i cant find a leak anywhere, no dripping from car. it does seem to run pretty hot though. by empty, i mean EMPTY. so the hose cannot reach any of the liquid in the bottom. when i fill up the reservoir, i few days later all the liquid gone!

what is going on? how do i troubleshoot this?

i have an 87 T/A, 305 TPI

i did a flush and everything came out pretty clean. green, but not dirty or anything. the upper radiator hose is under pressure when the car is warm. car runs pretty good, no bad smells or noises. i would say it runs better though, when i fill up the reservoir with water again.

i would be nice to not be filling this every week. thanks.

 

you most certainly have a leak somewhere.

just start going throught you cooling system and narrow down things. i would first check the two main hoses going to and from the radiator. then i would check your water pump. then check the thermostat housing.

just make sure that the hoses are not dryrotted and also that all the clamps are tighten down. another spot i would check is the heater core hoses, the two hoses that go into and out of the firewall on the passengers side.

the car must be burning the coolant before it hits the ground.

 

ahhh now things are starting to fall into place. forgive me, because I am a newbie to auto repair.

i just got the car a few months ago. the two hose connections going into the firewall, well, are not connected properly. the left one is connected to this tube thing with the round frisbee shape on top. this piece is broken and the cable and other hose are not attached. i did not know coolant was supposed to flow through this. there is nothing connected to the other end coming out of the firewall. it almost looks like someone gerry-rigged this so that it bypassed that system completely by sending the hoses below that back around in a circle.

what is this dohickey thats not connected? also my heater and AC do not function. i dont care too much since i never use heater anyhow.

would i be able to see beads of water where the leak would be, before it evaporated? im pretty sure my hoses are very old...

 

well under the dash inside the passengers side there is a thing called a heater core and that gets coolant to flow throught it and then the blower motor blows that warmed up air through the vents and inside the car for heat. the one in their someone must of took it out and then just connected the two hoses going it.

if you dont want heat you can just take the two hoses and connect them together to bypass the heater core.

 

Do you hear a gurgling sound at anytime? If you do, You have a blown Head Gasket and the coolant is being sucked into the combustion chamber and burnt with the fuel air mixture. That's why you don't see any leaks but still lose coolant.

 

ok i did some more checking around. i still cannot find any leak anywhere. the previous owner definately shifted things around though. the main hose on the drivers side of radiator is fine and gets nice and hot. the one on the passenger side goes right into the other side of the TB (or close to that anyhow) from the radiator. the other ones on that side go down to whats probably the pump and something else im not sure. there is a hose underneath the TB that goes from one side to the other and seems to get hot as well. there is a little green sludge there but doesnt seem like an active leak or anything. then all the rest of that tubing on the passenger side is not connected at all!

gurgling... hmm.. ill have to listen closer. its possible. blown head gasket sounds complicated!! any other way too tell besides sound?

but im not sure what else to check... maybe ill take a pic..

 

When sitting inside the car turn the selector switch to heat after you start the engine. You'll hear a slight gurgling sound coming from the dash area, the sound may only be heard during certain times though. Try listening to it the first thing in the morning. If you don't see any leaks anywhere, chances are it's Leaking Internally. Yes, it will be a time consuming job if you do it yourself.

 

You can check your radiator cap too for proper pressure. That's another place vapor can be leaking from.
It apparently only happens when hot. As the engine cools it tries to refill the system with the water it keeps sucking out of the overflow. It should do this, but you are losing so much coolant that the overflow is being sucked dry.
Try letting the car idle and get hot while you watch and listen under the hood for steam.

 

well boys, appreciate all the help, but TERRIBLE NEWS.

i was driving to work yesterday morning, turned the corner on the freeway, and a guy was driving the WRONG WAY on the freeway.

i had no to time to react and did a head-on. the TA is totalled. i hit the steering wheel pretty hard, thank *** i was wearing seat belt. all that steel saved my life. im pretty beat up in the head but tests were okay so far.

looks like i'll be on the market again after i heal up. damnit, i loved that thing...

 

dam you went from loosing alot of coolant to losing your car.

sorry about the car, but at least your ok!!

time for another car with more problems!!, just joking..

good luck..

 

hey man glad your ok.is this gurgling sound when you sut the car off and it sounds like lots of boiling water? my 86 regal does this when it over heats

 

Don't think this is a big problem anymore.

Also glad you survived the shunt!