Well a couple weeks ago I noticed steam and smelled coolant when my car was running. So I opened the hood and saw that there was a bit of coolant down in the valley and apparently coming from the drivers side of the engine and the coolant level in the container was low, immediately I assumed that I had finally cracked the stock intake. I topped off the coolant reservoir and drove it home with no issue, well the temp gauge would go all the way over to the L in NORMAL and then it would go back down to between the R and M. So seeing as how the engine was dirty I washed it off so I could get a clear view of where coolant may be coming from and I changed the thermostat. I have not had any issues at all since that night so I'm just wondering how a thermostat could be the issue in this case. But ever since then my coolant level is correct and there is no leaking, steam or smell of coolant. Any ideas?
Mystery Coolant leak
- Thread starter 313blkstang
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Rickey_Bobby
New Member
I had mine leak in the same spot the arrow is pointing.
It killed 3 coils.
WARNING!!!! if ANY coolant gets down in the plug holes (they are not waterproof) it will fry your COP's. They cost lots of $$. And driving with a misfire will cause raw fuel to wash the cylinderwalls of oil and lead to wear and low compression. Eventually resulting in a dead cylinder, which is essentially a dead motor.
This may sould like a worst case senario, but not only has it claimed my engine, but 3 others that I have verified that died because of cylinder wear cause by a misfire that was caused by a coolant leak.
Phew!
So this is potentially a VERY big problem that you should look into.
Remove your COP's and check for moisture in the plug wells.
Also, NEVER spray down the engine with water. It's not a SB chevy.
It killed 3 coils.
WARNING!!!! if ANY coolant gets down in the plug holes (they are not waterproof) it will fry your COP's. They cost lots of $$. And driving with a misfire will cause raw fuel to wash the cylinderwalls of oil and lead to wear and low compression. Eventually resulting in a dead cylinder, which is essentially a dead motor.
This may sould like a worst case senario, but not only has it claimed my engine, but 3 others that I have verified that died because of cylinder wear cause by a misfire that was caused by a coolant leak.
Phew!
So this is potentially a VERY big problem that you should look into.
Remove your COP's and check for moisture in the plug wells.
Also, NEVER spray down the engine with water. It's not a SB chevy.
jeffnoel
Founding Member
I never had this particular leak happen, but I have leaked coolant from two places before. The first was the infamous plastic manifold cracking, fixed that one. The other is a bit more bizarre, but a friend of mine gave me a possible reason. On extremely cold days, I would find a mysterious puddle of coolant on the ground but couldn't find where the system was leaking at. He said his Cougar did the same thing - apparently there are metallic clips on the radiator that expand and contract based on temperature and when it gets butt cold out it allows some of the coolant trapped in the radiator to leak out. Not sure if its true or not but it was the best theory to explain my mystery leak.
RandyStinchcomb
New Member
get some coolant system dye, as it will help you pin-point the leak.
one thing I've seen is even wth the improved intakes wth the aluminum cross over, where the crossover bolts to the plastic intake the o-ringed seal there will weep, more so in colder weather when the o-ring shrinks.
remember the STS Challenger and the infamous Morton-Thiocal O-rings?
one thing I've seen is even wth the improved intakes wth the aluminum cross over, where the crossover bolts to the plastic intake the o-ringed seal there will weep, more so in colder weather when the o-ring shrinks.
remember the STS Challenger and the infamous Morton-Thiocal O-rings?
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