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I did some stop and go driving in the city on Saturday and ~1 mile from my destination I had a low coolant message on the SID. Engine temp was normal so I kept watching it the remaining trip. When I got out of the car steam started coming from the driver side of the hood near the reservoir. There was no steam while driving. I checked underneath and there was ~1/2 gal of coolant on the ground. Walked to a nearby grocery store and bought distilled water. When I returned 10 minutes later and popped the hood the reservoir was full, but was wet near the reservoir. Checked it ~ 2 hours later and it was bone dry so I topped off with 1/2 gallon of water. The oil level was full and looked fine, as it did 2 weeks ago when I changed it. I drove the 14 miles home with the heat on windows open, the temperature gauge stayed right on normal, and drove fine (no misfires or idle issues).
The reservoir was still full this morning with clear water, but when I opened the cap about 1/2 inch drained from the tank. Nothing on the garage floor. Plugs have 6k miles on them and looked normal when I inspected them. The only thing that caught my eye was #2 had dark lines on the backside of the ground electrode, where the others were solid gray. Otherwise it looked normal and wouldn't be concerned if I didn't suspect I was getting coolant in the cylinders.
History
The side of the radiator failed just as I pulled into the garage in April and was towed to my indie the next day. The engine never overheated, and has never overheated since I've owned it (2000 @ 21k miles).
No history of coolant leaks, other than an occasional top up when the heat is first used in the fall.
Headbolts replaced by the dealer in 2001, when one snapped during a retourqe (preventative).
Original water pump and hoses. The hoses still look OK and were inspected in April.
T-stat replaced ~18 months ago and is operating properly.
I suspect that the cooling system is being pressurized by combustion gases, but don't want to rule other possibilities. Reservoir cap not releasing pressure? Plugged hose? Anything else?
1999 9-3 5 speed, 196k miles
posted by 99.115.151...
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