boomtufo

Hello everyone, my car is doing a considerably weird thing.
I purchased it about a week ago and drove it 200 miles home just fine.

1995 6-Speed (LT1)

I drove it the next day for about 30 minutes when I went to register it, and the temperature gauge looked fine, right in between the bottom tick (160) and the mid way tick mark.

After coming outside to leave, maybe 25 - 30 minutes later, my car was sitting in a lake of coolant.

So I tried to see where it was leaking from, but nothing.
I ended up putting about 3 gallons of water in the radiator while it was running (bleeding it of course) and after about an hour of bleeding it the car got me home just fine and did not overheat.

However when I got home, about a minute after shutdown it started pouring fluid out of the bottom of the car. So I looked and looked and looked and still can't figure out exactly where the leak is.

Basically I'm wondering why when the car is running it doesn't leak at all, but when the car is shut off after getting up to operating temperature, it pours out all the fluid. Oh and my overflow is not overflowing, its right where it should be on the coolant dipstick.

So my theory is that somewhere within the radiator or maybe a hose, after the fluid escapes the engine and recycles back to the radiator that somewhere in that process it is leaking. Or maybe even when going back to the reservoir.

Trying to narrow down the issue before I spend $100 or so on a new radiator when it was a $2 hose the whole time.

Any assistance would be appreciated

Thanks!

slick1hunting

I would spend a little more time narrowing down were the water is leaking from. Like rear of motor, driver side, pass side, front. Be sure overflow tube and steam pipe vent tube are not swapped on radiator(overflow on top and on the smaller nipple). The system should be pressurized when operating at temp and if radiator was leaking I would expect to see it as with hoses given the thermostat opens. Places that can leak- hoses, and radiator, heater core, heads and headgasket, cracked block, the knock sensor and drain plug and water pump.


Posted from Camaroz28.com App for Android

rngilliland

You may have a leak in the line that goes to the overflow tank. It wouldn't leak until the car was hot enough to force coolant out of the radiator. The coolant wouldn't go into the overflow tank, or be drawn back into the radiator when the car cools off.

shoebox

Buy or rent a pressure tester. Then you can look for the leak while things are cool.

boomtufo

Well I know it is leaking on the left side of the radiator right next to the battery and reservoir. Now I pulled off the line that plugs into the top of the radiator neck and leads down to the reservoir and I couldn't seem to find a crack or hole in it anywhere. But hopefully after work tomorrow I can go rent a pressure tester. You guys know if advanced auto carries them? Very close and convenient to my home, yet not the best store out there.

moparman

My car did something like that. Kept losing coolant, couldn't find a leak, even when I used a pressure tester. One hot day the problem became apparent. Radiator had a crack by the battery.