El antifreeze It is the key element of the vehicle's cooling system. Without it, heat transfer would be impossible and the combustion engine would eventually overheat and stop working. Therefore, if we have any leak of this liquid, we must know how to solve the problem safely.
The quick and easy answer is take the car to the workshop to have it repaired. However, it is convenient to have some notions of mechanics in case you want to save some money or, at least, to get out of trouble in an emergency situation.
Locate antifreeze leak
The most common antifreeze leaks are usually due to the car radiator, plugs or for some sleeve of the refrigeration circuit. Luckily they are the easiest faults to solve and in many cases we can correct them ourselves. The leaks through engine block and cylinder head they are a much more serious problem and difficult to repair, but luckily they are much less frequent.
The first thing to do, before getting down to work, is to locate where the antifreeze leak is and analyze its severity. Open the hood and check all the gaps in case the antifreeze leak is in sight. Help yourself with a flashlight to have visibility in the most hidden areas of the light. Look the hoses of the expansion vessel and all that you have at your fingertips.
If you can't see where it is, before you drop to the ground to look down, you can try to see where it leaves a puddle by drip. If you can't see it clearly on the ground your car is on, you can use the same trick as with the brake fluid leak check. That is, it covers the ground with kitchen paper, a newspaper or the like, place the car on top and wait. You can run the engine until it reaches service temperature (always with a good level of antifreeze), to check if it comes out only when the cooling system is working.
Leak through hoses
loose clamp
In the main photo of this article you have a good example of a leak from a ill-tightened cuff. The solution is simple and cheap because new clamps and pliers to put them on cost very little. There are even kits with different sizes of clamps for just over 10 euros.
cracked sleeve
If the problem is a crack, you will have to add a sleeve of the appropriate material and dimensions. A component that does not cost much money either and that can also be purchased online. Whether it's a crack or the clamp, the best thing to do is drain the antifreeze from the cooling circuit. That way everything won't leak out when you work on the breakdown.
In emergencies
If the antifreeze leak is due to a crack in a cooling circuit hose, we can plug this leak with duct tape, to make sure you don't lose any more fluid. However, if the clamp has become loose ingenuity is what can get you out of the emergency situation. Some people have even used a backpack strap pin. As you can see in the picture.
radiator leak
In case the loss is directly due to the radiator, many will tell you that it is best to call the tow truck and take the car to the workshop. But you can still try something to last a while longer: liquid stoppers. These are compounds that coagulate in contact with air. So if the leak is small, it can be used to stop it.
In no case should you try to use these liquids if the leak is large, because they will not be able to stop the loss of antifreeze. If you are not clear, you can try to use it and if not, opt for the workshop for them to fix it.
Antifreeze leak from plugs
It is also possible that the loss of antifreeze occurs through the cap or tap they have many radiators to remove antifreeze. The passage of time and vibrations can loosen them.
You can also escape through plugs or faucets that have some cars in various parts of the refrigeration circuit. Its function is that of purge the air, but they are also likely to end up leaking over the years.
Loss of antifreeze liquid without leakage
Although some users believe it, It is not normal for the coolant to drop on its own.. That is, without any leak through which it comes out to the outside. If you see that the level of antifreeze drops and it does not come out anywhere, it is very possible that the leak is internal, through the cylinder head or the head gasket.
In these cases, be careful because there may be a mixture of antifreeze and oil inside the engine. It is usually recognized by the presence of oil stains on the expansion tank (which are not always easy to see) or, in very severe cases, turning into a brown paste. Take a look at the article on Oil and antifreeze mixture.
How to act in an emergency with antifreeze
If we have a leak and we need the car to, for example, go home on a trip or not be late for work, we can opt for an emergency solution that will help us get away with it at a specific time.
The first thing to do is replenish antifreeze level of the circuit or, since it is an emergency, we can temporarily fill the circuit with water. If it is distilled better, if not, nothing happens because when we solve the leak, we must replace all the antifreeze with a new one.
Depending on the distance that we must travel, we must carry out several stops to recheck coolant level. If we remove the radiator cap, it is very important to wait for the engine temperature to drop, to avoid burns.
Avoid problems in case of antifreeze leak
It is also highly recommended carry a bottle of antifreeze or water in the trunk to refill the level if necessary.
These tips are to use in an emergency and have no other solution available. In any case, we must take the car to the workshop to correctly repair the leak and not lose fluid again. If you can repair it yourself, then you should know some more details, like purge the cooling circuit.
Picture 3 – Michael Coghlan
Hello
I had a problem with a diesel Opel meriva.
He began to pour water from me through the cooling system, with a friend from work who understands mechanics he was looking at me to see if it was very serious and told me that at first glance and in the area that the water was pouring it had to be a hose or gunta, that I should not worry.
I took it to the garage and told him that we had been looking at it and told him about my friend.
The guy from the garage told me he would look at it and tell me what it was.
The car was from Friday to Tuesday. on Saturday he called me and he told me that the thing was going for 200 euros and that they still didn't know what the fault was, that if it went ahead. I am left with pictures after he told me about a movie about what if the water box, the carter,….a movie.
On Monday he finally calls me at 15:250 p.m. and tells me that they already know what it is. "A little sleeve" that would cost me everything for 8 euros. the sleeve XNUMX euros and the rest of labor.
I understand that we all have to eat but that this distributed that I also eat.
I would like to know if what I charge is normal or if it is excessive.
Thank you friends.
Good to me, for the same thing as you, Fernando, they charge me €215…there are the shots out there. Cheers,
Good morning
My problem is that the level of antifreeze drops and when I open the expansion vessel cap it returns to the site due to pressure and after hours it empties again and when I open it again it does the same thing.
And when I check the water it doesn't look like it has oil.
Thanks greetings.
Hello. My car loses antifreeze only when I'm driving. For as long as the car is stopped, there are no drops and loss of antifreeze. I also realized that the moment I put the car's air conditioner on, antifreeze is lost here. Can someone say what is happening and where is the fault? The workshop that I have the garage has not found the fault since September 2020. Thanks for the help of someone
Hello. My car loses antifreeze only when I'm driving. For as long as the car is stopped, there are no drops and loss of antifreeze. I also realized that the moment I put the car's air conditioner on, antifreeze is lost here. Can someone say what is happening and where is the fault? The workshop that I have the garage has not found the fault since September 2020. Thanks for the help of someone
I had that problem and in the workshop they changed my head gasket, the car continues to leak liquid and the workshop tells me that they don't know what it could be, after paying a good bill, I still have my damaged ciche?
María, it is possible that they had to send the butt to be planned and they did not do it and that is why they continue to lose you since if they do not do it after a few days it is as if they had done nothing more than spend your money, greetings and I hope I have helped
I have taken my car to the workshop this morning because it is leaking antifreeze, it seems that the mechanic found where it was leaking at the moment, and he has repaired it during the day. All very well, well then he had to leave me the pasta, he charged me 160 euros. I hope it is resolved. By the way, it was due to wear of a piece that is in the engine, in the cylinder head area.
María, it is possible that they had to send the butt to be planned and they did not do it and that is why they continue to lose you since if they do not do it after a few days it is as if they had done nothing more than spend your money, greetings and I hope I have helped
Hi, my car broke down and it was an antifreeze leak, at the workshop they told me it was the expansion tank, they changed it and pressure entered it and the pipe burst because it was chipped, they had to change the whole thing plus the bottle . How much would they normally charge me?
I lose antifreeze but they don't mention anything that it could be due to the Heating Radiator Valve, as it happened to me yesterday, and I can't find the replacement Valve for the Heating Radiator that is broken and I can't move my vehicle since it leaks all antifreeze.
My vehicle is a Honda Stream 2000cc from the year 2003 that for the first time leaves me thrown away due to the encasement of the spare part and I don't know if there is an Alternative
I have a leak of antifreeze and it is dark in color