# 1995 Geo Metro losing water **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** chevrolet, metro\ **Created:** [December 15, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747 "2019-12-15T22:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/1 "2019-12-15T22:08:22Z")
1995 Geo Metro with new radiator, thermostat and coolant temperature switch loses water. The heater core is good, pressure test reveals no leaks, no presence of water in the oil, and a dye test reveals no leaks. Need to add coolant every couple of days. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![bcohen2010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@bcohen2010](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bcohen2010)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/2 "2019-12-15T22:20:46Z")
If there’s no leak or pressure loss when you’re testing the system at rest (i.e. with the engine not running) then is must be something that leaks while the engine is running. The most likely explanation is a water pump shaft seal that leaks while it is rotating, but not when it’s at rest. Did you check for evidence of past coolant leakage at the weep hole? ---
**Author:** ![sestivers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f6c823/32.png) [@sestivers](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sestivers)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:28pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/3 "2019-12-15T22:28:24Z")
How long ago were all of those cooling system components replaced? Maybe there was just a lot of air left in the system that’s still working its way out? ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/4 "2019-12-15T22:39:19Z")
Bad head gasket maybe. Test kits are available for that. ---
**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/5 "2019-12-15T23:08:51Z")
How 'bout the radiator cap? When you pressure test a cooling system, the radiator cap is removed. So if the radiator cap leaks, it’s not detected. If it hasn’t been replaced, replace it. Tester ---
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:19pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/6 "2019-12-16T22:19:43Z")
Thanks to everyone for the prompt and knowledgeable replies. Unfortunately, everything that’s been mentioned is something we’ve already explored and pursued. It’s really perplexing. Again … we appreciate all comments and assistance. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 4:49am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/7 "2019-12-17T04:49:50Z")
That is what happens when you don’t tell everything that has been tried before you ask for help. Have you tried a hot pressure test? ---
**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 4:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/8 "2019-12-17T04:54:58Z")
Idle the engine until it reaches operating temperature, then while a helper briefly increases the idle rpm to 1500 or so, ask your shop tech to look here and there & under the car for any signs coolant leaking. Especially in the water pump area. If no leaks are evident the coolant must be leaking into the insides of engine, most likely an intake manifold or head gasket. That said it is pretty common to have a water pump leak that leaks onto something hot enough to evaporate before dripping onto the ground. ---
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/9 "2019-12-17T12:22:20Z")
I appreciate the time you took to comment. You’ll see in our original post that we did, in fact, state that a pressure test was conducted and revealed no leaks. ---
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/10 "2019-12-17T12:26:59Z")
Good info and advice, George. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 3:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/11 "2019-12-18T03:51:49Z")
I did not ask you if you did a pressure test, I asked you if you did a HOT pressure test, sometime an engine will not leak cold but will leak under pressure when it is at full operating pressure and temperature. ---
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/12 "2019-12-18T12:53:36Z")
You’re right. I was not clear. But, yes … indeed, we conducted the pressure test with the vehicle at operating temp/pressure. Any additional hints or clues would be appreciated. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/13 "2019-12-18T15:41:50Z")
Remove spark plugs, is one of them especially clean? Suspect a coolant leak into that cylinder. Confirm with a fiber optic camera. I am not at all familiar with Geo metro engines but some engines can leak coolant into an intake manifold passage into a cylinder without a head gasket problem. Have you done a compression test? ---
**Author:** ![tangozed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@tangozed](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tangozed)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1995-geo-metro-losing-water/154747/14 "2019-12-18T23:26:23Z")
Good info! Thanks!! And our mechanic did not perform a compression test, so I jumped on him for that.