1996maxgxe

1996 Maxima GXE. nearly 200k miles.
Brisk leak from behind the driver side REAR tire. Somewhere around the EVAP Charcoal Canister.
Thought it was gas. It is RADIATOR fluid. Enough to empty out the radiator in a couple of days.
How would radiator fluid get back there?
CHECK ENGINE is ON. Flashing codes are:
03 04
07 04
02 10
Hoping this is just an EVAP valve issue. Worried it is a more serious problem.
Thanks for all help!

JvG

There are no coolant hoses which are farther back than the heater core.

perhaps a bottle of coolant in the trunk is leaking.

what's going on under the hood is a separate and more important issue. Please tell us where that leak is.

1996maxgxe

Had work done on the car a couple of days before. It seems hoses in the engine compartment that connect to the charcoal canister in the back were switched. Not 100% sure yet though. Will post when I know for sure.

KP11520

That IS the only possibility!

90sWheels

Wow!
It's a crazy world out there, especially these days.

JvG

Oh my......

There are two small coolant hoses which attach to the bottom of the throttle body. They are there to prevent ice forming on the throttle plate on cold damp mornings.

Did you have a coolant leak under the the throttle body?
Was that what you wanted them to fix? The hoses ate about the same diameter as evap hoses.

I suppose that it's possible to connect the coolant lines to the evap hoses if one is ignorant enough and also
stoned.

You won the Wierd Problems Of The Month Award !

KP11520

Yup, If even a mechanic isn't paying attention, it's easy to mix up the Evap line with the green (looks to be a bleeding access point) cap. Who woulda thunk?

Now the whole things needs to be reversed, blown out and most likely a new Charcoal canister..At the MECHANICS Expense! Along with the coolant system completely flushed and topped off.

ET said it best..... OUCH!

JvG

There is almost certainly damage to the evaporative control system. The various valves were never intended to have coolant in them. The mechanic needs to disconnect the lines on both sides. Then blow them out with compressed air. Yet doing that incorrectly can damage other valves. The various valves could be replaced with ones from the junk yard to keep prices in check. The charcoal canister MUST be replaced.
the coolant would disintegrate the charcoal. So bits if that would travel all over the system.

Then there is the issue of coolant in the engine oil.
The evaporator lines are connected to the intake system. Most of the missing coolant would have been sucked into the engine, then burned off as steam.

Has the car spewed steam clouds since the repair?

Please have the oil changed. Coolant in the oil ruins engine bearings.

Also consider consulting a different mechanic regarding what damage has been caused.

it's possible that the amount of damage has totalled the car. I hate to ruin your week.