Car using way too much coolant

230

Asked by Artillery1 Nov 17, 2013 at 06:52 AM about the 2001 Toyota Celica GT

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hey guys, well my celica recently
started having issues. My car started
over heating and loosing coolant, I
took it to a mechanic and he
determined it was a bad head
gasket. So I got it repair and it turned
out the head was cracked so it was
replaced with the radiator, gas pump,
and gasket. When I received on my
way home it started over heating and
when I stopped it I noticed the
engine Coolant was boiling. I let it
cool down and added more coolant.
So far it hasn't done that again but I
do notice that it uses way too much
coolant. I fill it up to the full line and
drive about 20 minutes and when I
come back and open the hood, it is
below the low line and most of it is
gone. I have no I idea what it can be
and it just stressing me out! Any help
is highly appreciated thanks!

2001 toyota celica gt automatic

43 Answers

230

I meant to say *water pump Heads, head gasket, packaging, water pump and radiator were replaced

1 people found this helpful.

The mechanic made an honest mistake....or just screwed up...either way you don't say the cost but I'm sure it was expensive. Get it back there, make him pay tow bill and make good on taking your heard earned money. I suggest tow because he may claim you did damage or further repair work driving it back to shop. I sure wish I could say what it is, but too much guessing. Many possibilities ...head gasket installed wrong side up...pull your dipstick to see if there is coolant in crankcase. If so, he is going to have to start over from scratch. Possibly cracked block. If no coolant in oil, to state the obvious, it's gotta be going somewhere, and if passing through combustion chamber(s) and out exhaust, just about as bad.

5 people found this helpful.
230

Well the heads were actually bad because it was blowing a lot of white smoke thru the exhaust and coolant was getting to the oil but now none of that happens it seems fixed I did notice however that now my heater doesn't work anymore, I was thinking that maybe the heater core?

5 people found this helpful.

Okay...in that case it could be the heater core. Or hoses to it. Some Toyotas (Your Celica not sure) the coolant flows through the core all the time, others have a shut off valve and if the hoses are not right there will be no flow, no heat. Just a possibility. Core it's self may be good

5 people found this helpful.
230

Yea that may be a possibility, also he said that he checked the hoses and that they looked good just had like hard green stuff inside probably coolant but he cleaned them and everything loomed fine. But he also suggested that it maybe be the rings?

1 people found this helpful.

Piston rings, if broken or cracked will create blowby in to crankcase, burn oil (white/blueish smoke). It has compression rings and oil rings but nothing to do with coolant if nothing else is wrong and no coolant is getting in to combustion chamber

3 people found this helpful.

And hoses may 'look good' but swapped to opposite in/out creating backward or no flow to core ...and Toyota coolant should be red/orange not green

4 people found this helpful.
230

Okay then rings are a definite no, thanks for letting me know

2 people found this helpful.
230

Ohhh okay then I shall tell him to check the hose and heater core. Really? Well I'm using a 50/50 that green that autozone recommended me to use

1 people found this helpful.
230

Well I'm hoping it is the heater core now because if it's not then idk what to do anymore

Well..2001...I could be wrong on that one, but later model Toyotas I know for sure use the special Toyota blend that is red..I have a Corolla

2 people found this helpful.

Best of luck Artillery. That's about all I can help with, hopefully I was SOME.

2 people found this helpful.
230

Yes you were a lot of help! I highly appreciated it thank you!

1 people found this helpful.
199,615

DavidH25 good morning. Could it also be that possibly the mechanic did not properly belch the air out and the adding of the coolant is just leveling the system back out? That is as long as it is running fine now with no signs of overheating. Now that would not explain why heater not working tho. (Or it might-- trapped air in core). Just something to think about.

6 people found this helpful.

Indeed dandy, possible. He didn't say the car was hot in his question but 'coolant boiling' which confused me a bit from the get- go. You took the time to read this thread and I value your thoughts, Thanks and good morning

2 people found this helpful.
230

Hello guys good morning, the car over heated on my way home from the shop and the coolant did boil and has steam but it only did that once and doesn't do it anymore now it just drains the engine coolant

2 people found this helpful.
199,615

Do you know where its going? Is there white smoke? Does oil look good or like a milk shake?

3 people found this helpful.
199,615

If the answer to all above questions is that everything looks normal I would remove radiator cap while engine is cool. Crank it up and watch for bubbles rising up thru the coolant. If bubbles are rising continue to add coolant till no more are seen. (Some models have a bleeder in the top of cooling system over the motor to release trapped air) if yours has the bleeder valve lightly open the valve until only coolant and no air is coming out.

3 people found this helpful.
230

No I don't know where it's going but no more smoke And oil is fine

1 people found this helpful.
199,615

Ok from what I have found out about yours it should bleed off into the overflow tank. Turn heater to max and remove the overflow cap. crank up car. squice top radiator how ten times or so. watch for the air to inter the overflow. Add coolant as needed. Hopefully DavidH25 will chime in soon on this cause he really knows these cars.

2 people found this helpful.
230

Ohhh okay I will do that right now just going to buy some more coolant Also my heater doesn't throw hot air anymore Yes I know he's a lot of help:)

199,615

Make sure you put heater on max even if it does not blow cold. This is a must from what I have read about your model.

2 people found this helpful.
230

Soo I am doing everything and it doesn't loose coolant if it's idling but when I accelate it starts going down Ohhh and no bubbles

2 people found this helpful.
230

I did notice that when I accelerated the heater started blowing hot air and when I stopped it stopped as well, also when I stop accelerating the coolant goes back and when I accelerate it goes down I accelerated and it went down to below the low line then I turned the car off and the coolant came up slowly passing a little above the full line

1 people found this helpful.

Let's back up. Art you have a GT, not GT S...correct? If so it has the same 1.8 liter 1ZZ FE that my Corolla has. GT S has the 2ZZ GE, still 1.8 but high performance and both need Toyota long life Propelyene Glycol base coolant. Its orange /red. Etheylene Glycol is the old green stuff, but not always green, like DexCool is red but is EG. Click on this chart

3 people found this helpful.

Now, just to make sure, is this what your car looks like? And can you say for certain what engine you have? Then let's go from there okay?

2 people found this helpful.

We will get to the bottom of this. I feel like it's a challenge now. Love it. And also just to confirm ...the plastic overflow tank should be about 1/4 full cold. Make sure you got a new cap with the new radiator. I notice you don't say thermostat with everything...? And Thank You for the compliment dandy, it means a lot to me....from both of you guys as a matter of fact

2 people found this helpful.
230

Well when I bought the new radiator I didn't get a new cap And yes could be the thermostat but I think the mechanic said it was good but I'm not sure

1 people found this helpful.
230

Yes it is a challenge lol but it's frustrating now And you're welcome cuz it's true, I'm barely working my way to your level lol

3 people found this helpful.
6,835

Thermostat was or not changed at time Sometime when replacing head Gskt People do bleed the air put of the system And it over heats but then if or did not get to hot And did not damage again air is out now and it schou S be ok.take it back and let them know what happened Hopefully is. Ok tell them you think there was a air pocket Maybe thermostat stuck it schould have been replaced On a job like this please reply

6,835

Check writing on the head Gskt schould be faced up.cracks between Valves happens also straight edge the head ck for warpage Heater core mostly inside on floor but do pressure test 1st before Taking apart.freeze plugs always change have machine mag flex Block Take pistons out cl oil ring relief holes soak and sometime drill carbon Out of pin holes, also if warped cut head sorry this happened Good luck Let me know what happens

345

Have the cooling system pressure tested it very simple test only takes 5 to 10 minutes any mechanic worth his salt should have a tester.

10

Thank you this has been very helpful...I have a 1997 Toyota Celica 2.2 5 speed and I have replaced the motor and I am still having the same problem, loosing coolant but can't find where, have new water pump, thermoset, new radar. I am at my whits end with this...any suggestions?

1 people found this helpful.
345

OK, place a piece of card board under the vehicle when you park it at night in the morning check to see if anything has leaked on it. They make a UV dye that be put in your cooling system. Once this is done a black light or UV light can be used to find the leak if your vehicle has one, you will need a mechanic that has the proper equipment to do this test. once your vehicle has been running awhile ALL the coolant hoses should be firm ( pressure on the system ) this pressure is caused by the radiator cap for every pound indicated on the cap you increase the boiling point of the coolant by 1-2 degrees I can't remember exactly. Anyway if the cooling system does not pressurize you will have over heating and coolant loss issues. cooling system needs to be completely sealed in order for it to work. I am also wondering if your cooling fans for the radiator are working, does this happen with the air conditioning is on or off or does it matter. Do the fans cycle on and off then the engine reaches operating temperature? Have you had the cooling system pressure check yet?

10

Thanks....it does it whether you use the air or heat which both work fine and fan works properly. I will take your advice & have the cooling system pressurized & get back to you. I now have a check engine light on which it told be cylinder 2, so going to get sparks plugs & wires, dist cap & rotor cap. I will check back with you in a couple days...Diane

30

When you burp a car it's best to do it on an incline. Run it with the radiator cap off and it should burb out all the air. The reason you do it on a incline is so the heater core is lower than the engine the air bubble can come out. My upper hose blew once when I changed it I didn't burb it properly and when I test drove it till if it was at operating temp it over heated right away. After I burped it it was all good. Also the coolent is definitely coming out of the overflow usually when a car over heats it builds pressure and spills it on the roadway that's probably why you don't know where it went

3 people found this helpful.

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