Car is overheating, coolant wont stay filled up

[Ty]

I currently drive a 2001 Chevy Empala with 220,000 miles. 3.8 liter engine.

I am having issues with the coolant system. The coolant wont stay filled when I fill it up. It started overheating a week or so ago and I had to add water to it since I was out by the lake and not at a store to get coolant. I added coolant to the system and it still does not stay filled. When I changed my oil it still looked very black and dark like normal. There was a slow but constant drip under the car. The drip was happening under the passenger floorboard (somewhere under the glove compartment area). The coolant resorvore is also in that location.

Does this seem to be just a common leak somewhere in the coolant system? How likely is it that there is a leak in the system that is putting water into the engine? I really hope it isn’t leaking into the engine, but how do I tell?

Any ideas how to go about this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

[quote=”Tykimeister” post=71872]I have a 2001 Chevy Empala with about 225,000 miles on it. There seems to be a coolant leak and I have to keep checking it to make sure it is topped off or the car will overheat. I haven’t had any overheating issues now, but there is a leak some place. Lately there has been a noise coming from under the hood. I am trying to figure out where the problem may be, and need some advice.

I checked the coolant every time before I drove the car and made sure there was water in the coolant reservoir. This seemed to keep the car in proper temperature and I was able to drive my car without any problems. It did leak some and I just kept filling it up. But a problem I am seeing more and more is there is a sound coming from under the hood. It sounds sort of like a hissing, slurpping sound. When I check under the hood it is coming from where the serpentine belt is. I would say it is coming from a little lower, like under the generator. My brother thinks it may be close to where the water pump is, but I am not certain.

A sound like this and the approx location, can this help any with knowing what may be wrong with my car? I would like some suggestions before I go out and start buying parts, which I plan on doing later today or tomorrow.

Again, why might the heater core be going bad/causing the leak of coolant compared to what I described above?
Thanks for the help, everyone.
Ty[/quote]

Water on your passenger floor board and leaking coolant are almost a dead give away to a leaking heater core. The heater core is located in your dash near the passenger side. If it leaks it can drip on your passenger floor. It can also leave a film on your windshield when you use the defroster. Not to mention the smell of coolant when you use your heater.

That said, when you have a cooling system leak air can get trapped in the cooling system. When it does, it can cause overheating and noises similar to what you describe. You can use the information in the links I posted to help you nail down the problem.

Good luck.

[Author]

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