[mgsteve]

On 2 previous occasions my s3 spider dumped a puddle of antifreeze on the garage floor after being parked. It seems to be coming from the front passenger side of the engine. I think it has only happened when the heat valve was open...I think! It's baffling because I see almost no evidence of coolant on anything, except a few old stains on the bottom of the ac compressor and some slight wetness around the water pump. It happened again last night. Today I ran it up to temp after topping up and bleeding the system. I drove it up on ramps and crawled underneath while it was running. Not a drop. I put a sheet of cardboard under it, so I could get a better handle on the origin, and let it cool. Still nothing!
Any ideas?

 

[dghii]

Loose connection to coolant overflow tank?

 

[mgsteve]

Overlow

First thing I checked

 

[stevesxm]

First thing I checked

buy/borrow/rent a radiator pump and pressurize the cooling system. if there is a leak , it will show up as the sytem not holding pressure and you can see where its leaking from. one of the first tools i bought 40 years ago and it saves a lot of dicking around and guesswork. stant makes the best one and they are 60 $ new give or take. im sure they are on e bay cheaper like this one

Stant St 255A Cooling System Pressure Tester | eBay

 

[mgsteve]

Great idea

Stevexm, why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip

 

[gmilke]

I was also given the suggestion from the forum for renting a pressure checker. $75 at Autozone but they give it back since you are renting.

Gave it a few pumps and heard and saw water spraying. 5 min double checking and I knew exactly what was going on.

I actually need to rent it again. I think I have a hose clamp not tight enough somewhere. Got a small leak but can't find it when parked. Pressure will find it.