Hey all. I'm having trouble finding where I have a coolant leak. Under the reservoir appears to be a puddle. There's a little bit of dried greenish coolant around the radiator cap and the spongy material above the radiator seems a bit soaked. There's also what looks like some dried coolant sprayed / splashed on the bottom of the hood. There was a little bit of smoke and sweet smell coming from driving it today.

I filled the reservoir to the max again since it was a bit low, and only making one more short drive on it before I try to leave it in the garage to work on. I just need to identify what needs to be replaced. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

Looks like uv damage, radiator leaking at tank seam.

 

Thanks.

I just ran the car for a bit and let it idle for a few min to see where it's coming from. It's still hard to tell, but there may be some coming from the radiator cap? Definitely some fluid build up around and under it.

 

get a new radiator cap.

 

I do not think it's the cap. The neck of the (plastic) section of the radiator is a classic failure point for s2000's. Confirm this is the case and if so consider an oem replacement radiator or a Koyo all alloy unit.

 

You need a radiator, that leak isn’t the cap.

 

Thanks everyone. A replacement OEM radiator cap didn't do anything.

I now ordered a Koyo radiator and cap from Amazon. Hope I don't need anything else and the installation isn't TOO bad.

I haven't driven the car much and it's definitely still leaking a lot of coolant and the car kinda sounds like it's chugging more than usual. I'll stay off it til the radiator is replaced for sure.

 

i apologize, i didn't mean to imply that your radiator was fine.

i just gave a half ass response to your comment about your radiator cap.

 

No worries. I've actually seen a lot of legit issues where it was just the radiator cap, so I started there.

Bummer this COVID-19 situation means Amazon won't ship the parts til later this week. Oh well.

 

You don't want to drive around with air in the coolant system.
This engine is pretty sensitive and there is a high risk of overheating with damage to the engine/headgasket.