You're the only one who looks like a douche here by becoming unnecessarily hostile with your response in an otherwise civil thread. Tone it down a notch... we're just trying to help the guy and also help him troubleshoot his problem in a safe fashion.

You didn't specify which cap to take off... you simply said "take the cap off" and then "look in the coolant reservoir for bubbles", which could be construed as "take off the radiator cap and then look in the coolant reservoir for bubbles". Maybe you should be a little more specific with the details in your responses if you're going to criticize others on theirs.

 

I clearly mentioned take the cap off then look in the reservoir...you clearly misunderstood the post. How would you look into the reservoir to look for bubbles without taking the cap off?

 

look into replacing the rad cap

 

Is there any check for the water pump? So the coolant disappearing doesn't mean there is a leak, probably just ran too hot? Thanks!

 

The system's ability to retain coolant has been compromised, you are either leaking fluid, or consuming it through the combustion chamber...Before your car is warmed up, take off the radiator cap, allow the car to reach normal operating temperature and have someone hold the engine at a steady 2,500-3,000k rpm and you should be able to see coolant flow across the top of the radiator every so many seconds...then stop, then start flowing across the top of the radiator...If not, you have a bad thermostat or water pump...

 

Thanks. Okay so I'll check for the coolant flow to see if the water pump or thermostat is bad. But regardless if one of those is bad, I'd still have a leak or warped head correct? Or would the water pump or thermostat be the entire problem?

If its a warped head or if I melted the gaskets (both would cause the same effect right?), how much would that cost to fix at a shop? I appreciate the help/advice from everyone, otherwise I'd be up ***** creek even worse!

 

Have you looked under your car to look for puddles or can you look at your under tray fairings to see if coolant is pooling up in there? If you dont see any leaks, but you have to continue to top off the reservoir than it has to be burning through the combustion chamber due to a head gasket/warped head. Obviously make sure your radiator is topped off to check for the coolant flowing across the top.

 

No puddles under the car, I let it sit for a few days and monitored the fluid level and it stayed the same. I did the test for the water pump/ thermostat and they seem to be working fine. BUT when the cap was removed I did see a couple bubbles come out, would trapped air cause the same symptoms and make my radiator fluid disappear? I went ahead and bought a new radiator cap.

Anyone have an idea of the cost of gasket repair or fixing warped heads? Does it mean I'll have to buy a new engine if the heads are bad?

 

Try putting your heater on and driving with it on for a day or two with it on*if it's not too unbearable), and then check your coolant level after that. I know... it might get a bit hot in the car, but there is a point to this test. You could have a leak in your heater core or the piping going to it, and if you have the heat off, coolant won't be flowing through the heater core and you wouldn't likely notice the leak until you started using it again.

 

That's a good point. Except it only overheats when the AC is on, on a hot day, if I turn the AC off and blast the heat, the engine cools down.

For the past few days I've been driving it without the AC and it has been running at normal operating temperature. Could there be the same problem with the AC? Thanks

 

does the fan turn on when you have the AC on when your idling? Have you replaced the thermostat yet? All the AC does is just put more load on the engine..ie make it run hotter.

Your thermostat might not be opening up when the AC is on so the fan's aren't turning on the compensate for the extra heat. There is nothing wrong with your ac if its working.

Your not looking at the root of your problem which is the cooling system...ie water pump, themostat, bad fan relay, leaky radiator cap. air bubbles in the coolant.

If you smell something sweet when the engine is hot, that means you have a coolant leak somewhere.

 

Theres ur answer make sure the fan is coming on, get a pressure tester also check if the cap is holding pressure. Ur coolant can be coming out thru the overflow when ur overheating. Check ur oil make sure its not sludgy, and no white smoke coming out ur exhaust. But I'm.thinking its the fan,

 

usually the culprit to that much coolant with no puddles is a blown head gasket. I have no idea how much it costs since it's all labor and I understand it depends on the region or if at dealer but I've always wanted a sticky with guidance on normal ranges for repair costs on our car.

 

One side of the radiator could be clogged up. Took it to Firestone when it was overheating. They measured the temp and one side of the radiator was running hotter than the other. You can try unclogging it, but that is a pain. It could be just as easy to change the radiator.