i have an 88 GTA notchback and am trying to restore it.. i replace the starter and alternator so far.. i now have a cooling problem.. all my coolant gets eaten up in like 2 days. Pep boys said my radiator cap wasnt holding pressure. i replaced it. it made the coolant tank operate again.. the cap on the coolant tank doesnt hold pressure.. is it supposed to be tight on there? i was thinking it may be the stat or sumthin but im not sure.. its kinda a rare car so i dont wanna screw nuthin up.. also i have digital dash and the temp gauge kicks on once in a while, so i never know when overheating begins.. what do you think?

 

Ok, ill give this a try. The cap on the spill over tank is suppose to be snug, if it isnt try an new cap, the HELP racks at any local parts store carries them. If the threads on the container are stripped then you can get a new tank from GM for like 40 bux.

Now if you are still losing collant there are many other reasons. Did you do a flush on the system? If so then what is happening it trapped air in the system is escaping and being replaed by existing coolant, so you arent loosing it, you just dont have enough. Noticing any puddles? Could have a bad connection or hose. Also, if and when the watr pump goes, there is a "weep" hole on it. That will drip collant when the water pump fails, causing big puddles. Stepping up to worse case scenario's check the passenger side floor inside, if its wet, then you gotta bad heater core. Even worse than that, you have a bad head gasket, cracked block, or cylinder head. Check to see if the block has any coolant on it comming from under the head, or any white smoke from the exhaust.

 

make sure nobody put any caramel apples in your engine oil either...