69gaugeman

The standard symptoms of engine trouble are as follows:

There is white smoke out the tail pipe - water in the combustion chamber
There is black smoke out the tail pipe - excessive rich running
There is blue smoke out the tail pipe - burning oil in the combustion chamber

If none of these are happening and the car is running smooth without loss of power then the following:

Oil in the coolant expansion tank - head gasket or cracked block/head
water in the oil (light milky brown oil) - head gasket or cracked block

If none of those are symptoms and you have the following:

Loss of oil - leaking gasket / head gasket/ cracked block

Loss of coolant - water pump / head gasket / cracked head/ block



Note that as you go down the list the likely hood of catastrophic failure (head/block/head gasket) becomes less and less. Of course ymmv, but from all the posts so far indicate leaking hose or expansion tank....

Avar928

Thanks everyone. Starting to feel better about this. No smoke out of the tail pipe, only from the engine compartment. Idling was fine. Ran fine when going home.

I'll change the sender anyways but that does make sense. I've read more than enough threads here where doing something jarring just makes things work. If I could get my mirrors and automatic lock button to work that way it would be great.

Might be the cap is just on too tight. Once I get it unscrewed, I'll check for oil mixed in. Got the cap off. Found out what the problem was with my infinite wisdom...I was turning it the wrong way. Head desk. Lefty loosey, righty tighty. I need a beer.

No oil in the coolant. It is dirty though Either dirt or remains of an old seal that broke off when I was changing the thermostat and it sank.

FredR

You are getting way too pessimistic way too early. Plenty to check and do before getting the engine hoist warmed up!

In our hot summers the tickover pressure is about 1.5 barg and a bit higher in our [mild winters] at about 2 barg and my motor has been that way for some 13 years. If you have free range coolant then it did not get there by magical coincidence- it could have been spilled into there but most likely not.

Keep a cool head and investigate the symptoms- no shortage of help on this list and doubtless there will be a knowledgeable soul near you.

Regards

Fred

outbackgeorgia

The short hose connection to the engine is a press fit and will come out or leak. There is a small adaptor with this 19mm pipe press/glued into. Mine leaked and eventually came loose losing coolant with lots of white smoke. Replaced it with a one piece unit from 928 International. Problem fixed, engine stays in car.
Dave

SMTCapeCod

Or failing radiator....enough folks made the wrong leap there already.

depami

Generally not with manual transmission though.

SMTCapeCod

True dat.. ;-)

But they were posted as general maxims.

Avar928

Mine's an Auto. Forgot to mention.

I still can't manage to source the leak without turning her on. I started cycling the coolant by pressing on the upper radiator hose to see where it was coming out. No deal, not even the short hose was leaking.

If it was a failing radiator, wouldn't I expect coolant all over? It appeared to be isolated just around the MAF area. No signs of collection or residue in the front of the engine unless the heat vaporized it quickly. I did notice some residue and what appeared to be trace coolant collection alongside the driver side valve cover but isolated towards the rear. Again, probably from whatever leaked in the MAF area.

A little coolant was inside the airbox too, underneath the air filter but isolated in a single straight line only, along the long side closest to the firewall. The inside of the MAF itself was clean. I checked the port that connects the MAF to the engine, no coolant traces there just oil. Thinking it came from underneath hitting the airbox and seeping inside from the back hence the line where it was.

Apart from the short hose and heater control valve and the hose that connects to, what other places for leaks can I source the coolant too?

SMTCapeCod

Radiator comment really only pertained to the circumstance of oil in coolant, which if I read right you haven't found but was mentioned in one of the scenarios above.

In some cases, the oil cooler that is internal in the radiator can fail and the higher pressure oil is forced into the coolant. Past posts indicate that some dealerships have misdiagnosed this as a head gasket/block issue resulting in (in the one I'm thinking of) $55XX bill that seemed likely to be totally unfounded.

So, sorry- not directly responsive to your situation.
Inside the airbox is just odd....I don't get that.

Maybe the heater valve really squirts once the pressure is up and its hot, sufficient to get enough splash on around the back of the intake.

Look forward to hearing what you and fraggle find.

depami

Or maybe the short hose has a pinhole that only squirts when it is warm and pressure is maxed.

You could try pressurizing the cooling system and look for leaks. Adapt an air fitting to your old cap and attach compressor set at 10 PSI then 15 PSI (~ 1 bar) and then 20 PSI. Be extremely careful going past 20 PSI.

If that doesn’t reveal anything you’ll likely have to run it up to temp and inspect. If the short hose is squirting it may take heat and pressure to produce the leak.

From what you say, I would think it safe to start and run, just keep an eye (and ear) on things.

Avar928

I wonder if I can adapt my Motive bleeder to it. Just have to flush it first before using.

The Forgotten On

I'm not sure about 32 v cars but my 16 valve had the same problem of water pooling around the MAF area. There are 2 removable observation panels on top of the engine. One on the driver's side head and one on the passengers side under the water block that supplies water to the heater valve. They have gaskets which could have blown and leak coolant over the back half of the block in the V. I thought I blew a head gasket but didn't have any smoke from the exhaust and saw these two panels as the culprits. They only leak when under pressure, so it only happens when the engine is warmed up. They are easy to get to and only require removing a few bolts. I hope this helps

Avar928

Thanks for the information! Is the passenger side panel connect to the short hose? How can I trace it? Trying to envision where they could be.

I'll check for that. Hope that's it.

The Forgotten On

There is a block off plate on the driver's side head. It is on the way back just behind the last opening of the intake port for cylinders 4 and 8. The other one is where the water block for the heater valve is.

Hilton

One other thing to check for the source of the smoke is the high pressure PS line. When they start to leak, they frequently spray onto the manifold (under high pressure), and generates a lot of smoke.

Your oil pressure sounds normal for a warming 928 engine - should be around 2 bar when warmed up, at idle.