Singapore Expats

I have radiators problem for my 6 years old car recently, water level always very low although not leaking, have to top up water/coolant every 2 weeks, is that normal? Thank you.

CQ1987 wrote:I have radiators problem for my 6 years old car recently, water level always very low although not leaking, have to top up water/coolant every 2 weeks, is that normal? Thank you.

No. It is leaking. Do you think the water is leaving by magic?

Yes, leaking is very likely the problem...
The case might be that your car looses liquid when driving and not when parked.
Every two weeks is indicating a small leakage , depending on the type of your car...
At a service station, mechanics shall use a pressure measurement for your cooling system and find the leackage...
if you do not drive the mercedes SL, where this problem might be invisible from outside...

Frank-ms is correct - The mech garage can use a hand pump to add about 12p.s.i. of pressure to the engines cooling system by using an adaptor where the radiator cap normally goes. then look for external leakage whilst at the same time watching for pressure drop.
If no external leaks -then obviously you have an internal leak, maybe head gasket or cracked cylinder head.
if this is the case and you dont want to spend money fixing it straight away - add 1x bottle of "stop leak" coolant additive and keep driving the car - REGULARLY ADDING WATER AND MONITORING THE ENGINE TEMP GUAGE AS YOU DRIVE !!

another place to look is the overfill tank. in toyotas the plastic becomes shithaus after about 6 years and crumbles like a rice cracker.

i just replaced one. cost isnt too hard, and all it took was 10mins of my time to undo one bolt and replace