ok i have a 90 rs with a 305, i just got the car bout 2 days ago.
the guy said he has replaced water pump, upper hose, and radiator. they all look fairly new but u never know.

i have a leak, its somewhat bad. when i park at a gas station and go in pay and come out it has a trail of water coming from under the car along with a puddle.
i can see it dripping mainly from the middle of the radiator core support and on the passenger side of that. driver side is dry.

please tell me what this could be any and all possibilities.
its causing the car to over heat a little it rises to about 220 to 225 then back down to normal, then slowly rises back up to 220 again or sometimes even hits 230 or 235 or so
and in the overflow tank the water starts boiling but its darn near empty and the over flow tank lid is steaming.

please help me, this is my only ride for now and i am a 20 yr old single dad with 2 kids under 2.
thanks

 

Overheating would be near the red... stock cooling fans aren't suppose to kick in till around 230 degrees, however, you may want to check the thermostat, it may be faulty... the thermostat should open I believe at 192 degrees or so, depending on the thermostat... the best advice I can give you is to fill up the radiator and see if you can visually identify the leak ... or you can take it to a shop where they will do a pressure leak test.. or you can purchase a kit from your local auto parts store...

 

i have the fans on a switch and they are on as soon as i start it up. i have a pressure tester, what would be the easiest way of doin it and what pressure do i pump it to?
and the thermostat opens cuz it heats up then cools down

 

Test it to about 16 PSI. Remove your radiator hold down (the black plastic piece that has four bolts that attach it to the support) and observe for leakage. A common area for the radiator to leak is at the fittings for the trans cooler on the passenger side. It could be boogered up and leaking anywhere though. The water leaking out could be traveling before it drips.

A replacement radiator runs around $100 and is pretty easy to swap out. If yours is dripping through the rad support its probably the rad but check the tranny lines, two hose fittings, drain **** and water sensor (or sensor bung) first.

 

Ya, the best you can do is clean the **** out of the areas that are wet (with like brake clean or something that evaporates quickly), then just run the car and inspect, or a pressure tester will work too.

 

found out it was a bad radiatior, leaking all down the back side of tank

 

Pretty common. Before you swap it out take a look inside at all of the crud that's built up over the years and imagine the better cooling you'll get with the un-crudded up new one. Might make you feel a little better for the $ you have to spend.

 

Make sure you use distilled water or pre mixed coolant so there aren't any mineral deposits added. Thats what gums these things up in the first place.