where is my coolant going?

[Fire-Chickens]

i have a problem what i thought was just air in the coolant system from not being bled after the new waterpump was installed on my 1996 firebird formula. i filled it a few nights in a row to the top let it bubble back down, topped it off and put the cap back on and drove and repeated it for a few days until i figured when i would check it the level would be at the cap when its cold, but I'm still having to fill it up?!?! why am i losing coolant? it doesn't smoke, the ground in my garage is completely dry and it doesn't leak when its running when i check it after I've driven it for a while... the pump has all new hoses going to it as well. my oil looks fine and doesnt smell sweet or anything, and it is not milky.. smells just like oil.

[tleed]

i had a hair line crack n my head gasket and i had the same issues your having. unplug your maf and see if it smokes. u can also pull your plugs & see if one is really clean & do a compression test to confirm hope this helps

[RamAir95TA]

Did you bleed the system properly? If you didn't, then the coolant you added is "settling." There is a proper method to filling the cooling system.

[Chris]

Sounds like air in the system to me

[JAKEJR]

Did you loosen the air bleed screw on the thermostat housing as shown in the Owner's Manual? The step by step procedure is listed in the Owner's Manual. If you need it, let me know and I'll post it here.

Jake

[Ryan Stout]

i had a hair line crack n my head gasket and i had the same issues your having. unplug your maf and see if it smokes. u can also pull your plugs & see if one is really clean & do a compression test to confirm hope this helps

Not arguing, but unplugging the MAF does nothing besides putting it in limp mode. It'll smoke probably from being rich, or run different, but shouldn't burn coolant just by unplugging it, correct me if I'm wrong. Spark plug and compression test....good idea. Start it and smell your exhaust and see if its sweet smelling also. Also, you can start it and see if you get bubbles coming out of your radiator (remove cap) but if its just air in the system I doubt that method would work.

[tleed]

when my head gasket was leaking and i unpluged the maf i could see white smoke with it pluged n i could not see anything just looked like regular exhaust. if its rich it will be black if its water it will be white. n limp mode the comp does not adjust to over come the issue. are u getting any codes?

[AngryLT1]

Don't know if you have ruled this out or not, but have you checked the heater core for leaks? Have you pressure tested the coolant system?

[spina74]

If definately air in the system, I had the same issue, no leaks, oil ok, etc

[Paulster2]

Is your overflow getting fuller (or is it completely full)? If so, might be your radiator cap allowing coolant to escape the radiator.

[Greenfire]

I've had this same issue...but I have had leaks, but even when I didn't have leaks I was thinking why do I have to keep topping off the radiator when the over flow tank is full....my exhaust is not sweat by any means it straight up STINKS...true duals..

[QC97Z]

Like it's been said..there is a proper way to bleed the system. However, no matter how much i have the damn bleeder open, I always have some air in it. It will trip my low coolant light until I get it all filled up as well.
I run the car up to temperature, then let it cool overnight. It will be settled in the radiator and the coolant will be low. Fill it back up to the top, run the car up to temperature, then repeat. Last time, I had to cycle the system 3 or 4 times to finally get it full and have my low coolant light stay off.