where's my coolant going??

[Blackened302]

so anytime i romp on the car, something goes wrong

anyhow, on my way home from the local cruise night, i gave the car a little gas (and by a little, i mean pealing all of 1st and 2nd).

stopped by a gas station to fill up for work today. as i'm getting out of the car, i smell coolant. i look underneath, and there's a puddle of coolant--as if it just dripped out at once, and didn't leak out anymore afterwards.

i pump gas and take off from the store, and as i'm heading out, my temp needle quickly jumps to the "RM", but then gradually (but quickly, still) makes its way down to the N.

i get home and can hear a little hisssss coming from somewhere, only i couldn't see since it was dark.

today:
don't take the car to school--hitch a ride w/ my fiance.

get home, go to the bank in my car (4 blocks away) and it starts to overheat once i get there. i turn it off, make a deposit, then as i'm driving out, the temp kinda fumbles around the middle, goes up a bit, then goes down a bit, then stays up, and i barely make it home (all 4 blocks away, hehehehe).

i'm pissed off, by that point. something's always going wrong, whether i romp on it a little, or upgrade (which ends up breaking something else that i need to fix), so i'm sure most of you guys can understand the frustration.

anyhow, i go out after a couple hours of cooling off and start trying to find what's wrong. w/ the car running and the heater on (after refilling the radiator), i can hear the hissing again, and i notice it's coming from one of the small heater hoses that's beind the upper intake.

that's that...

i turn the heater off to see if it only leaks when it's on, and it does. no biggie, dont' use the heater.

what caught my attention, though, was yet another huge puddle underneath the car.

i didn't hear it splash on the ground, nor did i see any more leaking after it did, so i'm wondering where the hell it's coming from.

it looked like too big of a leak to come from the heater hose (which was leakign mostly steam), and it only leaked out that one time.

i let the car idle forever, and even took it for a spin, and the temps were fine after just refilling the water level.

where's it coming from?? all my hoses up front are good (minus the above mentioned heater hose), and i couldn't see any leaks from underneath.

any ideas?

 

[Retribution]

Check your thermostat housing...i had an issue with mine leaking from the bottom nice puddle sitting on top of the water pump area just under the housing is a good sign..also check your waterpump itself and see if its leaking through the weep-hole..maybe...perhaps..i donno. im having a cooling issue myself.... i keep getting air in the system causing it to over-heat..i keep blowing water through the cap and overflow when i get on it a bit. Me is thinking cracked head or block..or something......bangs head!!!!!!! arghhg anyway.. hope you get it fixed..nothing more annoying than cooling issues.

 

[Stanger007]

Check the underneath of the waterpump - there's a hole that will leak when the seal in the pump goes out.

The other areas to check up front are:
ECT sensor (on black heater pipes by alternator)
Around water pump to timing cover
Around thermostat (good one, retribution) Look for coolant on top of the timing cover
Two smaller black heater hoses from water pump
Radiator hoses
Hole in overflow tank?
Pinhole in radiator?

Then of course, it's always worth pulling the dipstick just to check on the off chance that you are having a headgasket problem.

 

[Blackened302]

thanks for the replies, gents.

from what it seems like, the leak is coming from somewhere towards the rear of the engine, not the front.

pulled the dipstick out and thankfully no water in oil.

i did check all the hoses, no probs there, it seems, except for a rubber heater core hose.

no water from thermostat housing, and no leaks around the water pump. in fact, those areas were completely dry after running the car for a while.

i'll see when i get a chance to get under the car at my brother-in-law's pit.

i'd appreciate anymore thoughts/suggestions. thanks!

 

[Stanger007]

Ah, sorry, back of engine.

Make sure coolant isn't getting blown from the front of the car.

Look for a hole or leak on the heater core hoses. That's about the only place coolant runs back there, eh?

Wes

 

[Blackened302]

yup, Wes--that's what it looks like.

i'm not too worried about the heater--South Texas heat is practically year-round, hehe.

what does concern me is the sporadic puddle that doesn't continue to leak after the initial splash.

 

[Stanger007]

Good luck with it - those hoses are a pain in the butt to get to - put on hose clamps there if you haven't already - those spring clamps suck to work with!!!

At least we don't have it as bad as the 4.6 guys - their heater hoses are in a REALLY tight spot!

Wes

 

[steede302]

I just went through the same problem in my 94. I could here it hissin and see a puddle every once in a while under the rear of the motor. Turned out to be two very small pin holes in both of the freeze plugs at the back of the cylinder heads. I truly hope that this is not your problem. What a pain in the ass it was.