For a couple months, i have been losing antifreeze.. i start loosing heat about 7 days after i top up the rad.
I don't see anything on the ground, there is no smell in the van, and van runs fine.Any ideas what might be happening.

 

Good bet it's either dripping on the exhaust or you have a bad head gasket. A few options:

Sign out a cooling system pressure tester from an AutoZone or the like. Connect it and pressurize the system to 15 psi. If the pressure drops there's a leak. If you don't see any leaks there's a good bet the head gasket is toast. Smaller leaks won't always show itself as vapor out the tail pipe. Examples: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...ressure+tester

Sign out (?) a combustion tester from AutoZone or the like and test for contaminated coolant. Examples: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...bustion+tester

> Check your engine oil for any milky swirls.

> Check your coolant for any signs of oil droplets.

> Passenger side carpet nice and dry?

 

Thanks for the reply, i will check these things out..The van only has 70,000 miles on it, i would be surprised if its a head gasket but i guess anything can happen.I don't smell any antifreeze, so i dont think my heating coil has a leak.. it would be burning off or like mention leaking on the carpet..
good info, will go through the steps..to see if i can find out were its going..

 

It can only leak at the head gasket, thermostat, radiator, water pump, and hose connections on these engines.

Usually if it's head gasket you can see it on the side and/or under the valve cover. But a less common scenario is a small leak that leaks slower than the coolant evaporates so you only lose water/coolant.

The best solution outside the gasket replace with surface check is Steel Seal, but it's worthless but for very tiny leaks.. It's basically a liquid with suspended copper flakes that hit the right temperature to self-weld at the leak point where it's exposed to extreme surface-heat..

Just look at it this way: you could have a rod knocking.. It'll take you 2-3 days to fix the head proper on your own, if it's not warped. You can buy a low mile 4th gen for what shops will charge you.. You can also set up a shop to fix anything for what they charge for head work..

 

How long will an engine run with Anti-freeze being mixed with the oil...this has been going on for a couple months..

There is nothing leaking on the ground,or the engine from what i see... so still a mystery

 

until the diluted oil viscosity reduces to the point of letting friction destroy bearings or linings inside the engine.. Then you have 8x the time/labor and more money on your hands.

I'm no expert, just a owner who can't afford the cost of another vehicle paying a shop so he has to fix everything himself.. I've only seen anti-freeze in oil with blown head gaskets. The engine coolant veins are next to oil veins in the block and head, separated by the gasket at the head surface..

 

I have added enough anti-freeze the last few months, if it was a head-gasket i would think , the oil would be diluted by now and the engine would be seized..or making quite a noise...i need to check it out closer, but just too cold here at the moment..