coolant levels

[jimdrechsler]

what could cause a a drop in coolant level other than a leak somewhere or a blown headgasket? mine seems to be dropping after i topped it off with water about a month ago. i have noticed my temp gauge is about 3-4 degrees hotter as well lately. could be due to hot humid weather, but even on the highway it is a little above where it should be. any thoughts? the car runs fine and the oil isnt miilky at all, ruling out headgasket. and, i dont have any visual leaks coming either.

FYI- I dont know much about cars

 

[Dayzed50]

Just because your oil isn't milky doesn't completely rule out the possibility of a head gasket. If the leak only travels between the water jacket and cylinder it won't affect your oil. Have you noticed any bubbling in your burp tank when your car reaches full temp? Also, do you get any temp gauge spikes when you first warm up the engine before the thermostat opens?

 

[jimdrechsler]

actually the temp gauge jumps up to 220after about one minute. then, after i drive it around a bit it finds 180. sometimes b4 it finds 180 it jumps up and down. someone said it needs to be "burped", but i havent done anything since it usually finds 180 within a minute or two.

i havent noticed any bubbling though.

 

[Dayzed50]

typically if your gauge surges while warming up it is a burp issue. The only problem is that if it does it more than a couple times (consecutive starts) then there is an issue with air getting into your system. An engine should only have to burp a limited amount of times before all the excess air will have bled out of the system. If it is still doing it then air is entering somehow (head gasket?). Hope this helps. Also, some shops have a dye that they can pour into your radiator that will change color with the presence of combustion byproducts, can sometimes be a cheap way of diagnosing head gasket issues.

 

[jimdrechsler]

crap, you have me scared now. any other things to look for to tell if it is a headgasket? the temp gauge has been jumping up for a while now. i was thinking it is just the gauge or something.. if it is the head gasket, how much does this typically cost to fix?

thanks for replies dayzed!

 

[jimdrechsler]

ttt