Why is my 99 ram drinking coolant??

[Chief115]

So this issue is starting to concern me. I did a coolant flush about a month ago, however just used water. Started with a full system and full res. today I have no water in the res and less then full in the rad. I just did the intake gasket, thermostat gasket. There is no pool or visible leak as far as I can tell. Did a violent system pressure test which showed no leak, and also compression test which showed good pressure. What am I missing here?

 

[WarrenRam]

You're using 100% water?

 

[leadrofthepak]

You cannot run 100% water, it'll will steam out. Also, the coolant is the lubricant for your water pump, no lubricant = soon-to-be-seized water pump.

 

[crxlvr]

It's just burning off. Why would you use just water

 

[Chief115]

I'm using radiator cleaner. It says in the bottle run with distilled water and drain after. Good points though. I'll switch to antifreeze and see what happens. If I remember correctly it still goes down, but slower. Having to add some every week or so

 

[BBartow]

That's kinda the point of antifreeze. Raises boiling temp and lowers freezing temp.

 

[dodge dude94]

What everyone else said. Go out and drain the water out as much as you can and fill it with 50/50 premix.

 

[Chief115]

You cannot run 100% water, it'll will steam out. Also, the coolant is the lubricant for your water pump, no lubricant = soon-to-be-seized water pump.

And why would it steam out? The boiling temp is 213, plus its under pressure which raises the boiling point even further

 

[markyfly]

And why would it steam out? The boiling temp is 213, plus its under pressure which raises the boiling point even further

2nd that!

Could've been an air lock when you initially filled it with water... I thought my old race car was burning coolant too but then I bought a cooling system refiller from Mac Tools that vacuums the system and then uses the vacuum to draw the coolant in.... And she's been full ever since.

 

[usaf2006]

Running straight water doesn't have the ability to prevent corrosion. Plus if you get anywhere near freezing temperatures it's just not smart. Plus using a coolant mixture gives a higher boiling temp than just water. The stock thermostat kicks in around 203° or so right? Well I'm sure the water temp could easily exceed 212/213° very quickly. Boiling water in a motor is a definite no-no.

 

[Merc225hp]

Put a 50/50 mix in it and call it good. Have you pressure tested the cooling system? The most common reason for these motors to lose or use an small amount of coolant is from cracked heads.

 

[NYCruiser]

Change the radiator cap. It's the only thing your not testing during the pressure test


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