Brothers, i come to you with a problem, today i started my car and filled my tires and noticed i had a coolant leak, i need you fellas to give me every reason this could happen... So i can look tomorrow and fix this horrible leak! Thank!!!!

 

Process of elimination:
Front or rear part of the motor?? Top or bottom??

Rad hose gone bad--- leaking @ clamps, cracks in old hoses.
Heater hoses-- same thing.

Radiator cracked @ the plastic neck, punctured a tube or more.

Lower & not near hoses or radiator??
Look at the " freeze plugs " or " expansion plugs " as some ppl
call them.

How much was left in the rad?? Did it get extremely hot before
the leak???

 

i didnt look at the engine, i had to put it away because i had a doctors appointment...and i dont know how much is left, but there was a good amount on my garage floor...all i did was give it some gas (noticed some black stuff come out the tailpipe) so i floored it for a bit and blew out all the stuff from my exhaust...i am not sure how this happened, but thanks for helping me with what to look for

 

so i looked and found out its leaking inside my damn car...anyone have an idea of where? or why? i just am so confused and angry

 

coolant leak on passengers floor board?=heater core, passengers side lower dash.

only thing that will leak coolant inside.

 

ok thanks, i was told i could also re-route the coolant pipes together and have a nice bypass til i fix my car...i will do that until i remove the core and a/c lines

 

ok so theres anew problem, i bypassed the core and was driving it today and then the temp went up and noticed smoke when i was on my road so i got home and checked and coolant was ALL over my engine and engine compartment...what could have caused it???

 

Probably a poorly rigged bypass lol. I'm dealing with that now, the previous owner of mine did the same thing and it just pisses from back there. I'd put a new core in and eliminate a few possible places. Otherwise man just run the car and look around for a leak thats all you can really do.

 

i didnt rig it that bad...its not leaking from there...i thought i found the leak and put some stop leak in...the sand granual kind and it worked all night then today it randomly blew up and my engine was covered in coolant...i started it again and no leak....WTFFFF

 

Possible to post a couple pics of the general area where the steam was coming from??

{ edit }

Where was the puddle the very first time you noticed the ground was wet??

 

steam was everywhere, coolant was all over my engine....and the leak was on the passenger side under the floor and it then was under the heater core box...from an old rusty line that seemed was the problem

 

I agree on re-checking all the connections, including the by-pass you are currently using.

Re-check the rad & over flow levels, & fill to recommended levels.
That way you know there's the right amount, so IF this happens again you have an idea on how much leaked out.

 

i did check the connections, and I didnt notice anything...but i will definitely have to keep looking.

 

When you check, also look at the rad cap. If it's in poor condition, replace it with the correct presure cap.

How long has the car been sitting--is it a project or is it a daily driver??

 

its been sitting since december with the occasional start up and now i have insurance so yes to daily driver but it is a rolling project

 

The best way to bypass the heater would be to unscrew the hose connections from both the intake and the water pump, and screw in some plugs from the hardware store. 1/2NPT I think, just bring along the connectors to match up and make sure.

 

Something I just thought of--

Electric fan(s)?? Working??

K, so lets say the by-pass is ok, & no other leaks--Over heat because the fan(s) didn't come on..?..

Also, if the motor was covered with coolant, it'll smell pretty bad & smoke til it burns off, or til you rinse it off.

If you rinse it, wrap the distributor real good in plastic. Don't want water getting in. Just rinse it off with water-- no need to blast it with presure from a car wash. Use a water hose. Throttle body, TPI, or carb on the intake??
If you have a carb or throttle body, wrap it in plastic real good too.

 

Then follow this advice.

 

I would remove the bypass and install a new heater core. Not that expensive or difficult as stated above.

From there, pressure test the cooling system to find the actual leak source.

 

dude i would definately buy a manual for the car and dont do anything stupid....if you started the car right after it leaked all the coolant and it stopped leaking then there was none left.....also dont ever just "floor it for a bit" if your car starts smoking. not a very smart thing to do.

 

i have a haynes manual but its really vague on key details i need...i did look in it...and the reason for the smoke was some SeaFoam so thats why it smoked (burning carbon and what not)...but i guess i should change the core, but i really wanted to bypass it for a while and drive it as is, but it doesnt seem like it.

 

yeah haynes sucks lol. they cover ten years of cars in one book. i would recommend the all data its amazing...most these cars smoke when they start after sitting so no worries. the reason i say dont floor it is beacuse when a car has been sittin its better to let it run get to operating temp.then go for a drive. a car that sits should not have extra force put on it. take care of your baby lol i bypassed mine..just heater core not TB too. mine actually acted better. (i think i need to replace it....system was pretty clogged) look up some of the core bypass threads i know people have pictures on how to do it. unless someone wants to post some here. i unfortunately never think about taking pictures when i do things lol. keep us updated well try to help as much as we can.

 

heres a pic of coolant flow if that helps

 

ok that sounds good, but i have a question...what could stop a electric fan from running? lol kinda off topic

 

relay.bad connection. bad temperature sensor? that what comes down to process of elimination. mine stops running every once and a blue moon. i just wiggle the connection and it comes back on. so your gonna have to dig in. i would check fan relay first. dont be afraid to use the search button lol

 

i will see what works....and i looked at alldata and they are EXPENSIVEEE! i just need something with good quality photos and walk throughs