Q&A

Its important to find the source of the leak and repair it before more serious damage occurs. The way an automotive shop would locate the leak is by removing the radiator cap and attaching an adapter that screws on in place of the radiator cap. Something that looks like a bicycle pump with a pressure gauge attached to it is used to "pump up" pressure to simulate pressure generated when the cooling system is at operating temperature, the leak is then found sometimes it is obviously leaking from a coolant hose or cracked housing, failed gasket or water pump, sometimes the engines cooling system needs to be inspected from below or inspected using a mirror and flash light. If the coolant loss is still evasive dye can be added to the cooling system that may indicate the source of the leak. A mysterious coolant loss may even be a sign of a head gasket that is not sealing well. If there is a head gasket leak a test called a block check would be an important test to do it looks for the presence of Carbon monoxide in the cooling system. All the tools required are going to be metric, pliers visegrips, screwdrivers ect..Autozone have some popular workshop manuals for free on line once you register (for free) on their website http://bit.ly/autozone_repair_info. There is also a company that independent auto repair shops buy their information from that the same information inexpensively to do it yourselfers. The information is year make and model specific repair procedures, service bulletins, component locations, wiring diagrams ect.... Alldata is very easy to navigate http://bit.ly/AllData_Repair_Manuals_Online