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Coolant overflow, need recommendations, mechanic


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Our coolant has overflowed twice in the last 6 months onto our garage floor.  We have been to 2 places and they both replaced the radiator cap.  That is not the problem.  No coolant visible in that area, it is under the car, I think. We have had the thermostat checked and everyone said it was ok.  Temperature gauge has normal readings.   Any suggestions as to where to take the car for diagnosis and then repair?   Prefer Chapala or Ajijic area.  Not Car City or Goodyear in Chapala, please.  FYI 2002 Dodge Neon, very low miles.

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I had a serious and ongoing coolant and AC problem for two years. My regular, trusted and hard-working mechanic did any number of things, including replacing the rad, but the problem continued to haunt my vehicle. I was even getting coolant on the passenger side footwell.

Finally it conked out right in front of Escalera's shop. It took several visits, but he found the very-elusive problem and it has been perfect ever since.

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It could be the water pump. They leak when the seal goes bad and need replaced when that happens.

I have worked on my own vehicles and friends vehicles for 46 years.

But this is only a suggestion of what might be the problem. I am still stuck in the USA for a while or I would try and verify.

Sounds like you had a heater core or connection leak in that area computer guy....

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I checked the oi (dip stick)l, it is ok. However, on top of the engine where the engine oil cap is, it is wet.   I think it may be a head gasket problem as the symptoms are what Google indicates they should be.  Do you still recommend Escalera, if in fact, that is what the problem ends up being?

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I would go to the radiator/muffler shop on the parallel to Soriana in Chapala. If he can't fix it, his neighbor in the next door mechanic shop, Luis or Pepe, can. They are considered by many, including the muffler shop, to be the best mechanics in town. They mostly fix high end automobiles but also keep low prices for the working people in the colonia.

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6 minutes ago, ibarra said:

I checked the oi (dip stick)l, it is ok. However, on top of the engine where the engine oil cap is, it is wet.   I think it may be a head gasket problem as the symptoms are what Google indicates they should be.  Do you still recommend Escalera, if in fact, that is what the problem ends up being?

 

Yes. Usually I hesitate to recommend anybody in any field, because if they fail, then I get the blame. But Escalera is consistenly top-notch at troubleshooting.

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50 minutes ago, Youngtimer said:

Sounds like you had a heater core or connection leak in that area computer guy....

Yes, it was the heater core, and I had already ordered one from eBay when I sensed the trouble starting. However, that only covered the leaking: there were a number of other problems at the same time. (It's difficult to discern when the engine is overheating, coolant is apparently disappearing from the system but leaving no drips or wetness, engine is stalling for no reason then starting up again 10-15 minutes later. All could be or might not be related.) No matter: he found and fixed all. My regular mechanic replaced hoses and all kinds of things before that.

I should add that Juan Carlos was my mechanic of choice for years, until he began having serious trouble with one of his employees while he was at his other shop out west. Prices went up, quality went down. I'm glad to say that's all in the past, and JC is busting a nut making sure everything is proper these days.

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15 minutes ago, ComputerGuy said:
 

Yes. Usually I hesitate to recommend anybody in any field, because if they fail, then I get the blame. But Escalera is consistenly top-notch at troubleshooting.

We have been in MX 21 years,  2 different States, and, have the same theory about recommendations. I promise not to blame you!

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1 hour ago, ibarra said:

I checked the oi (dip stick)l, it is ok. However, on top of the engine where the engine oil cap is, it is wet.   I think it may be a head gasket problem as the symptoms are what Google indicates they should be.  Do you still recommend Escalera, if in fact, that is what the problem ends up being?

Could be or the intake gasket on top of the head or heads.

I had a plastic intake  on my marquis blow out at the coolant crossover and dump almost all of my coolant in a couple of minutes.

I had it towed to my garage where I had a new and improved intake waiting already. A couple of hours later and it was back on the road.

Anyway I hope you find a good mechanic and get it fixed reasonably priced.

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My coolant leak turned out to be a crack in the plastic reservoir that wasn't visible from the top. Hoping it's that simple a fix for you, although it was hard to understand why something that's essentially a plastic box with a couple of intakes and outtakes on it should cost almost $100 US just for the part 🙂 And no, my mechanic wasn't scamming me- a friend brought the part down from the US, as it was even more expensive here.

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I, too, had a similar problem with a coolant leak. The leak was small enough to go unnoticed until a small pool of coolant caused an ignition coil to short out. It turned out to be a cracked intake manifold. An intake manifold used to be made of cast iron and was cheap and damned near indestructible. The new generation of intake manifold is made of plastic and (mine, a 4.6 liter Ford) costs >600U$. 

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Carlos at Escalera was able to find the problem rather quickly this morning.  Gaskets around the oil pan leaking and therefore need to be replaced.  He also found an unrelated transmission fluid leak.  Thank you ComputerGuy!

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