Hey!

I doubt that it's a blown head gasket. If it was the head gasket then you'd see steam coming out of the exhaust (actually white smoke billowing out of the exhaust at the amount that you're taking about) and the coolant would be sucked down while the car was being driven, not when parked. If you're still not convinced, wait until it cools down, take the plugs out and see if there is any coolant in the cylinders.

I'd look at doing two things. 1) make sure that the coolant reservoir is in good shape (the contact area to the cap has to be good to create a good seal), and 2) make sure that there are no other hoses that are leaking. I had to replace my coolant reservoir because the lip that seals to the reservoir cap wasn't sealing. Haven't had a problem since!

Go to autozone and get a pressure tester (they loan them out for free - they charge you a deposit and you get it back when you return the tester). Pressure test the system to 15 -17 psi and leave it on for 10 minutes. If the pressure drops a lot then you have a leak somewhere in the system, if it holds pressure then you're OK.

Make sure you bleed the system properly.
One last thing that it could be is a blockage somewhere in the system (unlikely).

Good luck!

Dal.

 

Yeah this is how I knew my head gasket was blown. Coolant kept disappearing but not leaking out anywhere. Then on the way in to work one morning I noticed a huge plume of steam following me. This was after the car was warm and it was a LOT of steam.

I have hence verified this by replacing my head gasket. It blew back by #4. Car runs like a champ now.

Bryan

 

My old NA did the same thing.
Mechanic said that after so many years, the gasket basically "rotted away"...

Good Luck, Matt.

 

Yeah, this doesn't sound like a head gasket to me. Easy to rule out: check your oil for coolant, your coolant for oil, your exhaust for steam. Sounds more like a bad hose or clamp that are leaking under pressure.

Thaddeus

 

Sometimes, when it is really cold and the car is also cold, I notice steam coming from my exhaust, but its not a huge plume and disappears when the engine warms up. Do I have a problem? I've noticed this on seemingly new cars. Oh yeah, the colder it gets, the more the steam.

 

Lemon,

There is sometimes condensation (over night) built up in the system that comes out as steam, so I wouldn't worry about it. When they say "large plume" they mean large plume!

So you think it's a resevoir? Cause I got a new cap yesterday like I said. Should I just order a new resevoir? Just called my dad and he's swinging buy Autozone on his way home to grab the pressure tester.

It must take a lot of force to push that cap up enough to let it seep out the overflow tube, am I right? That spring looks mighty strong.

The only place I can tell where it would come from is the overflow tube, but I will continue to look for any clamps and such that look loose.

Thanks,
Matt

 

If it were the head gasket, it's it relatively easy to fix a head gasket? It's right there...

 

Replacing the head gasket isn't overly difficult, but you do have to remove EVERYTHING from the top of the engine to do it. Cam tower, intake manifold, etc. This, of course, necessitates retensioning and properly aligning the timing - might as well replace the belts, rollers, and water pump if it's due.

Lets just hope it's not that.

Greg