My daughter’s 1996 Sebring has a puddle of coolant under it every morning. I can’t find a leak and the car does not appear to be over heating. I do have to add coolant every few days.
Hoses and a radiator cap are the first place to look. It is probably a bad hose or a clamp that needs tightening. At that age new hoses all around would not be a bad idea.
Hoses and clamps check out OK. Seems to be coming from the reservoir. It only leaks after the car has been run. I’ve driven the car and looked at it while it was hot and running and found no leaks at the usual places. It appears to discharge the coolant after the engine has been shut off.
To learn where the drip is coming from, lay out cardboard there when you park it. The first drips will show themselves before they puddle and you’ll be able to track straight up to see where they’ve come from.
Granted, the leak could be runnig over or along other components before dripping to the ground but this gives you a great starting point.
But is the cap holding pressure?
What We Have Here Is A Situation In Which A Possible Minor Problem Could Go Major In Short Order. Unattended, A Seemingly Small Cooling System Problem Could Go To H— In A Handbasket At any Moment.
Some of the folks here are being too nice. You did say “puddle”, not “drips”. You did say that you add coolant “every few days”. I’ll be the bad guy.
Where are you adding the coolant, at the reservoir or into the radiator. Does the radiator have its own cap and is that where you’re putting coolant ?
You indicate that the Sebring does not appear to be overheating, but it could be doing just that. Air in the cooling system (because of a leak) will sometimes cause the temperature gauge to give misleading information.
Adding coolant every few days is a strategy one could employ on a demolition derby car, but not your daughter’s car. I’m sure you don’t want your daughter stranded someplace.
What if the water pump is leaking ? That could lead to a saturated timing belt. A sturated timing belt could lead to a broken belt and bent valves and other serious engine damage.
What if the head gasket is leaking ? Not replacing it in time could have catastrophic consequences.
It sounds to me like the engine is expanding coolant into the reservoir (normal) and then because of a system leak cannot create a vacuum and pull coolant out (not normal) as the engine cools. Eventually the tank overflows and the cooling system is left low (risky).
Why not stop driving it and get it checked out by a competent mechanic ? Woudn’t you like to find out it’s just a hose leak or cracked reservoir or something else simple before your daughter seriously overheats the engine, damaging it and becoming stranded ?
William, Is this car a total beater or something you’d like to hang onto for a while ?
CSA
Thanks to all for your replies. The lack of vacuum would explain why it seems to be coming from the reservoir. The car does have a separate coolant cap on fitting where the top radiator hose attaches to the engine block (not on the radiator itself). The car is both somewhat of a beater and a car my daughter would like to keep for as long as possible.
The reason I posted this question is because like most newer cars (those made after 1985) I find it difficult to see where leaks are coming from due to the general congestion under the hood.
Bill