btw, what is a proper level of the coolant in the radiator? thank.

 

Remove the radiator cap, and the coolant should be right up to the very top (the ridge that the cap seats onto).

 

I checked for any leaks in and around and see none. What's the chance that the coolant leaked into the engine. I checked the dip stick, and the level is the same and the color looks clear. thanks.

 

If you have driven it around for a while after you filled it up and the coolant level in the radiator has not changed much and the temp stayed around 180 - 200 u are probably fine. You may have to add some more coolant as after filling it up and driving the level may drop due to water sitting in the jackets etc.

 

If 3 gallons of coolant leaked into the engine, your crankcase oil would be flowing out like a waterfall. It is possible that they did a drain and fill, but forgot the fill part. You'd have to be pretty stupid to do that, but don't rule anything out. Is the dealer near a high school where cheerleaders were outside practicing? Maybe they got distracted mid way through the project. If you got the car with the cooling system full, then you have a big internal leak. Problem is, you don't know what it had in it since you didn't look.

 

fastb, good point. i will check to make sure.
camaro 69, of course the cheerleaders..how can you blame them.

but i just can't help myself but think what happened. the dealer has no idea. but then it just dawned on me that the cap felt as if not closed tightly when I tried to open it to fill it. could it be that? but that much coolant could evaporate?? man, so frustrating. looks like i am going to have to have to pressure-tested just to make sure...

 

Oh boy, now you really need to keep a closer eye on the level. If the coolant blew out from the cap being loose (it's not going to simply evaporate), it would have made a big mess under the hood. Keeping the cap open a tad is a trick to relieve pressure which can help mask a blown head gasket. Yeah, I'd pressure test the system, especially since the guy at the dealer (wink-wink) has "no idea" to help you with.

 

Oh, and I didn't want to tell you this, but since you're already poopen out bricks, a loose radiator cap is also a way to mask a cracked cylinder wall. There, I said it!

 

ok, blown head gasket and cracked cylinder wall..pretty much a death sentence. can't believe a dealership would sell knowingly and ruin their reputation but again, you never know.

so how does one make sure before buying a car these days? can you tell while the engine is running?

 

Well, first thing you do is pop the radiator cap off and make sure it's full.
With the cap off while the engine is running, if water is spewing out like a waterfall, you can figure you have problems. But, depending on where the failure is, that won't always necessarily be the symptom. Don't go assuming the worse right away, thinking the engine is bad, I just wanted you to be aware of what you should be looking out for. There can be a number of reasons why the coolant was gone.