jean70pr

Hey everyone, I'm new here so hopefully you guys can help me out.

I know very little about cars although I have somewhat became comfortable doing very basic work on my car since I bought it a year ago. I have an 02 Lancer OZ Rally manual, very nice car! My problem is that recently I have noticed that it is overheating while I am idled. If I am at a red light for not even a minute, the gauge starts to go up. So what I do is that I press the gas a little and keep the rpm about 2k and it brings the temperature back to normal. There are times that I do not realize the car is overheated because it happens so quickly and I realize only because the AC starts blowing hot air. Also, I did notice that for some reason the coolant gets dried rather quickly at times, within less than a week of filling up. Then other times, like it has been for almost two weeks, the coolant reservoir is still full.. I haven't seen any leakage after pouring fresh coolant in.

What could cause this problem and what is my best way of fixing it?

Thanks for all the help!

Automatic 51

iTrader: (2)

Coolant loss without any puddles and over heating? My vote is on headgasket failure.

Green_Bandit

iTrader: (25)

Yeah possibly headgasket. But that much coolant disappearing would cause smoke.

I honestly say check for leaks. I had a small overheating problem myself. I never noticed any puddles either. But it was leaking. I'd park for about 30 to 45 minutes come back and not see anything. The coolant would actually leak and evaporate in that period of time. So I'd never see it and when I'd check levels I'd be low.

Since you aren't modded, I'd check your radiator. Or buy the coolant dye and uv light and inspect for other sources of leaks. There are only a few places coolant can escape. The radiator, throttle body heating/cooling lines, and radiator hoses.

If you honestly don't find any leaks... headgasket. Those are the only places for a leak really. I am decently modded and I was leaking from an added hidden coolant line.