Newbie - Celica Problem

[MK Chris]

Hi Guys

I'm new to this forum and am having problems with my W reg Celica.

Basically my car seems to be losing coolant but very slowly. The refiller bottle basically takes about 2 weeks to empty and then i have to refill it. I took it to my local Toyota dealer about 6 weeks ago as i thought it may be a head gasket (i know all about that cos i used to own an MGF).

Any way they conducted all their tests and concluded that it wasn't a gasket problem and they also pressure tested for leaks but still found nothing. They just told me that i had an air lock in my coolant system.

Anyway i am still losing coolant and am at a loss at what it can be. I always know when i need to top my coolant up because my heater stops working when im stationary and only works when im moving.

A friend of a friend used to work for Toyota and has suggested that the water pump gasket could be leaking and throwing out steam. This is why the coolant level is going down so slowly. What do you guys think?.

The other thing that is strange on my car is that when i want to check the coolant level the filler bottle always looks empty and i have to unscrew the butterfly cap that is on my filler bottle to release the pressure in the system so the coolant level comes back up and i can check my level. Is this also normal

Any help would be appreciated.

[Calisto]

No idea about the problem mate...but I can offer a huge warm TOC welcome instead.

Someone will be along soon to help you out.

[GIDDLEPIN]

Try checking the level in the morning when the engine is cold, if it still lets off pressure when you release the butterfly there is no way you have a head gasket or coolant leak if it retains pressure all night.

If it doesn’t let off the pressure have a good check round for any tell-tale trails of antifreeze especially near hose clips.