What could be the cause of losing coolant in a '97 Nissan Altima?

Answer 1

Hey Melissa==It can be a bunch of things from a leaking radiator to blown head gaskets. Take it to a reptuable garage and have it checked out. GoodluckJoe Do you see antifreeze underneath the vehicle? After letting the engine warm up, open the hood and look for any visible signs of antifreeze leaking anywhere. Have someone check to make sure the drain valve is closed if you are unsure of where it is located. Check the dipstick, if you have a blown head gasket you may see signs of water mixed with the oil - this will look like small bubbles mixed in with the oil. Also, the vehicle may give off white "smoke" while running. Its also possible there could be a crack in the radiator, which happened to my Altima. It had developed a crack on the top of the radiator near a mounting location. The 97 had an aluminum radiator, most places you take it to will try and sell you a whole new radiator. If in fact you do find a crack, call around to some of the local repair places (for example NOT a Pepboys or similar location). Some of the smaller businesses still do repairs on radiators. A crack could be silver soldered depending on the severity.