was only short) and noticed the heaters weren't blowing any heat, was probably only just at the point where the engine would have been warm enough to do that anyway. Got home, waited for it to cool down and checked coolant. Not a drop in there.

So, question one - any chance I've done damage at this point? Wasn't running long, maybe 10 minutes max. Engine temp gauge was below where it would normally be but then I guess it's not getting any kind of a normal reading.

Next question - is it safe enough to fill with coolant and drive to garage with it (closest about a 10 min drive) or am I risking overheating in that space of time considering it must be a fair oul leak.

Visually the top and bottom rad pipes look fine, rad looks ok from the limited view I have of it, but there's a line of spongy material at the top of the rad that is soaked in coolant so I'm thinking it's the rad itself.

Any and all opinions welcome.
 
First where u looking at coolent level top (left side further back)bottom (on rad) or expansion to right of rad..

expansion will fluctuate if others are bone dry definitely not good fact temp needle didn't go to red is i good sign imo
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Alot of the Subaru rads split across the top very common as plastic ..I think ull be fine when my rad split across top could physically see split have a close look
 
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It's the one there at the back left I checked. Bone dry. The tops of the rads in these are known to split alright but I couldn't see anything obvious. I guess I'll just fill as best I can, hopefully not airlock it in the process (not that it would matter now I guess) and watch and see what happens.

Cheers
 
Can't hurt to fill it anyway see how much it takes might be able to see where its leaking from then ie driping out or hoses under pressure ect

Is it something ud check regularly if not may be a small leak over time if regulary checked there any coolent dumps where its parked normally ect worth looking at oem rads generally weak wouldn't worry bout it to much but I know how it goes Subaru are so reliable that when something goes can be a shock but all the cars getting older so this stuff bound to occur if in use 👍hopefully just a rad or hoses.

The lads in the know will be along soon👍👍
 
Fill it back up and see don’t drive just leave ticking over and watch for leaks it’s probably the rad or a hose .
 
Got a chance to take a proper look and im getting that sinking feeling that this isnt good.

Thankfully it wasnt fully empty, took about 1.5 litres. Rad hoses all look fine and I can't see any obvious bulges/cracks in the rad, and when I had it running I couldn't see any major pooling. So that's the good

The bad. It's coming out somewhere under the coolant tank, I can't see a leak but it's like a fog machine when its warm, so it's leaking out alright onto something hot.

The more bad : it won't get fully up to temp. Blowers are giving heat now but coolant won't go beyond 65 degrees according to torque.

The even more bad : after getting up to temp I'm now seeing a fair bit of smoke, white ish smoke.... Yup.

Aaand i think,but im not certain,that i can see a bit of a shiny residue sitting on the top of the coolant in the overflow residue.

Letting it cool now and will check how the coolant looks in the main coolant tank.

Not sounding good is it?
 
Do you mean the expansion tank, take it off small L shape pipe under it probably gone motor factors will have one or bend a straight one.
 
Wouldn’t be that worried yet relax 👍 remove the Three bolts holding the expansion bottle 2 on the top and one on the side and move it around and see what you can see where the leak is coming from Kerry STI is probably right it’s the bottom hose underneath
 
Thanks, yeah I always jump to the worst possible outcome, sure I suppose that way the only way is up!

Won't get a chance now til tomorrow but gonna check that, be great if it's only a pipe under that tank.
 
Subarus are great craic

Time for a cooling system refresh, new thermostat, go through every coolant hose on the engine , the radiator, the oil modine , replace where needed and go from there ,

Check the pipe out of the header tank to the expansion bottle , if this is blocked can cause problems, also a faulty header tank cap can let water expand when hot but not draw it back in when the engine cools , this means your coolant can be low and no visible leaks
 
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Might have jumped the gun on the worst case scenario alright. Coolant is clean, oil is clean. Whether or not I should have, went for a quick spin to proper warm up, coolant flying out of the rad on the top right side, can see a crack there now. So definitely the rad and possibly a small crack in a pipe elsewhere. Not the worst outcome if so. . Will get it to a mechanic during the week and get it properly diagnosed.
Cheers for the reassurance and advice
 
Good man great to hear 👍👍 would advise. Leave running up to temp and the fans cutting in and out twice on the lift to make sure everything is good and no leaks 👍
 
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scoobysub said:
Wouldn’t be that worried yet relax 👍 remove the Three bolts holding the expansion bottle 2 on the top and one on the side and move it around and see what you can see where the leak is coming from Kerry STI is probably right it’s the bottom hose underneath
BazGF8 said:
Subarus are great craic

Time for a cooling system refresh, new thermostat, go through every coolant hose on the engine , the radiator, the oil modine , replace where needed and go from there ,

Check the pipe out of the header tank to the expansion bottle , it this is blocked can cause problems, also a faulty header tank cap can let water expand when hot but not draw it back in when the engine cools , this means your coolant can be low and no visible leaks
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
On the hunt for a Radiator now - is there any advantage to getting a performance one like Mishimoto over something standard, given I'm not likely to go ramping up power output at any stage, happy with it where it is.

If no major advantage any known good/bad brands - Nissens/Mahle good enough?
 
Last rad put into the Sti was a Koyo similar to oem but a little better far as I know..had a missinoto thingy before to be honest if your own has lasted this long id put similar back in and drive it on 👍
 
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Would also suggest new oem hoses top and bottom (They can crack and split from inside as I found out) and subaru oem clamps should be good for a while then👍part nums for Blobeye presume same but worth checking
 

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Cheers Ciaran, Koyo is full aluminum which would be better alright, still think a plastic top was an odd design choice. Then again I've 11 years detailed service history and no record of the rad being done so it lasted that long can't be that bad a design.

Definitely doing the hoses along with it, was on my to do list already, good few hoses starting to look a bit tired in it now. Part nos always helpful - should be the same as blobeye alright
 
Great to hear you got to the bottom of it.

Upgrade the rad to either a Mishimoto or Koyo. The rad top will likely crack eventually. Happened to me at a track day. Replaced with a Mishimoto one a few years back. Still fine to this day at a higher power level.

New hoses, fresh coolant and a general check once all installed should get you back running in no time 😁👍
 
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