Coolant Leak...

[KentIS300]

Hello guys,

I realised my expansion tank was totally empty... really close to dry to be honest.

Now call me daft but for the whole time I had the car I do not remember checking it before... so today I have done the service I went to Lexus (Toyota) and picked up my 1lt coolant which they had specifically ordered £12 after VAT!!! This is the reason they do not stock it they said.

Anyhow, I topped it up 50%-50% so in total added about 700mls of fluids ... more less.

Tonight I realised my expansion tank was empty again :( :( :( it emptied gradually ... and not in one go.

I did not remember seeing any paddles....but just now at the Tesco Car Park I have seen a little pool of water under my car placed between the radiator and the engine block...

I could not see any wet patches under the car though (on the plastic covers)

No steam is coming from the car so I assume might be a hose???

Are there any weak points on the IS300 to look for?

I will lift the car tomorrow on tripods and go under to have a look... I am a bit gutted as this is now my only car.

Forgot to mention there is no overheating... and the engine is running like a dream, there is no smoke coming from the exhaust, other than the normal while until the engine half warms up (as I have read elsewere it is the condensation in the catalytic converter usually). After that there is no smoke from the exhaust at all....

Any ideas??

[KentIS300]

Will have a look tomorrow .... so will be in touch if it is the radiator.

Edited August 6, 2012 by janey

[darkoracle]

I've had cars in the past with air-con that drip water just the way you described (melting ice), though of course this won't account for your coolant loss, it often does looks just like you are losing coolant at that point. Did the pooling look like coolant i.e. coloured?

Clearly there is an issue with coolant loss, but just be sure that the two are connected.

[noby76]

you can always hop in the CL500..just joking!!

If there was no coolant atall in the expansion tank, then you would need more than just a litre of coolant as I believe and some one correct me if am wrong that the IS3 takes a total of 7.5 litres of coolant and water. so chances are the 700mls you put in just went into feeding the radiator hence it dropped down again so if you check under bonnet and under the car and there are no signs of leaks I would get some more coolant from Lexus and get mixing again but best to ask them the number of coolant litres you would need. or if not too sure bite the bullet and pay them to flush the whole lot and do the job for you then you wouldnt have to worry about air leaks etc.

[fjcfarrar]

Hello guys,

I realised my expansion tank was totally empty... really close to dry to be honest.

Now call me daft but for the whole time I had the car I do not remember checking it before... so today I have done the service I went to Lexus (Toyota) and picked up my 1lt coolant which they had specifically ordered £12 after VAT!!! This is the reason they do not stock it they said.

Anyhow, I topped it up 50%-50% so in total added about 700mls of fluids ... more less.

Tonight I realised my expansion tank was empty again :( :( :( it emptied gradually ... and not in one go.

I did not remember seeing any paddles....but just now at the Tesco Car Park I have seen a little pool of water under my car placed between the radiator and the engine block...

I could not see any wet patches under the car though (on the plastic covers)

No steam is coming from the car so I assume might be a hose???

Are there any weak points on the IS300 to look for?

I will lift the car tomorrow on tripods and go under to have a look... I am a bit gutted as this is now my only car.

Forgot to mention there is no overheating... and the engine is running like a dream, there is no smoke coming from the exhaust, other than the normal while until the engine half warms up (as I have read elsewere it is the condensation in the catalytic converter usually). After that there is no smoke from the exhaust at all....

Any ideas??

Have a very careful check around the water-pump - the seals are known to give out eventually. If there are dried stains from the coolant anywhere near and particularly where the shaft sticks out of it - that will be it.

[KentIS300]

Well I have put the car on axle stands this morning .... and I was under .... looking above for any leaks!

I removed the protection plastic engine undertray and was looking ... the fans were working fine with not problem on and off. The bottle then went halfway.

I topped up with more coolant and water.

The expansion tank droped 1/4 again ... after 30mins .... I topped up again.

I could not see any leak and no smoke coming out of the exhaust!!!

While I did my engine oil and oil filter change, I found the chance since the car just hit 100.000miles lol and it was off the ground. The engine cooled a bit so...

I had a radweld .... and I opened the radiator and poored it in.

I seem not to have any leaks now

It is a mystery though... either the coolant was really low in the system and never noticed it.

Or there was a tiny leak in the system that worked it self.... to drain the system to the point I found it yesterday.

I will keep an eye on it.

As for the pooling it did look more of water than coolant but not easy to tell in the pitch dark using my phone as torch and on the tarmac :( :( ... But I did not have use the A/C at all, all day. So A/C water drain could not be me thinks.

Also I did not see any coolant stains around the Aux belt pulleys .... It seems like a mystery :(

John Lexus quoted that it has 10lts of coolant, don't ask me where any why this is what they told me! Lets say I buy it from them and if I thin it 50%/50% ... We are talking for £62.50 only on materials! LOL

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

After reading this thread I checked my coolant. Almost empty! It took 1.5 litres! I have no leaks as I've been monitoring it for a couple of days so anybody know why mine drained? Was it just evaporation?

[noby76]

coolant obviously gets used up by the engine to cool its self down when engine temp rises to a certain point. just like engine oil aswell it gets used up and with time, the level starts dropping slowly. I make it a habit to at least open my bonnet every 2 or 3 weeks just to have a nose around. checking all fluids i.e washer fluid, engine oil, transmission oil, brake fliud level, power steering fluid, and coolant levels just to see if all is in check if not i top up to the max levels. in around six months I've had to top up my coolant twice. each time it had dropped down about 2 inches. so if one hasnt checked thier coolant in about 6 months and covers lots of miles like i do, thats just rougly 4 - 5 inches in length of coolant lost dont know how that converts to litres tho but you can see where it can lead to. my advice is pop your bonnet open every couple of weeks after fill up of petrol and spend 5 mins checking all fluids and levels if low top up same applies to tyre pressures aswell cus the small time you spend doing this could save ££$$ in engine breakdown as a result of no oil or coolant in engine cus by the time it lights up on your dash board of fluid level low, its too late.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

I check the oil and tyres every week but never the coolant, don't know why. I'll be checking from now on! :)

Mine was below the minimum level, Couldn't believe how much took. checked my wife's coolant as well but her's was full but it did just have a full service. Does the IS200 not have a low coolant warning light on the dash? I know it Doesn't have a low screenwash light, I'm always running out!

[noby76]

not sure if this lights up but will check tomorrow morn. normally when you turn on the ignition, all dash lights up brielfy for about 2 seconds then goes off and am guessing fluid level lights up aswell but not 100% sure so will look closely when ignition is on.

[KentIS300]

Well sounds like I am not the only one then lol. I think there is a design flaw though most cars have the coolant expansion tank nice and visible as soon as your open the bonnet. The is you have to try to find it first and then try to see the level window lol.

The thread that tempted check the coolant was one about gargling water sound behind the dashboard everytime you start the car and only on the first set off in gear... that apparently is low level in coolant and not a/c

As I found out that was spot on...

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Yeah I had the same gargling noise. That's why I checked too. My coolant is full now and no noises! :)

[KentIS300]

A few days have now passed and I happily report that I am without any leaks.

:) :)

So my system must have been without a couple of litres of coolant for a while now ... ooopppsss.

I have not driven a car with an open system for a while ... so I assume losses like that is normal.

Most of my cars have a presurised systems so less "water" losses.

[is200 Newbie]

Hi Chris

Sorry - resurrecting an old post ..

I had the "gurgling" noise in my 250 a few months ago but presumed it was the air con - now find my expansion tank is nearly dry = don't think any damage has been done but what could happen if the system ran dry of coolant?

I have topped mine up - just under a quarter of a pint of blue coolant and the same of water just to get me by until I can get some red stuff either this weekend or next.

I presume its the same process of topping up for all cars - should I keep an eye on the level until it stabilises. One thing I have never done is change coolant but may give it a go.

[ChrisIS200SportTTE]

Funnily enough I had to do this on my 300 as well a couple of weeks ago. Expansion Tank was dry on that as well.

Be sure to 'burp' the system to get air locks out. Not sure if it's the same on the 250 but I ran mine with the radiator cap off and fans in full heat for about 25 mins. Lots if air bubbles came out of the radiator.

[is200 Newbie]

Have found a garage selling 5ltrs of the Toyota red coolant concentrate for under £30 (Burrows Toyota dealers in Sheffield) so will give it a go in a few weeks time ... I would like to flush the system out while I am at it - have found a link on the forum on how to do this on the 250...doesn't look too hard a job.

If you are draining the full system out is there any point in flushing it as well due to the fact you are emptying it anyway- would the flush just remove any sludge etc that's in the system?

[Keatesy]

Hi all im curious on my is200 ive just had a radiator flush and had it topped up with water/coolant the reason i did this was it was bone dry in the coolant tank but when i got back to work i checked in the coolant and it was empty again is this right i cant seem to see a level gauge anywhere to show where it should be topped up to???

[petayV8]

Amazing how common this is. Mine was also bone dry when a bought mine but hasn't leaked ever since topping up 2 years on. Amazing how the car doesn't over heat

[petayV8]

Hi all im curious on my is200 ive just had a radiator flush and had it topped up with water/coolant the reason i did this was it was bone dry in the coolant tank but when i got back to work i checked in the coolant and it was empty again is this right i cant seem to see a level gauge anywhere to show where it should be topped up to???

Its behind the radiator. look down and back