EJZero1

Changed out all of my coolant hoses a couple months back. Shortly after, noticed a couple of drops of coolant on the garage floor. Discovered some hoses just needed retightening, so I went over all of my connections finding a couple of loose one's. Leak persisted, getting progessively worse. After pressurizing the system, I noticed the coolant running down the driver's side of the radiator. Zeroing in on the leak is a b!tch cuz of course you can't actually see the sides of the radiator, and the leaks coming from the holes in the bottom of the support cradle make it difficult to determine the actual origin of the leak. After verifying all of my hoses are tight, I figure it must be the radiator itself.

Time to replace the radiator. Messiest friggin job I've ever done on these cars, but it's done. Drove the car to work this morning, happy as all get out to be feeling some boost again. Come out after work and see a puddle of coolant under the car bigger than ever. Check the tank and discover I've lost about half a tank full of coolant between the drive in and the puddle on the ground. So pi$$ed, I just get in and drive it home, watching the temp gauge closely. Drive home is uneventful with the temp gauge never passing the first margin. Park in the garage and take a look underneath. Nothing yet. Will have a look in the morning to see if it leaks out overnight.

Plan? Kept the radiator I pulled. I'll probably take it to a radiator shop and have them inspect/repair it. At least that will be one factor removed from the equation.

Guess that's about it. Like the title says...just venting.

Thanks for listening.

Paulyy

it could also be the coolant filler cap, spring gets weak and releases water at cooler temps. might be worth replacing.

EJZero1

Thanks for the input. I'll probably go ahead and do that as I don't know when the PO replaced it last. Cheap insurance anyway.

That said, my coolant is coming from the support cradle area. That probably rules out the cap as being the culprit in this situation. As far as I can figure, this would narrow it down to one of the four hose connections, the temp switch, or the radiator itself.

Paulyy

do what he said:
Then pressurise the system and you'll see the leak.

adrial

+2

Makes it so much easier

zerMATT951

I used a loaner tester that I got from an O'Reilly auto parts store... very handy. So handy that I added one to my Xmas list! It also makes bleeding the air out a piece of cake!

EJZero1

Yeap, I've rented the same tool many times from the local auto parts store. Pressurizing the system results in coolant dripping from the holes in the support cradle.

Car sat all day in the garage since parking it last night. Took a quick look a short time ago and saw two small puddles, under those holes in the cradle. Also noticed the rubber "insulating" strip that runs vertically between the radiator and the mounting area on either side of the radiator appears to be wet on the driver's side.

Assuming (when I get the time to verify) that all hose connections and the temp switch are good, am I safe in assuming I need to pull the radiator back out and have a look/take it to a professional for evaluation?

MooreBoost

Ej, i can come over and see if I can see anything. Give me a call

EJZero1

Will do.

Won't be tomorrow as it's dark by the time I get home. Will give you a holler Sat or Sun.

OEMTim

Let me know what you come up with.

EJZero1

Will do.