Coolant Disappearing

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by Septic

To any of the posters besides Civicdrivr who were also experiencing low coolant levels, what was your outcomes? The coolant level on my FRS is low, and I am taking it to the dealer. Rather than just fill it up, I figured I would just take it in so that I have documentation in case anything arises later on.
@civicdrivr - thanks for all the info in this thread. Glad you have been reunited with your FRS. You have my sympathies of dealing with Priority service department; been there, done that.

Thanks. That's the last time I'm going to Priority. I'll go to McGeorge or Haley for now on.

Definitely take it to the dealer to document it.

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

1 SU003-00115 HEAD ASSY-CYL LH

That can't be cheap. Can anyone run the numbers on the parts used in the repair of @civicdrivr's vehicle? I've often wondered what a new head would cost...

The bare head is $600 list. With discount (online) all the parts used in my repair come to $2,855.81, not included labor, which according to the paperwork, is $102.50/hr.

I wonder how many hours this would have taken...

Sent from my Nexus 4

[vgi]

Originally Posted by Septic

To any of the posters besides Civicdrivr who were also experiencing low coolant levels, what was your outcomes? The coolant level on my FRS is low, and I am taking it to the dealer. Rather than just fill it up, I figured I would just take it in so that I have documentation in case anything arises later on.
@civicdrivr - thanks for all the info in this thread. Glad you have been reunited with your FRS. You have my sympathies of dealing with Priority service department; been there, done that.

first month - lost 3/4, second - about 1/4 for the past week or two - level is about the same. i am hoping it stabilized and @Gords_zenith is right and the loss might have been due to improper bleeding of the system from the factory. still, i just did oil change at 1700 and sent my oil to blackstone. the dealer again said that all looks ok, suggested stopping by in a month so they would do a consumption test. on a good note, they installed oem mud guards which I bought online for free.

[Gords_zenith]

Originally Posted by Gords_zenith

Mine was the same. I bought a jug of coolant and topped it off to about 1/4" above full mark back in April at 16000km and now have 28k and showing 1.25" lower than when I filled it up. The only thing that come to my mind is that the factory bleeding method to get the air out is suspect as this system is very similar to my old nissan 300zx turbo (Z31) and that was a bitch to bleed! The reason I suspect it to improper bleeding is that it hasn't moved since bleeding and I haven't had to top it off since either and if it were to be a head gasket I would think that the level would drop much faster.

Update, my reservoir is showing another .5" lower than what I posted above....hmmm starting to think it may be a head gasket. Coolant should not theoretically drop...how can I convince my mechanic to look at it, without them simply stating "it's normal"?

Also, just turned on the key to get a picture of the mileage, and the fan was on, and I could swear that I got a faint smell of coolant coming from the vents on initial blast, but it subsided. I know that this may side track this thread, but what if its the heater core that has a super minor leak?

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by Gords_zenith

I know that this may side track this thread, but what if its the heater core that has a super minor leak?

That's entirely possible, and a complete pain in the ass to fix.

And now that you mention it, I do remember getting a very faint scent of coolant during the colder months when I turned the heat on.

Sent from my Nexus 4

[Lonewolf]

Has anyone with coolant level issues received any results from Blackstone yet? A spectral analysis should show if there is coolant in places where it shouldn't be...

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Has anyone with coolant level issues received any results from Blackstone yet? A spectral analysis should show if there is coolant in places where it shouldn't be...

I will be doing an oil change in 2k miles, and plan on sending a sample to them.

Sent from my Nexus 4

[vgi]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Has anyone with coolant level issues received any results from Blackstone yet? A spectral analysis should show if there is coolant in places where it shouldn't be...

will post as I get them

[Hanakuso]

I just noticed when my car is cold the coolant level is about a half inch under low. When it's fully warmed up it's about 1 inch above low.

I did notice the first time going on the track about a year ago I smelled coolant. A few others reported the same as well.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

Also, I should note, the dealer attempted to tell me that the car was heavily modified and they weren't sure this would be covered under the warranty.

Engine mods:
-SRT Headerback exhaust
-Perrin lightweight crank pulley
-Crawford AOS

All other mods are visual or suspension.

Then they questioned me about forced induction, to which I responded with an emphatic NO, its never been turbo'd or supercharged. They also alluded to every bolt in the engine bay being touched, which is true, because I've replaced the stock hardware with stainless steel button head bolts. They have since backed down on the car being "heavily modified".

WTF if they try and blame an air oil separator, header back exhaust or a lightweight pulley, I would tell them to f*** off and go straight to corporate that must have been there fall back plan if they couldn't find the issue, blame it on you.

[FRSBRZGT86FAN]

Originally Posted by Gords_zenith

Update, my reservoir is showing another .5" lower than what I posted above....hmmm starting to think it may be a head gasket. Coolant should not theoretically drop...how can I convince my mechanic to look at it, without them simply stating "it's normal"?

Also, just turned on the key to get a picture of the mileage, and the fan was on, and I could swear that I got a faint smell of coolant coming from the vents on initial blast, but it subsided. I know that this may side track this thread, but what if its the heater core that has a super minor leak?

Maybe a defect in the tubing somewhere? like a pinhole leak in the heater core or heater tubes? Did you ask your mechanic to check the heater core out?

[Gords_zenith]

Originally Posted by FRSBRZGT86FAN

Maybe a defect in the tubing somewhere? like a pinhole leak in the heater core or heater tubes? Did you ask your mechanic to check the heater core out?

The thing about that, is, it's not leaking fluid onto my feet so I don't think it's an issue considering it's also pressurized. It was just a smell observation. In saying that it still doesn't rule out the head gaskets being the issue as the coolant level is still dropping, albet it very slowly.....so I don't know what to think. If it blows, it blows and will be covered by the warranty, but what I'm worried about is of it happens outside of warranty.

[midnight23]

Coolant was at the low mark today, bought a gallon of coolant from subaru and filled it up, will check it over the weeks, car is only 4 months old.

[Septic]

Took mine in to the service department. They could not find any evidence of a leak. I think their words were "baffled" concerning why the levels went down. They added coolant so I'll keep an eye on it. I haven't seen any white smoke from the exhaust nor smell any coolant.
FYI, bought in Aug 2012, currently have 11,200 miles

[dem00n]

I'm still leaning on the fact that the water in the coolant is just evaporating, not a good seal per say but not a leak.