Leaking Radiator?

[rockymt21]

A couple of days ago I noticed that the heat was blowing cold air and the coolant temperature was almost at 260. I filled the coolant tank and radiator back up to get me through the weekend, in less than 3 days the tank was nearly empty again and I brought it into the shop to be looked at. They checked for a leak, and cleaned all areas of concern but couldn't find a definite leak. The shop I go to is legit so I know they aren't just trying to screw me. I am going to keep an eye on the coolant level, but if it continues to leak, what do you guys suggest I do? Approximately how much is a new radiator, and would that even solve my problem, could the leak be somewhere else?

Thanks, Dan

 

[John Redcorn]

If you're not seeing the missing coolant anywhere (that stuff doesn't evaporate) the engine's probably eating it. Bad intake gaskets maybe.

And with that much missing that quickly it's probably not all going out the tailpipe like it would for a smaller leak. Look at your dipstick, I think antifreeze in oil is supposed to make it look like chocolate milk. Also the dipstick might show it being way overfilled because of an oil pan full of coolant.

 

[peterey2]

theres always the pressure tester that you put on the rad cap to pressurize the system w/o the engine running, and you can look for anything obvious leaking. i'd add dye to the system prior to and use a black lite and yellow tinted safety glasses to look for leaks.
if you see nothing, its something along the lines of what J.R said.