Coolant Disappearing

[yomny]

Took mine to the dealer for some peace of mind. They pressure test and got the coolant levels to the correct specs. After that I've stopped looking at it and it has never need out of wack anymore. When cold is halfway between full and low and when hot is full.

[kodyo]

Originally Posted by 2016 Camaro SS

My coolant disappearing issue went away when I changed the hoses to silicon ones and the clamps to t-bolt style. I changed nothing with the overflow tank and it's still at the same full mark when warm.

How difficult/expensive was it to do this? Picture or description of exactly what was replaced?

[2016 Camaro SS]

Originally Posted by kodyo

How difficult/expensive was it to do this? Picture or description of exactly what was replaced?

I did the Mishimoto radiator, Mishimoto hoses, and the Mishimoto t-bolt clamps.

Roughly around $350 but you can do just the hoses and clamps for a lititle over $100 and keep the stock radiator.

[kodyo]

Alright, so I added a filter/breather to the tank today. We'll see if this combined with the grommet will keep the fluid level in check and debris out of the tank.

Went to the local auto parts place and they didn't have a small breather valve, so I made my own out of a bike adjusting barrel, some foam, and some shrink wrap (electronics, not kitchen).

Here's the parts:
Shrink wrap keeps the foam from coming out. I left some extra shrink wrap on the tip to make it harder for things to fall into the breather (put's the entrance more under the front lip of the car).




Here's it installed:
To keep the nut from falling into the tank while attaching it, I attached the nut to a piece of tape and positioned it over the hole while I threaded on the 'filter'.


Hope y'all like my ghetto mod.

[notout86]

Originally Posted by kodyo

Alright, so I added a filter/breather to the tank today. We'll see if this combined with the grommet will keep the fluid level in check and debris out of the tank.

Went to the local auto parts place and they didn't have a small breather valve, so I made my own out of a bike adjusting barrel, some foam, and some shrink wrap (electronics, not kitchen).

Here's the parts:
Shrink wrap keeps the foam from coming out. I left some extra shrink wrap on the tip to make it harder for things to fall into the breather (put's the entrance more under the front lip of the car).






Here's it installed:
To keep the nut from falling into the tank while attaching it, I attached the nut to a piece of tape and positioned it over the hole while I threaded on the 'filter'.


Hope y'all like my ghetto mod.

Whoa! Hardly ghetto. MINE is ghetto as I used genuine BluTac (not the Chinese knock-off which goes hard) to secure my filter and reduce to size of the o.e. hole. I have also surrounded the bottle with thick Al reflective foil to reduce radiant heat from the engine and radiator. Allow an air gap between bottle and foil and space at the bottom for cooler air to flow up when the engine is off. Also arrange so that hot air from the fans is directed away from the bottle. An inspection slot allows you to check coolant..levels. It looks terrible but hey, if it is good enough for space programs...... NO photos from me as they would make you throw up.

Here's another similar tip ...... shield the battery too but keep the foil away from the terminals.

[Ozzman]

If you really want to try sealing it, just replace the reservoir with a camelback bladder. Fill the bladder with the same volume of fluid that should be in the tank, and burp the air out of the bladder before closing the cap.

[AznBRZer]

Another update:

Last time it was topped off was on 11/24/13. Bought a jug of Super Coolant a couple days ago since the overflow tank was empty and gave it about a liter to get to full. I figured spending $20 was well worth not having to deal with waiting at a dealership even though it should've been topped off at the last oil change. Sometimes, it's just easier and save a shitload of time to do it yourself.

[tjf]

After 18 months of ownership I'm having the same issue with coolant disappearing.
Dealership has had to top it up on two occasions, both after long trips of 300 + km.

The following link is interesting: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77916

[notout86]

Originally Posted by AznBRZer

Another update:

Last time it was topped off was on 11/24/13. Bought a jug of Super Coolant a couple days ago since the overflow tank was empty and gave it about a liter to get to full. I figured spending $20 was well worth not having to deal with waiting at a dealership even though it should've been topped off at the last oil change. Sometimes, it's just easier and save a shitload of time to do it yourself.

Exactly. Most service items can be done yourself and you know how thoroughly they have been done (or at all). Then for things you do not or cannot do yourself, or if there are warrantee issues,have the dealer do those. If no w'tee involvement, have a trusted mechanic do those and sign off. Ensure they can plug into the ECU to check for all fault codes.
Forget the "capped price service" idea and save money.

[notout86]

If your car is seeming to lose coolant over the first few months I suspect it may be due to 2 things
1)air pockets from failure to fill correctly at assembly, which will eventually be expelled (remove the cap & top up the radiator itself)
2)dissolved air in the coolant which will form pockets as it gradually come out of solution (as the coolant becomes hot) and be expelled (remove the cap & top up the radiator itself).
The dealer might give you some coolant to keep for this.

Once you no longer find a gap in the radiator itself you should only top up the bottle.

If it doesn't settle down after a few months or if very severe, then more sinister causes need checking.

[86geek]

Hmmmmm.....I noticed the coolant level is on low. My car has been sitting for the last 7 hrs. Is this somewhat normal since I checked it when car is cold? Do I need to use the Toyota Genuine 50/50 pre-mixed super long life coolant Blue? I'm assuming if I have to then I need to buy it from the dealer. I've never had a brand new car that's only 5 months old have coolant disappear in a short amount of time. I only have a little over 2000 miles.

I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance.

[aegisdrgn]

No, you checked it at the right time. Coolant level should be checked when the engine is cold. The level should be between the LOW and FULL level. When I fill to the middle of the two lines and then drive for a while, the reservoir level rises to the FULL mark (the level in the reservoir doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't get too far below the "LOW" line - it's the level in your radiator that counts)

General advice I hear regarding coolant : don't mix types.

That being said, the Subaru and Toyota coolant is the same for our car. When I bought it at my dealer (my reservoir was basically empty, needed some right away), it was $38 bucks, Amazon was $4 dollars cheaper, but now Amazon has it more expensive...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Toyota-Fluid-00272-GTBC1-Coolant/dp/B00AKYP114/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1427089837&sr= 1-1&keywords=toyota+00272gtbc1"]Amazon.com: Genuine Toyota Fluid 00272-GTBC1 Blue Super Long Life Coolant - 1 Gallon: Automotive[/ame]

Price history:

http://camelcamelcamel.com/Genuine-T...uct/B00AKYP114

Toyota Part # 00272-GTBC1


Looks like Subaru's pricing is better than Toyota's.

Subaru Part # SOA868V9270

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Subaru-SOA868V9270-Super-Coolant/dp/B007NLOZAU/ref=pd_sbs_auto_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0JM06Z9H90JNJ4YKR TSP"]Amazon.com: Genuine Subaru SOA868V9270 Super Coolant: Automotive[/ame]

Amazon Price history:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Genuine-S...uct/B007NLOZAU

Subaru official pricing:

http://parts.subaru.com/p/Super-Cool...A868V9270.html

[86geek]

Originally Posted by aegisdrgn

No, you checked it at the right time. Coolant level should be checked when the engine is cold. The level should be between the LOW and FULL level. When I fill to the middle of the two lines and then drive for a while, the reservoir level rises to the FULL mark (the level in the reservoir doesn't really matter as long as it doesn't get too far below the "LOW" line - it's the level in your radiator that counts)

General advice I hear regarding coolant : don't mix types.

That being said, the Subaru and Toyota coolant is the same for our car. When I bought it at my dealer (my reservoir was basically empty, needed some right away), it was $38 bucks, Amazon was $4 dollars cheaper, but now Amazon has it more expensive...

Amazon.com: Genuine Toyota Fluid 00272-GTBC1 Blue Super Long Life Coolant - 1 Gallon: Automotive

Price history:

http://camelcamelcamel.com/Genuine-T...uct/B00AKYP114

Toyota Part # 00272-GTBC1


Looks like Subaru's pricing is better than Toyota's.

Subaru Part # SOA868V9270

Amazon.com: Genuine Subaru SOA868V9270 Super Coolant: Automotive

Amazon Price history:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Genuine-S...uct/B007NLOZAU

Subaru official pricing:

http://parts.subaru.com/p/Super-Cool...A868V9270.html

Thanks for the advice and providing the links. I appreciate it! I'll check out the dealer tomorrow and see if they can just top it off for me. Or if I'm forced to buy a gallon from them I have no choice. Only one Toyota dealership here in Honolulu and they own Subaru as well.

[civicdrivr]

Originally Posted by geek808@outlook.com

Thanks for the advice and providing the links. I appreciate it! I'll check out the dealer tomorrow and see if they can just top it off for me. Or if I'm forced to buy a gallon from them I have no choice. Only one Toyota dealership here in Honolulu and they own Subaru as well.

Check the Subaru dealer. I'm always amazed by how much cheaper they are compared to the Toyota dealers.

For example: coolant from the Toyota dealer is $34/gallon. From Subaru, it's $20/gallon.