Common culprit for leaking antifreeze?

[Edmond]

I check the reservoir and the hose that goes into the radiator. They're not the problem.

It's not a hose, I checked them and they're fine.

It seems like it will leak when I park with the front end higher, like in my driveway. But if I back into the driveway, and the front is lower, it doesn't seem to leak.

It is leaking from the front.

Any suggestions before I just tackle this without a plan?

 

[rrubel]

Did you check the water pump and freeze plugs? Both were leaking on my 86 when I bought it.

If it is the pump, I've a spare here.
[RICHR]

 

[Edmond]

Re: A thought..

Not knowing the '88 set up, is this just an overflow issue?

Maybe try plugging the reservoir overflow hose & see if the "leak" stops.

C'ya
D

D,

I checked that too. I thought that it coulda been the cap, but it was leaking from somewhere's on the bottom, at least it appeared that way.

Rich,

I will check that out on Thanksgiving. There goes my Turkey day!:L:L

 

[Top]

Passenger side bottom of the radiator is the plastic drain plug. It is hard to see but it is reachable. The tangs that hold it tight become brittle and break. I know it happened to me. When they finally complete let go I had coolant everywhere. Check and make sure it is tight still.

Good luck!!

 

[Edmond]

Passenger side bottom of the radiator is the plastic drain plug. It is hard to see but it is reachable. The tangs that hold it tight become brittle and break. I know it happened to me. When they finally complete let go I had coolant everywhere. Check and make sure it is tight still.

Good luck!!

Top,

I will be sure to check that. I didn't even think of that; and I should've because I did drain the antifreeze this past summer. I'll keep everyone posted.

I just hope it's not a cracked radiator or something catastrophic (ie. expensive!:L)

 

[rrubel]

I forgot about the drain plug, too, though I'd think it would drip from there all the time if it were leaking.

If you do need to replace the radiator, they're fairly easy to do yourself (just a lot of screws) and you can get rebuilt ones at reasonable prices (I've seen used heavy-duty ones for under $100).
[RICHR]

 

[Top]

Rich, mine drove me about half way past crazy. If the car was cool, (no pressure) or not running, (no water pump flow), it was tight enough to not leak. I would drive it and come back and have coolant in the front. It finally fully broke and started leaking all the time. The only good part was it was a under $5.00 part at the local parts store.

Happy T Day everybody

 

[rrubel]

Cool! A $5 fix - don't see many of those. My freeze plug leak, for example, had cheap parts - $3 each - but they had to pull the engine to get AT the old ones.

Edmond, let's hope it's simple...

[RICHR]

 

[militant_x]

I just found a new leak with mine, on my car its coming somewhere from that heater box thing, gonna re route a hose untill i have time to fix it.

Oddly enough it doesnt leak all the time, but when it does its pouring out.

 

[94C4]

My guess is the water pump. Mine leaked and I couldn't ever really pinpoint the source. I took it to Mr Goodwrench and had the pump replaces ($600) and no problems since. Good luck.

 

[Edmond]

Finally got a chance to check...

and it is cracked just a few inches away from the plug area. It's not severe so I put in a bottle of that Prestone sealer and I'm going to run the sealer for a few days to see what happens. So far, the leak is very minimal; much better than it was before.

I know that a replacement is unavoidable but I'm trying to wait until winter storage time comes around because I have a few more projects I'd like to do with the car during winter storage.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

 

[atmmac]

bummer!

 

[Edmond]

bummer!

:L tell me about it!:L But I figure that the radiator is 16 years old and what more could I expect? 16 years of use out of anything automotive satisfies me!

 

[rrubel]

Yeah, I found during my recent work that the original radiator had been replaced about 3-4 years ago (new one has a 1999 manu date sticker on it)... Now, unfortunately, I don't know if I still have a heavy-duty one (RPO V01) or not... can't find any other markings on it. My guess is not...
[RICHR]