Major coolant leak
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
From: Chicago IL
Major coolant leak
When the engine is warmed up, all the coolant somehow is gone in just a couple of seconds!!!!!! I still have to find where the leak is but I found some drops of coolant by the drivers side headlight. Please help. 86 Corvette
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 2,940
Likes: 5
From: Chesapeake VA
If you are losing coolant that quickly, you should be able to simple park the car with the engine running and look under the hood and underneath for the leak.
Be careful opening the hood as hot coolant may be spraying about.
Be careful opening the hood as hot coolant may be spraying about.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 11,470
Likes: 763
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,613
Likes: 0
From: Orlando FL
ALL the coolant?
If thats the case, you're not looking for drips, you're looking for puddles. Check the passenger side floor board, if its wet, you need to replace the heater core. If you're not finding massive amounts of coolant somewhere, my bet is on a blown head gasket. Check your oil level, if its really high, thats where ALL the coolant is going. Is your exhaust smoking? That could be another sign of a blown head gasket.
Keep us updated and good luck.
If thats the case, you're not looking for drips, you're looking for puddles. Check the passenger side floor board, if its wet, you need to replace the heater core. If you're not finding massive amounts of coolant somewhere, my bet is on a blown head gasket. Check your oil level, if its really high, thats where ALL the coolant is going. Is your exhaust smoking? That could be another sign of a blown head gasket.
Keep us updated and good luck.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 151
Likes: 1
Are you sure that you're actually losing fluid ? It's possible that what youa re seeing is the fluid that is in the radiator flowing into the engine after the thermostat opens. Try burbing the radiator after the engine warms up. Take the cap off, Run the engine, after the thermostat opens, pour more water into the radiator until it's full rev the engine to 1000 rpm's fill to the top and then put the cap back on.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 3,835
Likes: 30
.....it would seem to me that if he didn't have torrents of coolant on the ground he'd be sucking it into the cylinders and if that were true, he either would wash out the plugs so car wouldn't run or hydro-lock his engine, or at least, be huffing huge billows of smoke out the exhaust.....the floorboards he would notice immediately as being drenched......if he just added coolant to the car, it could be an issue of the cooling system having a lot of air and the coolant level dropping as the air is dispalced....
