Coolant or radiator fluid may appear anywhere within the cooling system which includes the radiator, water pump, hoses, heater core, etc.

Coolant leaks is very easy to discover at an early stage but because most Nigerian car owners only makes use of water as coolant instead of water mixed with antifreeze in a 50:50 ratio. Using only water as coolant makes it much more difficult to locate a leak as many car owners may confuse the leak with the AC water. Here are 5 ways to find a coolant leak in your car:

Observe with your eyes: Open the hood of your car and take a look at the radiator, radiator cap, hoses, water pump and any other cooling system component. See if you can find any fluorescent-like orange, green or red liquid dripping or sprayed around and try to follow the source. This is of course if you are using antifreeze as part of your coolant. Also observe the underneath of your car for any visible signs of the colored liquid.


Smell with your nose: The antifreeze in the coolant has a very peculiar smell and is the easiest way to signal a leak in the cooling system. Whenever you get the smell of the antifreeze inside your car then you may have a coolant leak.


Touch with your hands: Make sure that the engine is not running and is cold then use your hand and feel some of the hidden areas that you cannot easily see. Remove your hand and see if there’s any liquid on it.


Observe the oil/transmission dipstick: Emulsification takes effect when oil mixes with water. This makes the oil look muddy and milky. Pull out the dipstick and observe. If it looks milky and feels muddy to the touch then you most probably have a coolant leak. This sort of coolant leak is called internal coolant leaks and occurs mainly where the head gasket is bad or there is a cracked cylinder head or engine block or leaky ATF oil cooler.


Pressure Testing: A special tool known as a pressure tester can be used to check the cooling system for anypressure tester form of leakage. The pressure tester is the combination of a manual bicycle-type hand pump, pressure gauge and a radiator neck fitting that is attached to the radiator neck. To check for leaks, the tool is used to pressurize the cooling system to the same level it would when the engine is hot. That is at a pressure that is about the same with the radiator cap. Once pressurized, see if it holds the pressure and observe for some few minutes for any visible leaks. If you cannot observe or find any leaks and the pressure is dropping, it then suggests that the leak is internal (i.e. bad gasket, cracked engine block or leaky ATF cooler).

We hope this has been very informative and we thank you for reading.

Source: http://carblognaija.com/5-ways-to-find-a-coolant-leak-in-your-car/