QuestionQUESTION: I have a 99 Chrysler 300M and at first I was getting a little bit of anti-freeze on the ground. I took the car to the shop and had the radiator replaced. Now I need to replace anti-freeze in the car everyday. I can only drive 6 miles to work and when I come out 10 hours later there isn't any anti-freeze left in my car. Also the temperature gauge won't move at all from cold during my 6 mile commute. If I have to go to the store, when I come out of the store the car is hard to start I have to give it gas to start it. Is there any way you can tell me what is wrong with this car. I have had problem after problem, now I can't drive more then 6 miles at a time without the overflow looking like the car is overheating and sounding like the liquid is boiling.
ANSWER: Hi Milo,
First we have to figure out where the anti-freeze is escaping from the cooling system.
It could either be leaking from a loose hose fitting and therefor be on the ground under that fitting, or it could be leaking from the radiator but that was just replaced and you would see it under the radiator in any case, or it could be leaking in the cabin from the heater core and then the rug on the floor under the dash on either the passenger side or the driver side would be wet, or it could be blowing out the overflow bottle when you are driving (did you ever see evidence of that occuring, such as smoke from the edge of the hood?), or finally it could be escaping internally inside the engine and then found either in the oil (does the oil on the dipstick look cloudy/frothy/milky?) or it could be being blown out the tailpipe exhaust (do you ever notice excessive white smoke coming from the tailpipe when you first start the engine?).
Can you tell me which of these several possibilities you have noticed?
When you first start the engine from cold and with coolant (anti-freeze mixture) in the system, do you hear it make a bubbling sound soon thereafter?
When you start the engine from cold and let it idle do you see alot of white smoke from the tail pipe in a few minutes?
I suspect that there may be an internal leak in the engine at one or the other of the two headgaskets, but what you can tell me about those possibilities and questions will be most helpful in figuring this out.
Roland
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QUESTION: There is no leaking on the floor of the car on either side, the oil is just fine. However after more than 6 miles I can see steam coming from the driver's side from under the hood while the car is running or sitting still. There has always been some smoke when I start the car cold but that disappears pretty much, no big puff of white smoke from the tailpipe.
ANSWER: Next time you start the car, listen for any bubbling sounds inside the engine that begin before the engine gets warmed up.
Then as you drive it, stop every mile or so and see what is going on under the hood.
It is possible that the problem is that the system has air trapped inside of it which is preventing the efficient flow of coolant around the system.
There is a procedure that you should follow when refilling the system to get rid of that air and to refill the overflow bottle properly. Are you familiar with that? I can tell you how to do it if not. It helps to have special funnel (Miller Tool # 8195) to pour the cooland into the container so that you only fill one side of the container. And it would be helpful to have a 4' length of 1/4" water tubing because the procedure involves opening a coolant valve on the front of the engine, slipping the tubing over a nipple on the valve, and then pouring in the coolant and allowing it to run out of the open valve and be collected in a bucket for reuse, doing that until the air bubbles are gone from the system but without wasting the coolant.
When you see white smoke from the tail pipe, does it persist even after the engine is warmed up, or is it like most cars and just smokes for maybe a minute or so?
Let me know about bubbling sounds/where in the engine compartment the smoke is coming from when you see it coming out from the hood, how long it smokes, and also whether you want the details on how to add coolant properly.
Roland
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QUESTION: I will listen for any bubbling sounds inside the engine tomorrow before it gets warmed up. I do know that when I get to work 6 miles from home it does have bubbling sounds but no smoke as of yet. Today I took my mom to the doctors and then went to work so the car didn't sit for a long period of time, the car was sitting outside my house running for about 10 minutes because I had to take my daughter to the doctors and right from the overflow on the drivers side smoke/steam started coming from the overflow area of the car. If you could please give me the instructions on how to take the air out I would appreciate it. Also the smoke from the overflow goes away maybe after 10 minutes after I shut the car off and so does the bubbling sound. Do you think this is the problem and also why the temperature gauge will never leave cold unless the car has been running for a while. Some days it will do this with the overflow and others it will not. Also the smoke from the tailpipe is only a couple of minutes if that unless it is cold outside then you get the regular condensation you see with most cars in the cold.
AnswerHi Milo,
Here is how I described the procedure to another owner:
The funnel (special part No. 8195) has a sidevent to release air from the pressure chamber portion of the bottle while you are filling it, and also a hose clamp to pinch off the hose that sends overflow to the rear cavity of the bottle for collection and subsequent return to the system on cooldown. The idea is to fill the pressure side and have little or no trapped air, and to have the overflow side nearly empty when you are done filling the system.
The other 'detail' involved with refilling the system after draining it or servicing the thermostat is to use the bleed valve of the engine part of the system which is located on the front upper part of the engine to allow air trapped in the system to be expelled as you add the coolant. On the 3.5 you will find that valve to be on the lower section of the intake manifold (left of center) and below the upper intake manifold. You put a 1/4" hose about 4' long on the nipple and route it out in front of the grille to a catch container, open the valve, start refilling from the pressure side of the filler bottle usind the special funnel. You keep adding coolant (and catching the overflow) until you get nothing but coolant coming out the hose which assures you that there is no more air trapped in the cooling system inside the engine. Then close the bleed valve (and remove the 1/4" hose) and continue filling via the funnel until the pressure side of the bottle is filled and to the top of the funnel. Then you remove the clip on the return line, allowing the little bit of extra in the funnel to go into the overflow chamber (the overflow chamber should not have much fluid in it). Then remove the funnel and put the pressure cap on the bottle.
Roland
So do i have to use the specialling filler funnel? Is that gonna really help?
If you can fill the pressure side of the bottle without putting air unnecessarily into the cooling system in the process, and you remember to clamp off the return hose on the pressure/overflow bottle while you are doing it, and you use the bleeder valve and collection hose to bleed air out of the system successfully as you add coolant to the bottle per the instructions, and you end up with as little air in the system as you can, and with the level in the pressure side between min and max, and there is space in the overflow container to accept any significant expansion when the system heats up, then I would say that you don't need the funnel. So let the functioning of the system when you are finished be the answer as to whether you need the filler funnel. It may make it easier to do but it probably isn't going to be absolutely necessary.
Roland
