Why does my coolant only leak sometimes?

A coolant/antifreeze leak can occur for a variety of reasons, including a blown radiator hose, a bad hose clamp, warped head gasket, or the most common reason, a foreign object kicked up by the truck in front of you penetrating the radiator itself.

How do you know if your water pump is leaking?

Signs of a Failing Water Pump

1. Leaking Coolant. If you see bright yellow/green liquid leaking underneath your car, that’s your radiator coolant (also known as radiator fluid or antifreeze).
2. Whining Sounds. You may hear a loud whining sound coming from your engine compartment while you are driving.
3. Overheating Engine.

How can I tell where my car is leaking?

Diagnose Your Leak

1. Engine Oil. Light brown to black, very greasy and slick; under front half of vehicle.
2. Transmission fluid. Reddish and thin, or brown and thick; middle and front of vehicle.
3. Power Steering Fluid. Amber, reddish, or light brown and thin; very front of vehicle.
4. Coolant (Anti-freeze)

What causes a coolant leak in a car?

For example, a coolant leak could have any of these causes: 1 Overfilling the cooling system 2 A faulty radiator cap 3 A worn-out radiator hose 4 A leak that only occurs under certain operating conditions 5 An undiagnosed cracked engine block or cylinder head, or a blown gasket 6 Towing heavy loads

How do I know if my car has no coolant?

A main sign to indicate low or no coolant in engine is the increasing temperature gauge. Under normal circumstances, the temperature gauge on the dashboard will be below the half-way mark indicating the engine is being cooled. It may point to a problem when the gauge moves up and down.

What does it mean when your coolant is low?

Coolant loss can be hard to diagnose sometimes. Coolant loss may indicate a poorly maintained cooling system, a system fault, or even a change in driving patterns. For example, a coolant leak could have any of these causes: A leak that only occurs under certain operating conditions

How do I know if my car has an engine leak?

Being able to recognise different engine fluid odours is a good way to diagnose potential problems quickly without your car sustaining significant damage. [link to leaks blog] Coolant dashboard light – The engine coolant light normally appears as a thermometer with a series of wavy lines next to it, illuminated in red.