1993 Toyota Camry - Antifreeze dissapearing

[jds62f]

Originally Posted by Gimme3steps

It's to determine whether it's an external leak and to pinpoint it's location if it is.

yea because turning the car on doesn't tell you that.

There are so many failure points that are hard or inconvenient to see that it can be pretty tough to tell where the leak is. For all we know there are multiple small leaks rather than one big one. The coolant could be pooling somewhere or burning up on contact with a hot engine. OP, just don't let the internet convince you that the first thing you should do is change the head gasket. Thats the most expensive repair and as long as your engine isn't over heating, should be your last resort to fix this kind of problem.

[Zembonez]

Losing that much coolant is usually a sign of a blown head gasket. You'd see it if it was external. It's completely possible to blow a head gasket and not contaminate the oil.

[Thegonagle]

With that mileage, I'd guess the water pump is starting to leak around the shaft seal. It won't leak much while it's sitting there, but in operation, it could leak several drops a minute without you really seeing it.

There's also, as mentioned, a number of hoses and connections that could develop a slow leak elsewhere. A few drops a minute would drain out quite a bit in 1000 miles.

I'd take it somewhere else. (Stuck thermostat? No. Head gasket? Possible but doubtful.)

[exhdo1]

I'll through in another possibility. A small front side radiator leak under pressure. The coolant leaks out a bit, gets pushed back over the hot radiator and basically evaporates.

[Justcauseuthinkiamstupid]

I have a 1993 Toyota camry. I picked it up today from shop had head gaskets replaced. But I haven't payed a penny yet. My son was driving it and I was in my other car behind him. Immediately I noticed the light white smoke coming from exhaust. That use to be a small problem.I thought when you replace gaskets and you send heads to machine shop this problem would be resolved. It isn't running hot yet. But this same person did a quick fit about 3 months ago. I was told them if it didn't hold up I would need gaskets. Please give me some input.